Two members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet floated the idea of deploying military tanks to quell the Freedom Convoy protests, according to texts revealed during the Public Order Emergency Commission.."You need to get the police to move. And the [Canadian Armed Forces] if necessary," Justice Minister David Lametti told Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.."How many tanks are you asking for. I just want to ask [Defence Minister] Anita how many we've got on hand," Mendicino responded.."I reckon one will do," Lametti said..Lametti was asked by the government of Canada's lawyer if he and Mendicino were serious about deploying tanks. "No, this exchange is meant to be a joke between two friends," Lametti responded..Lametti added that deploying the Canadian Armed Forces is always the "very last resort," to be done even after the Emergencies Act is deployed.."As we moved along, the CAF was not an option," he said..It was not clear how serious the two men were about deploying the Canadian military to deal with the trucker convoy. Lametti previously described his texts with Mendicino has "banter" with a colleague and friend.."There will be occasional attempts at bad humour," Lametti said..Text messages also revealed Lametti had harsh words for former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly, who has been blamed for failing to adequately plan for the Freedom Convoy's arrival in the city..On February 4, Mendicino said Ottawa police had "all the legal authority they need," but they just needed to "enforce the law."."I was stunned by the lack of a multilayered plan," Lametti responded. "Sloly is incompetent." .Lametti told the commission he was "frustrated" when he sent those texts. "This is a complete product of the heat of the moment. It is frank. I think I would soften it now," he said about Sloly..During the trucker protest, Lametti had to stay at a different address in Ottawa — and eventually leave the city altogether — because he felt "unsafe."."I felt personally threatened when you walked through the convoy and saw some of the violent images, like of the prime minister hanging from a rope," he said..Lametti said the Canadians who gathered in Ottawa in early 2022 weren't protestors, because "it wasn't a legitimate protest." Lametti instead called them "the occupiers.".Text messages also revealed that Lametti was talking about the potential use of the Emergencies Act as far back as January 30. "What normative authority do we have or is some order needed? EA?" Lametti asked his chief of staff.."I was being prudent," Lametti explained to the commission. "I had been through the pandemic with my cabinet colleagues, and it is no secret we did discuss the Emergencies Act in the context of the pandemic."."It was about preparing for the possibility, not about the introduction of the act, but about doing our due diligence.".During the commission, Lametti defended the federal government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the Freedom Convoy. But due to solicitor-client privilege, he refused to expand on the legal opinion they received.."I wanted to put on the record the Government of Canada continues to assert and maintain all of its claims of solicitor-client privilege in respect of all legal advice and opinions," federal government lawyer Andrea Gonsalves said prior to Lametti's testimony.."We will be objecting to, and Minister Lametti will be refusing to answer, all questions that would delve into areas of solicitor-client privilege."
