Again I’ll note that to say this is a police matter, when I asked what the Premier was thinking when he said what he said, is not exactly being open and straightforward.

If the Premier keeps hiding from the inquiry, we’ll ask just two of the many questions the commission has for him—we’ll ask him right here and save him the bother and expense of having to go all the way to Ottawa. He can answer them here.

First, why did the government wait two weeks to invoke provincial emergency powers? That’s not a police question. And why did the Premier decline to participate in at least two of three tripartite meetings between the city of Ottawa and the federal government?

To the Premier: The Public Order Emergency Commission’s lawyers have been very clear that if the Premier and Minister Jones don’t testify, there will be “important gaps” in its record. For an instant last week, it seemed like just maybe the government recognized the value of testifying, only declining the commission’s invitation “for a moment.”

According to the Premier, the buck stops with him, but apparently not when he will be forced to answer hard questions about the impact of his decisions. What changed the Premier’s mind between last week and this Monday?

On October 17, the Premier told reporters that he had not been asked to appear before the commission in Ottawa, but lawyers for the commission revealed that both the Premier and Minister Jones had been asked multiple times to appear voluntarily, with government lawyers being told as early as October 11 that there was the possibility of a summons.

So this government knew that the Premier and Minister Jones might be compelled to testify before the Premier said he had never been asked by the commission to appear—very curious, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Premier explain why he said he wasn’t asked?