Trudeau tells us how he became the 'somebody' who did 'something' about the convoy

In a phone call on February 2 — a few days after the self-styled Freedom Convoy set up in downtown Ottawa — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Anita Vandenbeld, the Liberal MP for Ottawa West–Nepean. As an MP from the affected area, Vandenbeld was relaying what her constituents were experiencing.

They were already looking for someone to do something.

"A lot of constituents are calling me about what the PM is going to do about it, it's hard because I know it's not within your purview," Vandenbeld said, according to a readout of the call that was tabled by the commission's counsel on Friday. "People are frustrated and they just want somebody to do something to get the city back."

Over five hours under oath on Friday, Trudeau told the Public Order Emergency Commission his version of how he became that somebody and, more importantly, why the Emergencies Act became that something.

That somebody needed to do something seems blindingly obvious — which likely explains why a plurality of Canadians continue to support the government's use of the Emergencies Act.

But whether Trudeau was fully justified — in a legal sense — in doing exactly what he did is one of the ultimate questions before the commission. And while Trudeau likely walked away from Friday's testimony feeling good about how he accounted for himself, the final ruling of Justice Paul Rouleau remains an intriguing mystery that might yet deprive the federal government of total exoneration.

According to Trudeau's testimony, the federal government found itself on February 14 with a dangerous and destabilizing situation that was not under control.

Though some will argue the federal government could have somehow done more to help resolve the situation before that point, Vandenbeld wasn't wrong when she said this situation wasn't within the PM's "purview." Never mind who the protest was aimed at (the "F— Trudeau" flags left little mystery about that) — other levels of government, municipal and provincial, had primary responsibility for, and jurisdiction over, the major roadways that were blocked.

And it's fair to say that neither the federal government nor the Emergencies Act would have gotten involved directly if those other levels of government and police services had been able to prevent or resolve the blockades in Ottawa, Windsor and Coutts.

Months later, the commission functions somewhat as an exercise in counterfactual history.

What if, for instance, the federal government had engaged with the protesters? On Friday, Trudeau testified that doing so might have set a bad precedent by signalling that the government would meet with, or even change public policy for, anyone who was willing to blockade and occupy Ottawa's Wellington Street.

What about the suggestion that police in Ottawa were very close to acting on a plan to clear the protest around Parliament Hill when the Emergencies Act was invoked? Trudeau dismissively testified that the federal government had heard such assurances several times before.

What about the fact that the blockades in Windsor and Coutts were cleared before the emergency measures came into force? Trudeau argued the Emergencies Act was still required to ensure the blockades weren't re-established.

Trudeau told the inquiry that the final decision was his and described how he paused before signing off on the official note from the Privy Council Office. He considered, he said, what might happen if he didn't move forward with the Emergencies Act — what if he waited and someone got hurt?