Public Safety Minister ‘Misunderstood’ in Saying Emergencies Act Invoked on Advice of Law Enforcement: Deputy Minister

Public Safety Minister ‘Misunderstood’ in Saying Emergencies Act Invoked on Advice of Law Enforcement: Deputy Minister
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino at a press conference in Ottawa on May 30, 2022, to announce new gun control legislation. Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press
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Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has repeatedly said that invoking the Emergencies Act in February was done based on the advice of law enforcement, but according to a senior public safety official, he has been “misunderstood” in saying that the act was requested specifically.

“I believe that the intention that he was trying to express was that law enforcement asked for the tools that were contained in the Emergencies Act,” said deputy minister Rob Stewart on June 7 in relation to Mendicino’s previous comments.