A lawyer representing the Public Order Emergency Commission collapsed while questioning Ontario’s deputy attorney general, the second witness of the day. Emergency personnel were called to the Library and Archives Canada building in downtown Ottawa and operations were halted. lawyers and spectators were removed from the hearing room. Gabriel Poliquin was in the early stages of examining Mario Di Tommaso when he collapsed to the floor. His condition is unclear. Poliquin is part of a team of lawyers working for the commission, which is tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the Liberal government’s decision to invoke the Emergency Act for the first time in Canadian history on Feb. 14. The committee will change witnesses when the proceedings continue. Ian Freeman of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation will testify, with Di Tommaso continuing his testimony tomorrow. The public hearings, which began Oct. 13 and are set to run through Nov. 25, focused this week on testimony about border blockades in Windsor, Ont. and in Coutts, Alta. Earlier Wednesday, Coutts’ mayor said the RCMP appeared to have been caught up in a protest blockade of the US-Canada border crossing last winter, even though he had warned the provincial government it could happen. Jim Willett sent an email to then-premier Jason Kenney and the province’s attorney general on Jan. 27 to warn of the potential foreclosure and was assured the RCMP had been notified. He said he was concerned about maintaining vital highway access in the small border town of 245 people and also warned the protest could lead to an international incident. On 29 January a large convoy of trucks gathered at the border, with some driving into medians and ditches and blocking the road. The mayor said the RCMP did not establish a large police presence until three days later.
