Trudeau invokes Emergencies Act in attempt to end blockades

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act in an effort to quell ongoing anti-government and anti-COVID-19 mandate protests in the nation’s capital and across Canada.

The never-before-used law grants wide ranging temporary authority to the federal government to intervene in demonstrations that have paralyzed downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks and popped up at border crossings across Canada.

“We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue,” Trudeau said. “This is about keeping Canadians safe, protecting peoples’ jobs, and restoring confidence in our institutions.”

The act allows the government to ban access to or from certain areas, as well as remove people and personal property from those areas. It also gives policing powers the authority to levy hefty fines and prison time.

Trudeau said the powers won’t be flexed across the country but will be geographically targeted.

He said the government is not using the Emergencies Act to call in the military. Instead, he said the government is “reinforcing the principals, values and institutions that keep all Canadians free.”

The new federal powers will be used to prohibit people from illegally gathering and order tow truck companies to remove vehicles clogging city streets, with compensation.

Police will also be given “more tools to restore order,” and the ability to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial offences.

Earlier Monday in the House of Commons, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said: "What this country is facing is a largely foreign−funded, targeted and co−ordinated attack on critical infrastructure and our democratic institutions," in response to a question about using the act.

"The illegal border crossings are clearly intended to harm Canada and hurt Canadians, and our government, Mr. Speaker, is prepared to do what is necessary to restore order and to protect Canadian interests."

Convoy organizer Tamara Lich told a news conference on Monday that protesters would "hold the line" no matter what the prime minister did.

"We are not afraid," she said.

The government has also broadened the scope of national anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules to cover crowd funding platforms and crypto currency.

The government is authorizing Canadian banks to temporarily stop providing financial services to accounts they think are funding illegal blockades and occupations. This covers both personal and corporate accounts. Banks can immediately freeze or suspend accounts without a court order.

Banks will also be required to report suspicious transactions to FINTRAC, the federal agency that deals with money laundering and terrorism financing.

“This is about following the money. … We are today serving notice: If your truck is being used in these illegal blockades, your corporate account will be frozen. The insurance on your vehicle will be suspended,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said. “Send your semi-trailers home. The Canadian economy needs them to be doing legitimate work not to be illegally making us all poorer.”

Some premiers opposed

The law requires the federal government to consult with provincial and territorial leaders, which Trudeau did Monday morning.

However, several provincial leaders pushed back against invoking the act, worrying it will only further inflame an already tense situation and prolong the protests.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Alberta’s Jason Kenney and Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson, Quebec’s Francois Legault, and New Brunswick leader Blaine Higgs have opposed the act’s introduction. They’ve said that it should not extend to their provinces.

Speaking ahead of the announcement Monday, B.C.’s public safety minister and attorney general Mike Farnworth said the province supports the move.

“If the federal government believes that it needs emergency powers to deal with the situation that we are seeing … we are supportive of the measures he feels he needs to deal with the situation out East.”

The Emergencies Act replaced the War Measures Act in 1988 and is more limited in what it can do, including requiring parliamentary oversight. All measures invoked under the Emergencies Act must also comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The War Measures Act was used three times, including in both the First World War and Second World War, and during the FLQ crisis in Quebec in 1970 by then prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

With files from The Canadian Press