Parliamentary Committee Notes: Overview Note

Appearance Before the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency (DEDC)

Invocation of the Emergencies Act

General Information

You and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada have been invited by DEDC to discuss the invocation of the Emergencies Act, and more specifically the motion agreed by the Committee on February 13, 2024.

Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Duration: Three hours
Location: TBC

You will both appear from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (90 minutes). Officials from the Privy Council Office and from the Translation Bureau will appear for the first 90 minutes.

The following Public Safety Portfolio officials will appear:

Department of Justice officials supporting Minister Virani who will appear:

Opening Remarks

At the beginning of the meeting, the Chair will invite You and Minister Virani to deliver opening remarks. Approximately 5 minutes each in length, these will be followed by questions from committee members.

Rounds of Questions

February 23, 2024 DEDC Motion

That,

  1. (a) in relation to the Federal Court judgment,
    1. (i) the Committee invite the following witnesses to appear, for at least 90 minutes:
      1. (A) the Honourable Arif Virani, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada,
      2. (B) the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety
    2. (ii) the committee request all legal opinions which the government relied upon in determining that
      1. (A) the threshold of “threats to security of Canada”, as defined by section 2 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, required by section 16 of the Emergencies Act, had been met,
      2. (B) the thresholds required by paragraphs 3(a) or (b) of the Emergencies Act, concerning a “national emergency” had been met,
      3. (C) the situation could not “be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada”, as required by section 3 of the Emergencies Act,
      4. (D) the Emergency Measures Regulations were compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the analysis relied upon by the Minister of Justice in discharging his responsibilities under section 4.1 of the Department of Justice Act, and
      5. (E) the Emergency Economic Measures Order was compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the analysis relied upon by the Minister of Justice in discharging his responsibilities under section 4.1 of the Department of Justice Act,provided that these documents shall be deposited with the Joint Clerks, without redaction and in both official languages, within ten days of the adoption of this request;
  2. (b) in relation to the translation of Commission evidence,
    1. (i) the Committee invite the following witnesses to appear, for at least 90 minutes:
      1. (A) senior officials from the Privy Council Office, and
      2. (B) officials from the translation bureau
    2. (ii) members of the Committee shall, within 5 days of the appearance of the Privy Council Office, identify their preliminary lists of unilingual Commission evidence or submissions for priority translation to the Joint Clerks who, in turn, shall relay those requests to the Privy Council Office;
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