Premier Dalton McGuinty stared down critics in his own Liberal caucus over his government’s actions during the recent G20 summit in Toronto by invoking the spectre of both Pierre Trudeau and Richard Nixon.

In a closed-door meeting with MPPs on Wednesday, McGuinty deflected questions from members unhappy at the heavy-handedness of police in dealing with protesters—and the government’s complicity in failing to correct the mistaken impression officers had been given more powers.

“He told us, ‘Just remember, the same guy who gave us the Charter also gave us the War Measures Act,’” said one startled MPP, noting the premier also refuted calls from several members to strike a public inquiry into the G20 debacle.

McGuinty’s contrasting of Trudeau’s 1982 entrenchment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution to the former prime minister’s use of the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis in Quebec was “bizarre,” said another member.

“Then things got even weirder—he said: ‘Don’t forget about the silent majority.’”

That was an apparent reference to former U.S. president Nixon’s 1969 appeal to the “great silent majority” of middle-class voters who did not take to the streets to protest American involvement in Vietnam.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” said one MPP, noting Trudeau is as beloved in Liberal circles as Nixon is reviled.

“It was really disconcerting,” the MPP added.

“I was surprised he would go down that road,” agreed a veteran Liberal.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, McGuinty shrugged off calls for a provincial inquiry.

“First of all, it’s a federal responsibility,” he said at Queen’s Park.

“Our police—given the circumstances and the challenges that were before them—conducted themselves remarkably well,” the premier said before separate meetings of his caucus and his cabinet.

“Unfortunately there were a few (protesters)—small in number—who were there to create mischief, to cause chaos and to damage,” he said, adding he doesn’t want to “second-guess” the police for arresting hundreds of people with apparently little cause.

“There were some troublemakers, some thugs and some criminals, who deliberately exploited a peaceful protest for their own unlawful means.”

McGuinty did concede his government may have erred after secretly agreeing on June 2 to a regulatory change that gave police clearer authority within the fortified security zone where the summit was held.

After the Star broke news on June 25 of the temporary change, which designated some areas within the security zone as a “public work” under the 1939 Public Works Protection Act, the government did not immediately correct the impression that police had been given the power to arrest people who refused to provide identification or submit to a search within five metres of the zone’s outer perimeter.

Toronto police chief Bill Blair and various government officials allowed the public to believe officers had that authority until days after the summit of world leaders was over.

“There was some confusion obviously surrounding five metres. There was no five-metre rule. It was constantly published in print and republished on TV and radio and there was no foundation in fact for that,” said McGuinty.

“And we should have acted on that sooner to make it clear,” he said.

“What we did say is, ‘If you want to come on the other side of this fence, if you want to come nearer to the G20 leaders … then we’re going to have a new rule in place that we think is very important and in keeping with the standards and values of Ontarians.’”

Still, the premier insisted he would not “second-guess” the police.

“Our police—given the circumstances and the challenges that were before them—conducted themselves remarkably well,” he said.

Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill) said while no public inquiry is needed, McGuinty still needs to come clean on why regulatory changes were made without any consultation.

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NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) blasted the premier for “the whole obfuscation process” that she felt enabled police to arrest protesters who might otherwise have been left alone.

“The subject of a public inquiry, of course, should be Mr. McGuinty and his outrageous actions. He circumvented all regular procedures and rules of democracy,” said DiNovo.

“He convened a secret cabinet meeting, extending police powers. I think everyone in Ontario who’s concerned about civil liberties should be concerned that no one in opposition knew about it, not even Liberal backbenchers knew about it.”

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