Ryan Tumilty - National Post
OTTAWA – A day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to give his government exceptional powers to end protests across the country, truckers remain parked just off Parliament Hill and it is still unclear when the blockades will come to an end.
© Provided by National PostTruck drivers and their supporters block streets during an anti vaccine mandate protest near the Parliament Buildings on February 15, 2022 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Security experts are also split on whether the act, which has not been invoked since it was drafted in 1988, was necessary to end the crisis.
The government published the order in council to implement the act Tuesday morning. It says the emergency in this instance is the “blockades by both persons and motor vehicles that is occurring at various locations throughout Canada and the continuing threats to oppose measures to remove the blockades, including by force.”
It also argues the blockades and the potential for violence is “for the purpose of achieving a political or ideological objective within Canada,” a key sentence that mirrors the language around terrorism in the criminal code.
Ryan Alford, a professor with Lakehead University, said comparing the protests on Parliament Hill to terrorism is an overreach by the government. He said the protest, however inconvenient and illegal, has not included widespread violence.
“When we’re looking at Parliament Hill, we’re seeing bouncy castles. We’re not seeing attempts to storm Parliament,” he said.
Alford said using such a heavy measure risks further inflaming the protesters.
“Their grievance is that there has been unconstitutional infringement of their constitutional rights. And now, this response, a highly incendiary response, is being criticized by leading civil libertarians,” he said.
Wesley Wark, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said invoking the act was the right call. He said the protests were clearly beyond the scope of what local governments could handle.
“The inability of the Ottawa authorities to deal with the protest. The inability of the OPP and the Ontario government to deal with it, really left us in Canada with the federal government as the only player,” he said.
He said the government needed the tools the act offers and is using them surgically to put an end to disruptive events. He said mirroring the language around terrorism was the best fit the government had and could ultimately bring an end to the crisis.
“From my perspective, I think the ends justify the means to be honest,” he said.
The act will give new powers to police to end the protest, as well bring a suite of potential financial tools to crack down on crowdfunding sites that have been used to fuel the protests.
The order in council specifies the act will be used to potentially restrict protest from certain areas and in a background briefing senior officials said one way it could be used is to prevent children from protest sites, which has been a concern in Ottawa.
As of press time, the government had not tabled a motion in Parliament, as the act requires it to do within seven days. Government House Leader Mark Holland said he was talking with opposition parties and the motion would be tabled “imminently,” though he didn’t specify what that meant.
The act requires a parliamentary committee be set up to review how the government is using the act and a public inquiry be struck after the emergency is over to review its use.
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Border crossings in Surrey, British Columbia, and Coutts, Alberta are both now reopened, and police say they have negotiated with protesters at Emmerson, Manitoba. None required the tools in the Emergencies Act.
Several premiers have said they don’t want the tools the Trudeau government is offering, but the act applies across the country whether premiers want the tools or not.
The protesters on Ottawa’s streets were unfazed by the Emergencies Act declaration and are still parked on downtown streets in large numbers.
The new policing tools will be going to a new chief in Ottawa, as police chief Peter Sloly announced his resignation on Tuesday. Sloly faced repeated criticism for how he handled the protests.
In a statement posted online he said he was doing his best to protect people during an enormous crisis.
“Since the onset of this demonstration, I have done everything possible to keep the city safe and put an end to this unprecedented and unforeseeable crisis,” he said. “I’m confident the Ottawa police services is now better positioned to end this occupation.”
The RCMP, OPP and Ottawa Police are now working together under an integrated command structure.
Ottawa councillor Dianne Deans, who is also chair of the police services board, said she was glad to see the RCMP and OPP as part of the command, because Ottawa Police have not been able to handle the protest.
“The OPS has been unable to adequately enforce our laws,” she said. “Like other residents in Ottawa, I have watched in disbelief as the carnival of chaos has been allowed to continue.”
Deputy chief Steve Bell told police service board members Tuesday that he believes an end to the blockade is in sight.
“I believe we now have the resources and partners to bring a safe end to this occupation,” he said. “I deeply feel for the strain and stress that has been placed on our city’s residents, They need to know that we are working with our in ourselves and with our partners to put a timely and effective end to this.”
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the federal government had nothing to do with Sloly’s resignation. He said the government invoked the act to give police more tools to end the crisis.
“We are going to continue to work around the clock until we get that job done and we obviously depend on our law enforcement to now enforce the laws that the government has written.”
Twitter: RyanTumilty
Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com
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