What to expect when Trudeau testifies on the Emergencies Act on Friday

The culmination of the testimony to date comes as the prime minister, who ultimately announced the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, will answer for his decision on Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to close out the Public Order Emergencies Commission hearings on Friday, when he’ll testify about his decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to clear out the “Freedom Convoy” protests earlier this year.

The hearings have been underway for weeks and have heard from dozens of witnesses as part of its duty to analyze Trudeau’s justification for invoking the controversial legislation earlier this year.

Over the course of the inquiry, the commission has heard from law enforcement, residents of the city of Ottawa, organizers of the “Freedom Convoy” protest, intelligence officials and numerous politicians. The inquiry has grown heated at times — a spectator and a lawyer were both, in separate instances, booted from the room.

The culmination of the testimony to date comes as the prime minister, who announced the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, will face questions about his decision on Friday.

Here’s what you can expect.

A significant moment in the inquiry to date came when the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) David Vigneault testified that he had advised Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act.

The lawyer representing the convoy organizers, Brendan Miller, had spent almost every day until that moment asking about whether the convoy met the CSIS Act’s definition of a threat to national security, which is the definition used in the Emergencies Act.

Vigneault confirmed during his testimony that the convoy did not meet the CSIS Act threshold — but that he nonetheless advised Trudeau to invoke the act.