Commissioner for Emergencies Act inquiry ‘thoughtful’ and ‘decisive’: colleagues

The newly appointed inquiry commissioner set to probe the government's use of the Emergencies Act is described by colleagues as thoughtful and decisive in his approach to the law.

Justice Paul Rouleau has served as an Ontario Appeal Court judge since 2005, and before then was appointed as a justice of the Superior Court of Ontario in 2002.

Ronald Caza, who worked with Rouleau when he was president of the Association of French-speaking Jurists of Ontario, says Rouleau is very highly respected in the francophone community for leading precedent-setting cases on linguistic rights in schools.

Holly Rasky, government relations director at Kids Help Phone, says she worked at a law firm with Rouleau and was impressed by his ability to take a complicated case and distil it down to its most basic parts to reach a decision.

Raj Anand, chair of the Law Commission of Ontario's board of governors, which Rouleau serves on, says Rouleau is practical, thoughtful and very interested in advancing the law.

Rouleau must provide a final report on his inquiry into the Emergencies Act in English and French to the federal government by Feb. 20, 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2022.