Ford's claim of parliamentary privilege slammed as 'baloney' amid fight against Emergency Act summons
CBC
Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended his decision against testifying at the public inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act in the provincial legislature Tuesday, saying the inquiry is not a provincial issue.
Opposition members grilled Ford repeatedly in question period about his refusal to testify — their first chance to do so, after he did not show up on Monday.
"This is a federal inquiry into the federal government's decision to use the federal Emergencies Act," Ford said in response to a question from New Democrat leadership hopeful Marit Stiles. "For Ontario, this was a policing matter, it was not a political matter."
Ford's comments came as he fights a summons to testify at the inquiry, which is examining the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to end the so-called Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa and Windsor, Ont., last winter.
The Public Order Emergency Commission summoned Ford and then-solicitor general Sylvia Jones on Monday to testify.
Lawyers for Ford and Jones filed an application for judicial review in Federal Court Tuesday that seeks to quash the summons, citing parliamentary privilege.
In its application, Ford's lawyers argue the summons breaches that privilege by attempting to compel Ford and Jones to testify. Ford said the province has provided two top bureaucrats to participate in the inquiry and has provided 800 p ages of cabinet documents about the issue.
The premier answered only one question in the legislature before deferring numerous follow-ups to one of his top ministers, Government House Leader Paul Calandra. Calandra answered Stiles's second question about Ford's refusal to testify, repeating much of what Ford said — which echoed what he said himself the day before when the premier did not attend question period.
"Parliamentary privilege? That's baloney and everybody in this room knows it," Stiles said. "He failed Ontarians."
The commission wants Ford and Jones to testify on Nov. 10, court documents show. Provincial lawyers have sought to have its application heard on Nov. 1.
Last week, Ford told reporters he was not asked to testify at the inquiry.
The commission has sought to interview Ford dating back to mid-September. The requests were repeatedly declined by provincial lawyers, emails filed as part of the province's case show.
Outside the legislature Tuesday, opposition members kept up the pressure on Ford.
"Not showing up and not giving your reasons or explanations or being accountable for your decisions, or the decisions that you didn't make, is not what we expect from leaders or any member of this legislature," interim Liberal Leader John Fraser told reporters.
B.C. Premier David Eby says his government will be amending the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) to scale back the power courts have in shaping reconciliation efforts in the province.
China has lifted its years-long ban on Canadian beef exports — a move industry officials hope will contribute to the sector’s growth and support future market diversification.
A federal minister defended on Tuesday his decision to cut the amount of money that Ottawa will give Toronto under a national housing fund, saying council failed to fulfill a pledge to increase city density.
Warning: This story contains language that some may find offensive.
As Alberta doctors raise red flags about seeing what they say are delays in emergency room care, the province’s hospitals minister says he doesn’t think cases that the doctors have recently highlighted reflect the health system broadly.
Toronto is under a yellow snowfall warning with 10 centimetres of snow expected to affect the morning and evening commute on Wednesday.
Members of Nunavut's Legislative Assembly raised Greenland's flag Tuesday in solidarity with the Inuit-majority island pushing back against annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Conservative Party of Canada has confirmed that Pierre Poilievre will not run in the Battle River-Crowfoot riding in the next federal election.
Officials in Kashechewan First Nation have confirmed 19 people from the community have tested positive for a parasite called cryptosporidium.
RCMP in Hay River say they've arrested two men after they seized prohibited weapons from an abandoned vehicle near the community last Friday.
A Calgary mother has been reunited with her son after police arrested the boy’s father in Mauritius, more than two years after he’s accused of abducting the then-five-year-old.
The Canadian tourist who was found dead on a beach in Australia Monday morning has been identified as 19-year-old Piper James from Campbell River, B.C.
Now more than a decade in the making, the City of London's plan to fix the traffic bottleneck at Wharncliffe Road South and Horton Street East is in a holding pattern, with outstanding budget issues that need to be addressed before construction can start.