After nearly 10 months, a federal inquiry has found Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell the 2022 Freedom Convoy as legal.

The Details: The Public Order Emergency Commission, headed by Justice Paul Rouleau, held 31 days of hearings in Ottawa where 77 witnesses spoke. Rouleau, who was appointed by Trudeau, called the Prime Minister’s actions “drastic” but not “dictatorial”, and believes the necessary circumstances to invoke the act were created by a lack of synergy between government branches and law enforcement. Rouleau said he did not arrive at the conclusion easily, and that “reasonable and informed people could reach a different conclusion”.

For Context: By law, the Canadian Federal Government reserves the right to take “extraordinary temporary measures” in times of emergency. The measures employed by Trudeau notably included selectively freezing bank accounts of protestors and banning public demonstrations.

Key Quotes: “We didn’t want to do it, but we had gotten to a place where there was no other choice to keep Canadians safe,” said Trudeau. Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative party said, “The only reason that we had this emergency is because... Justin Trudeau created (it), by attacking his own population.”

How The Media Covered It: The Freedom Convoy and Emergencies Act continue to be polarizing topics. New York Times says the protests “attracted right-wing separatists and extremists from Western Canada”. Breitbart News says Trudeau’s claims that the protests were the work of white supremacist extremists are false.