Federal government revokes the Emergencies Act
At a press conference today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Federal government will revoke its declaration of a public-order emergency. “Today, after careful consideration, we’re ready to confirm that the situation is no longer an emergency, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022, as part of an effort to resolve ongoing blockades and protests in several parts of the country. A motion to confirm the declaration of an emergency was adopted by the House of Commons on February 21.
During the whole process, the Prime Minister maintained the use of the Emergencies Act would be time limited, and just ten days after the act was invoked and two days after Cabinet voted in favour of its use, the Emergencies Act has been revoked.
The Prime Minister was joined by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as well as ministers David Lametti (justice), Marco Mendicino (public safety) and Bill Blair (emergency preparedness).
“When we invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday of last week, we had three principles in mind: restoring peace and order in our streets, making sure the measures were proportionate and compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and making sure it was time-limited,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Debate on a similar motion in the Senate was still underway on Wednesday but has now been terminated in light of the prime minister’s announcement.
“Today, after careful consideration, we’re ending the use of the Emergencies Act. Existing laws and local law enforcement authorities can keep people safe, and we’ll continue being there to support provincial and local authorities to protect Canadians,” said Trudeau.
“People were being harassed, small businesses closing, factories were shutting down, trade was halted at our border, here in Ottawa and in other places in the country,” said Trudeau.
The Prime Minister also pointed out, “Here in Ottawa and in other places in the country there was evidence of individuals who wanted to undermine and even harm Canada’s democracy. Their participation was believed to increase the potential for unrest and violence,” added Trudeau.
“We worked closely to support provinces and municipalities to get the situation under control but as the weeks went by it became obvious that provincial and local authorities needed more tools in order to enforce the law and protect Canadians,” said Trudeau. And the Prime Minister said “that’s exactly what the Emergencies Act provided to them.”
Following the press conference, leaders of Taking Back our Freedoms (TBOF.ca), a national organization chaired by former Premier of Newfoundland, Brian Peckford supporting Freedom Convoy 2022, announced that they are applauding the federal government decision to rescind the Emergencies Act, but caution that there is still much more for all levels of government in Canada to do.
“Rescinding the Emergency Order is a good step, but there is still a great deal for governments to do to restore the trust that they have so brazenly abused, not just recently, but for two years,” cautioned George Bears, President of TBOF. “Our objectives remain unchanged: the lifting of all unreasonable and unnecessary restrictions on Canadians’ personal liberties, and the establishment of safeguards to ensure that a similar assault of those liberties is impossible in the future. Unless this happens, we may well see a resumption of the protests in Ottawa, but on a wider and larger scale. “
The Prime Minister said in the coming days a joint committee of parliamentarians will review the declaration of emergency. Within 60 days there will be an inquiry into the circumstances that led to invoking of the emergencies act, why it was required. It will also look at the policing and “examine the funding, influence and disinformation that supported the illegal blockades and occupations both foreign and domestic,” said Trudeau.
Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford in line with the Federal announcement also announced the lifting of Ontario’s state of emergency as of 5 pm today.
“In alignment with the federal government, Ontario will be terminating its declaration of a state of emergency as of 5 p.m. today. The emergency tools provided to law enforcement will be maintained at this time as police continue to address ongoing activity on the ground,” Ford said in a statement issued by his office.
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