OTTAWA — For the first time in Canadian history, the federal government is enacting the Emergencies Act to deal with the ongoing trucker convoy protests and blockades.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the major announcement on Monday alongside several key ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair.
The invocation of the act will be a “measured” application that is “proportional” to the crisis, sources have told CTV News. The coming unprecedented powers will be time-limited, focused in terms of geography to specific places of concern, and will be rolled out to prop up outstanding authorities who still have a responsibility to act and enforce the law, the sources said
Moving ahead with the Emergencies Act comes after Trudeau consulted premiers and the Liberal caucus on Monday morning and spent part of his weekend in high-level federal meetings about next steps.
Provincial leaders’ opinions are mixed on whether this extraordinary move is necessary to quell the demonstrations that are now stretching into their third week in the nation’s capital and impactingxjmtzyw key Canada-U.S. border crossings.
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These discussions focused on hearing feedback from elected officials about pushing forward new measures to support the provinces, municipalities, and police forces currently facing continued demonstrations, according to sources. Consulting premiers of impacted provinces was a key first step in enacting the never-before-used federal authorities.
It remains unclear how extensive the new powers being sought will be, but they could see federal authorities take over jurisdictional control of certain areas, prohibiting public assembly, and imposing new fines and jail time for those breaking the law.
Sources have told CTV News government is not planning to call in the military—a move that has rarely been taken in the history of civilian demonstrations in this country—and if pursued, would happen separately through the National Defence Act.
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Blair first signalled that this move was coming on Sunday, telling CTV News that the government was prepared to step in once the ongoing anti-mandate and increasingly anti-government protests exceeded what the provinces could handle, calling the situation a “significant national security threat.”
While the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont. has reopened, other border blockades persist including in Coutts, Alta. and Emerson, Man. For the third week, downtown Ottawa remains occupied with emboldened participants undeterred by the threats of “severe” consequences in the face of minimal police enforcement of the layers of laws, injunctions, and emergency orders already in effect.
On Monday, as these high-stakes considerations were being made, there has been movement of trucks throughout the downtown core, but acts of defiance and desecration persist, with crowds blaring loud freedom-themed music and declaring the police-coined “red zone” that Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has said the city has lost control of, their “home.”
Some protesters CTV News has spoken to throughout the demonstrations in Ottawa have compared their permit-less and prolonged disruption to a wintertime Canada Day, and have expressed a willingness to stand their ground at all costs until all COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions are ended. News of the Emergencies Act being in play has not appeared to prompt any new concern.
Convoy organizer Tamara Lich is urging protesters and truckers to stand their ground.
“There are no threats that will frighten us. We will hold the line,” Lich said Monday at a press conference. “To our truckers and friends on Parliament Hill, do not give into fear and threats. Your courage has already exceeded all of our expectations and inspired an international movement. Be strong, show kindness. Love will always defeat hate. Hold the line.”
REACTION FROM PREMIERS, LEADERS
On Monday morning, ahead of the premiers’ meeting, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that he was supportive of the federal government doing anything it could “to bring law and order back to our province.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province on Friday, invoking new emergency measures to levy stiffer fines and penalties on protesters, including a maximum penalty of $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment for non-compliance. “These occupiers, they’re doing the total opposite of what they say they’re there to do,” Ford said.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, however, is opposed to using the Act, saying the province has what it needs to address the Coutts, Alta. blockade that has been in place nearly as long as the Ottawa protesters. Joining him in opposition to this move are the premiers of Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“The view I have, which I conveyed to the prime minister… is that this is not necessary, at least for an Alberta context,” Kenney said, adding that he thinks Trudeau doing this will further inflame and potentially prolong the protests.
Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen echoed this concern in question period.
“Does the prime minister think that these protests constitute a threat to the security of Canada? And if not, does he think that with this news, he could be escalating rather than de-escalating an already inflamed situation?” Bergen said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also characterized enacting federal emergency measures as a failure of leadership, but said he supports enacting the exceptional authorities.
“The reason why we got to this point is because the prime minister let the siege of Ottawa go on for weeks and weeks without actually doing anything about it. [He] allowed the convoy to shut down borders without responding appropriately, and in doing so, has allowed the convoy to dig in, to get entrenched, to allow them to spread across the country,” Singh said.
WHAT IS THE EMERGENCIES ACT?
The Act allows for actions to combat urgent and critical situations that seriously threaten some aspect of Canadians’ lives, and that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada.
Under the Act, if a public order of emergency is declared, the federal government can regulate or prohibit: public assembly expected to lead to a breach of the peace; travel to, from, or within any specified area; and the use of specified property.
While the powers do not allow the federal government to direct any other level of government or police force, they could facilitate co-ordination and RCMP could become the lead authority within a jurisdiction.
The government could also designate “protected places,” assume control of public utilities and services, and direct any person or class of people who are capable of doing so to render essential services. Ultimately, breaking such orders can result in fines of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.
Formerly known as the War Measures Act, the current iteration of the Emergencies Act passed in 1988 and has never been used. The last time these federal emergency powers were invoked under the then-War Measures Act was during the 1970 FLQ October Crisis, when Trudeau’s father was the prime minister and was facing down domestic terrorists.
The government will have to outline in a declaration shared with Parliament why it feels the powers are needed given the circumstances on the ground, and what exact powers it wants to enact.
Once a declaration of a public order emergency is issued, it is considered in effect, and unless the declaration is revoked or extended, it will expire after 30 days.
Within 60 days of the declaration of emergency being expired or revoked, the government will have to convene an inquiry to study the use of the powers. The report stemming from this work will have to then be presented to Parliament within 360 days.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves a media availability about the ongoing protests in Ottawa and blockades at various Canada-U.S. borders, in West Block on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
People gather for an anti-mandate protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, February 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
