‘Not Over’: Citing Continuing ‘Concerns’ Trudeau Opts to Keep Far-Reaching Emergencies Act Powers For Now

Kipp JonesFeb 21st, 2022, 4:58 pm
 

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for powers granted to him by the Emergencies Act to be retained Monday, despite the fact that protests have been broken up, and in spite of widespread criticism.

The Emergencies Act was invoked last week after truckers from the “Freedom Convoy” had snarled traffic in Ottawa and occupied a number of economically strategic bridges between Canada and the U.S.

The controversial invocation of the act was immediately derided by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association:

More than 100 people were arrested over weekend, and numerous trucks were removed from the streets of Canada’s capital city — essentially ending the weeks-long protest against Covid mandates.

While the protests have effectively come to an end, Trudeau said on Monday he was not ready to relinquish powers afforded to him by the act — at least not yet.

“This state of emergency is not over,” Trudeau said. “There continues to be real concerns about the coming days. But we will continue to evaluate every single day whether or not it is time.

“We will re-evaluate every single day, but right now, when the situation is still of people prepositioning, people being out there indicating that they are ready to blockade, to continue their illegal occupations, to disrupt Canadians’ lives, we feel that this measure needs to remain in place,” Trudeau added. “We hope to only keep it in place for a number more days.”

Members of Parliament will vote Monday evening on whether to allow the continued use of the act.

The editorial board for the Toronto Star initially criticized Trudeau’s invocation of the obscure act, equating its use on protests as a “shocking admission of failure by governments at all levels.

“Perhaps the hope is that this dramatic move will stiffen the spine of police and finally make them enforce the law,” the board wrote. “The Trudeau government should certainly hope so, because it now truly owns this crisis.”

Police in Ottawa have of course threatened the truckers with everything from arrest to financial penalties:

On Monday, a number of MPs slammed Trudeau for using federal powers to go after truck drivers and those who have aligned themselves with them.

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One elected official compared Trudeau’s use of federal powers to the actions of late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

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