The deputy minister of justice told the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency that television broadcasts influenced the government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.
While testifying before the committee, deputy minister Francois Daigle said what he saw “by watching TV” made it clear that the government had to adopt emergency powers.
“What I saw by watching TV is that police in Ottawa, for example, because I live in that area and I followed that closely, they had trouble enforcing even municipal bylaws or provincial laws,” said Daigle.
