Canada invokes unprecedented emergency measures — and triggers a political firestorm | Politico - Zi-Ann Lum:
February 14, 2022 - "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has just taken the biggest risk of his political life. He’s gone all in, deciding to invoke the Emergencies Act — the first such use in Canada’s history — to put an end to the paralyzing truckers’ convoy. It’s a big bet for a third-term prime minister already facing criticism for politicizing the pandemic.... Invoking the Emergencies Act is a measure of last resort. It gives the federal government enormous powers to quell the disturbances, shut down crowdfunding and freeze the bank accounts of anyone assessed to be aiding the demonstrators.
"Trudeau sounded a measure of both willfulness and desperation in a somber late afternoon press conference with Cabinet members. He made clear his conviction that the protests were no longer 'non-violent,' but also assured listeners that his government didn’t intend to use military force to put an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation that is now entering its third week on Parliament Hill and encampments around the city.... He said the act doesn’t mean fundamental rights are suspended nor are Charter rights overridden. 'We are not limiting people’s freedom of speech,” he continued. “We are not limiting freedom of peaceful assembly. We are not preventing people from exercising their right to protest legally'....
"Criticism over the prime minister’s historic announcement came flying from all sides and levels of government.... New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said Trudeau’s decision to invoke the act ... is evidence of a failure of leadership. 'The reason why we got to this point is because the prime minister let the siege in Ottawa go on for weeks and weeks without actually doing anything about it,' Singh told reporters.... Trudeau’s bid to protect democracy in Canada was slapped down by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an overreach. The association said the federal government hasn’t met the necessary threshold to enact emergency legislation, and cautioned against its repeated use. 'It threatens our democracy and our civil liberties,' the CCLA tweeted.
"Premiers, Canada’s provincial governors, are concerned Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Act could further inflame political entrenchment. 'We really need not to put oil on the fire,' said Quebec Premier François Legault ahead of Trudeau’s official announcement. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he respects citizens’ rights to protest.... Kenney called federal mandates, particularly those just being brought in as provinces and other countries are lifting measures, irresponsible public health policy that’s unsuitable 'particularly at a combustible time like this'....
"Trudeau made his historic announcement only an hour after MPs voted narrowly 185-151 against a Conservative motion proposing the government present a plan to lift federal vaccine mandates by the end of the month.... Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen backed the convoy protest from the onset.... 'The prime minister had an opportunity to talk and to listen to people who he disagreed with, and he refused to do so,' Bergen said. Invoking the Emergencies Act is a 'ham-fisted approach' that will likely have the opposite effect, she said, pointing the finger at the PM for escalating and inflaming the situation by using labels to deride people’s concerns and pandemic anxieties....
"Leadership hopeful Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre is another member of Bergen’s team who has been vocal with his support of the convoy. He blamed Trudeau for causing a political emergency. 'The solution is staring him in the face,' Poilievre said. 'All he has to do is listen to the experts, do what other countries are doing — and that is to eliminate these mandates and restrictions — to let the protesters including the truckers go back to their jobs and their lives'.... Conservatives’ and protesters’ demands to lift all Covid-19 mandates comes at a time where restrictions are easing across Canada, a country considered one of the most highly vaccinated in the world....
"'There will be time later to reflect on all the lessons that can be learned from this situation,' Trudeau told reporters Monday afternoon.... Under law, a public inquiry must be launched within 60 days of the expiration or revocation of the act investigating the circumstances that led up to its declaration. The inquiry also has a reporting obligation: It must produce a report to be tabled in Parliament within 360 days after the act has expired or revoked — making the issue one the Liberal government will have to revisit next year."
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/14/canada-emergency-measures-political-firestorm-00008896
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