Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked his country’s Emergencies Act in his government’s ongoing battle against widespread protests by truckers.
The Emergencies Act was passed in 1988 and is invoked when there is a national emergency in response to an urgent and critical situation that cannot be dealt with by any existing law, is beyond the capability of a province to deal with it, or threatens the sovereignty of Canada.
This is the first time that the measure has been used.
According to the BBC, the premiers of Canada’s provinces were split, with the heads of Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan saying that the measure was unnecessary. The leader of Quebec, Francois Legault, said that invoking the Emergencies Act would be throwing ‘oil on the fire’.
The decision comes in the wake of widespread protests by truckers against various policies passed by the Canadian government which many people see as unacceptable restrictions on their freedoms. The protests were originally against requirements for truckers to be vaccinated to cross the Canadian-American border, or be forced to quarantine, but the protests have evolved into broader opposition to Covid restrictions, with blockades by trucks on major routes and in major Canadian cities.
Canadian government officials said on Monday that the Emergencies Act would allow them to freeze the bank accounts of anyone suspected of being linked to the protests, without a court order. People linked to the protests could also have their vehicle insurance suspended.
Critics noted that Trudeau had previously spoken out in support of Indian farmers who had blockaded highways to have their demands heard.
The Emergencies Act replaced the War Measures Act, which was a similar piece of legislation. The last time the War Measures Act had been invoked was by Trudeau’s father, Pierre, during the October Crisis in 1970, in reaction to separatist violence in Quebec.
[Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/truck-engine-transportation-vehicle-7000389/]