Under federal legislation called the Emergencies Act (the one-time War Measurers Act, renamed by a Conservative government) the Government of Canada can invoke special powers and then must must conduct a review of how those powers were used..‘Whereas, under subsection 63(1) of the Emergencies Act, the Governor in Council shall, within 60 days after the expiration or revocation of a declaration of emergency, cause an inquiry to be held into the circumstances that led to the declaration being issued and the measures taken for dealing with the emergency;’.This is Strike One. Any Inquiry based on this legislation is just the Government of Canada examining itself. The Governor-in-Council is the Cabinet. It appoints the Commissioner. It determines the terms of reference. And of course, it is holding no one person or organization to account..The terms of reference includes:.A) perform their duties without expressing any conclusion or recommendation regarding the civil or criminal liability of any person or organization,.One could say that was flawed..Here's Strike Two. Many in Canada saw that something more was needed, some independent, non-governmental approach..For example, in May 2022 I recommended as part of my Magna Carta for Canada: "An Independent Public National Inquiry to Examine whether Government, (Federal, Provincial and Territorial) mandates and lockdowns were necessary and constitutional. People in Government and their agencies who are found guilty of breaking the law after due process MUST be brought to Justice. Such an Inquiry CANNOT be led by any of the Governments of Canada who are the major subjects of the Inquiry. Instead, a Citizens Group MUST be formed for that purpose. And these Governments and their agencies MUST open their books and release to the inquiry and the public all necessary relevant information concerning their actions during the pandemic.’.Other persons and groups were calling for similar action. As a result a National Citizens Inquiry organization was formed. On its website today it says, referring to its formation during the June to October 2022 period:"Over the past few months, hundreds of Canadians from coast-to-coast began focusing their efforts in the development of a collaborative, transparent and truly independent national inquiry. Their efforts led to the National Citizens’ Inquiry, a completely citizen-led and citizen-funded initiative through Citizens Inquiry Canada, a newly created not-for-profit organization.’.Note the words 'truly independent.' Sadly in its formation and launching, a curious thing happened. The Inquiry lost its 'independence,' one of the primary reasons for such an inquiry. The spokesman for the new organization, and one of the three directors of the new non-profit establishing the National Citizens Inquiry, the Honourable Preston Manning, suddenly ignored one of the Inquiry’s main goals of independence and signed a deal with a Provincial Government to lead, with renumeration, a Covid Provincial Inquiry (called a review) at the same time he was a key player in the citizens funded Independent National Citizens Inquiry..Independent National Citizens Inquiry, citizens funded and an Inquiry funded and led by the provincial government, simultaneously. Independence lost, conflict of interest on full display..Again, one could say flawed!.Strike Three: The Alberta ‘Inquiry ‘ that the Honourable Mr. Manning is also leading is a Government ‘inquiry’ — the very thing the organizers of the original national inquiry were trying avoid. It does not have Legislative or Citizen sanction per se.. peckford .The Premier of Alberta in announcing the 'expert-panel,' as it is called , said: ‘With this feedback in mind, the panel will review relevant legislation to ascertain whether there are amendments that can assist the government to improve their response to a future public health crisis.’ Note the word 'Inquiry' is not used anywhere in the announcement. And the Honourable Mr. Manning , a paid employee , said as part of the Government statement: “It’s crucial that we take the opportunity to review the province’s COVID-19 response and examine whether and how that approach can be improved in future health emergencies. I look forward to working with my fellow panelists and hearing from Albertans about how the province can best achieve this objective.”.So government-led, a conflict in that the lead person of the review is already a part of an alleged national citizens independent inquiry, and additionally there is no accountability in that there is no reference to holding anyone or agency of the provincial government to account for their covid actions..Flawed, flawed, flawed. Canada’s attempts to objectively and independently address what many consider the non-scientific, unconstitutional mandates and lockdowns have failed..People have died, been injured, lost their jobs lost and their families disrupted and destroyed. The taxpayers' money has been abused with individual rights and freedom callously cast aside. And yet we find that our nation has failed to honestly account for the validity of the government mandates and lockdown actions of the past almost three years..The Hon. A. Brian Peckford PC, is a former Premier of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador (1979-1989) and the last living signatory to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He is presently conducting a legal challenge to the federal government's travel mandate.
