With the federal Emergencies Act now invoked, federal ministers say “the work begins now” to implement it, with a desire to not have another weekend of protests in the nation’s capital.
“We now have the tools to do what needs to be done,” Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told reporters Tuesday following a cabinet meeting. “That work begins now, and we have to continue with that work until we get the job done.”
Not long after, addressing the latest steps—including publishing the declaration of the public order emergency to end the trucker protests and blockades—Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino indicated they’d like to see the occupation ended this week.
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“No one wants to see another weekend like the last three on Wellington Street. And I’m assured by my discussions with the xjmtzywpolice that they fully appreciate that, and we now depend on them to do the job,” he said during a press conference, nothing that the RCMP and the OPP are assuming command and control over the enforcement operations in Ottawa.
The federal government declared the public order emergency on Monday out of concern for the demonstrations being carried out alongside threats or acts of “serious violence against persons or property… for the purpose of achieving a political or ideological objective,” as well as a host of other reasons, according to the declaration tabled on Tuesday.
“There is a state of emergency throughout the country justifying extraordinary measures on a temporary basis,” reads the document.
Among other reasons given by the government for enacting the Emergencies Act:
- The risk to Canada’s COVID-19 economic recovery and ongoing economic security;
- The adverse effects to Canada’s relationship with its trading partners, particularly the United States;
- The availability of essential goods and implications of supply chain disruptions due to continued border blockages; and
- The potential for an increase in the level of “unrest and violence,” threatening the safety and security of Canadians.
These additional details on the rationale and scope of the powers were issued in a proclamation published through Order in Council, on Mendicino’s recommendation.
The document states that the public order emergency “exists throughout Canada,” but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that the powers will be geographically limited to the regions that need them.
The document also offers a limited amount of additional detail as to which “special temporary measures” can be enacted, specifically:
- Enabling the RCMP to have the jurisdiction to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial offenses;
- Prohibiting taking part in a public assembly where it’s considered a breach of peace and goes beyond lawful protest, including limiting the travel to, from, or within a specified area;
- Regulating or prohibiting the use of certain property, including goods used to support the blockades;
- Designating secure and protected places and infrastructure that are critical to the economy such as border crossings and airports;
- Compelling those capable to render essential services to relive the blockades with reasonable compensation, including “services related to removal, towing and storage of any vehicle, equipment, structure or other object that is part of a blockade anywhere in Canada”;
- Authorizing financial institutions to essentially stop the financing efforts, including moving to freeze or suspend protest-affiliated accounts or assets and requiring crowdfunding platforms to report certain transactions; and
- Imposing fines of up to $5,000 or imprisonment of up to five years on those who breach any of the above orders.
It also leaves open the nondescript and potentially wide-spanning potential for the government to enact “other temporary measures… that are not yet known.”
‘QUICKLY OPERATIONALIZE’
Mendicino said Tuesday that the declaration will “enable the government to quickly operationalize and bring to life the words which appear in that declaration.”
Once a declaration of a public order emergency is issued, as it was on Monday, it is considered in effect, and unless the declaration is revoked or extended, it will expire after 30 days.
The government still has to table a motion in both the House and Senate to allow the two parliamentary bodies to confirm it, which Government House Leader Mark Holland said Tuesday morning is coming “imminently.” Both the House and the Senate have the power to revoke the declaration at any time prior to its expiration, as does the government.
While the Coutts, Alta. border blockade appears resolved after the RCMP seized a cache of weapons on Monday and arrests have been made elsewhere, the news of the new powers has not deterred protesters in Ottawa, where the local police chief resigned on Tuesday.
This major development follows the federal government stepping in, in part to ensure what Mendicino has called a “lawless” situation lead by a “small organization with a very extreme ideology” in the nation’s capital is resolved.
“There’s an important job yet to be done to restore order and provide effective policing services to the people of Ottawa,” Blair said.
With trucks now condensed more within the parliamentary precinct, participants remain largely dug-in and adamant they’ll hold their ground until the government capitulates and revokes all COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, a step federal authorities have dismissed.
Asked Tuesday whether the government is anticipating having to use force to remove the protesters who remain intransigent in the face of multiple layers of injunctions and emergency orders, Mendicino said, “we certainly hope not.”
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair stand behind Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces the Emergencies Act will be invoked to deal with protests, Monday, February 14, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
