PM’s national security adviser suggested Emergencies Act’s definition of a security threat should change – By Catharine Tunney (CBC News) / Nov 17, 2022
Inquiry is weighing whether federal government was justified in invoking act
The prime minister’s security and intelligence adviser says that the definition of a “threat to security of Canada” under the terms of the Emergencies Act should be changed to better reflect the times.
Jody Thomas’s comments to the Public Order Emergency Commission emerged as the commission continues its probe to determine whether the federal government’s decision to invoke the act to clear Ottawa of protesters opposed to pandemic measures protests was justified.
Earlier this week, the commission heard that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) didn’t believe the self-styled Freedom Convoy constituted a threat to national security, according to the definition in its enabling law.
To deploy the Emergencies Act, cabinet must have reasonable grounds to believe a public order emergency exists — which the Act defines as one that “arises from threats to the security of Canada that are so serious as to be a national emergency.”
CONTINUE > https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jody-thomas-emergencies-act-1.6655219
