The warning comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invokes the act to end anti-vaxxer protests paralysing the country
People gather outside a police station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday, February 13, 2022, demanding authorities remove truck drivers and other protesters who have taken over the area around Parliament Hill to demonstrate against Covid-19 restrictions
CANADA’s communists have slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end the anti-vaxxer protests paralysing the country, warning that such a move will “suspend the civil and democratic rights of everyone in Canada.”
Mr Trudeau invoked the Act, which gives the federal government broad powers to restore order, on Monday, but ruled out using the military.
His government threatened to tow away vehicles to keep essential services running, freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts, and suspend the insurance on their rigs.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is also the finance minister, said the government will also broaden its anti-money-laundering regulations to target crowdfunding sites that are being used to support the blockades.
Mr Trudeau did not indicate when the new crackdowns would begin, but he said the emergency measures “will be time-limited, geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address.”
For more than two weeks, hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters in trucks and other vehicles have clogged the streets of the capital Ottawa and besieged Parliament Hill, railing against vaccine mandates for truckers and other Covid-19 precautions while condemning Mr Trudeau’s Liberal government.
Members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy have also blockaded various US-Canadian border crossings, though the busiest and most important — the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit — was reopened on Sunday after police arrested dozens of demonstrators.
A statement from the Communist Party of Canada warned that the Emergency Act would effectively suspend the Charter of Rights, and called into question the Ottawa police’s handling of the protests.
“Police inaction in Ottawa stands in stark contrast to harsh repression against Indigenous peoples whenever Indigenous sovereignty clashes with the capitalist theft of land and resources,” the party said.
“All this demonstrates that new policing, surveillance and repression powers will ultimately be used against the labour and people’s movements as opposed to the far right.
“Big business may think the Emergencies Act is a good idea — eliminating both border delays and the right to strike. But working people — the labour, democratic, and civil rights movements — must speak up to oppose this sledgehammer to democracy.”
In the News
February 19, 2022
Current Developments Related to Declaration of Public Order Emergency
On February 16, a motion was tabled in the House of Commons to confirm the February 14 declaration of a public order emergency by the Prime Minister under the Emergencies Act. [More]
Financial Measures Applied Under the Emergencies Act
While debate was taking place in the House of Commons, February 17, on whether or not it will approve the Liberal’s invoking of the Emergencies Act and the related regulatory powers, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced to the media rather than the House that she had ordered financial institutions to comply with its regulations. [More]
Canadian Civil Liberties Association Launches Lawsuit
On February 17, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) announced it will pursue litigation to challenge the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act. [More]
Standoff in Ottawa Continues Despite Police Measures to Clear Out Protestors
Police in Ottawa made over 100 arrests on Friday, February 18 and at least 47 more by 2:00 pm on Saturday, news agencies report. In addition, a total of 38 vehicles have been towed and others are reported to have left voluntarily. [More]
For Your Information
Regulations for Implementation of Emergencies Act
The regulations put in place following the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act were published in the Canada Gazette on February 15, 2022. [More]
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