OTTAWA — The night before the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act to deal with so-called “Freedom Convoy” protesters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser told the federal cabinet that “there was potential for a breakthrough” with the occupation around Parliament Hill, newly released documents show.
The revelation comes from meeting minutes and agendas submitted last week in Federal Court, where civil liberties groups are challenging how the federal government used the law — which had never been invoked before — to give police and banks extraordinary powers to quash protests against COVID-19 health measures that blocked border crossings and paralyzed downtown Ottawa this winter.
