Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By Amandalina Letterio

COVID-19

TRU political expert calls Emergencies Act a ‘risky decision’

Feb 14, 2022 | 4:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history. This grants the federal government additional power to mitigate the ongoing trucker convoy blockades.

Thompson Rivers University political science professor Robert Hanlon says this takes power away from the provinces and puts it into Trudeau’s hands.

“It will be Trudeau basically directing the armed forces, the police, any type of intelligence agency. It centralizes the power inside the Liberal Party,” said Hanlon.

The trucker convoy started in late January to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Protestors occupy streets in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, block the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor and are posted at Canadian-American borders all over the country. The Emergencies Act gives the federal government the right to override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Hanlon says it’s a risky decision.

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“The Emergencies Act suspends elements of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so this feeds into the narrative that the Liberal Party are taking away powers and rights from protestors,” he explained.

In Prime Minister Trudeau’s announcement, he reassured Canadians that he will not be using this power to call in the military. He promised to not infringe on anyone’s freedom of speech or right to peaceful protest, and will not defy the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The government claims its major concern is with the blockades stopping trade at the borders and the safety of the public. Kamloops residents — on both sides of the spectrum — are ready for the protests to come to an end.

“I’m waiting for a part for my Ford vehicle, and it’s been waiting now for a couple of weeks, and I’m sure it’s stuck in that convoy somewhere,” one woman told CFJC News.

“I think they’ve made their point and I think our ‘fearless’ leader needs to say that the people have spoken and we want to have our choices,” said another.

Hanlon says he’s concerned about the use of the Emergencies Act.

“It’s essentially saying the provinces are incapable of policing. This is, and it should be in my opinion, a policing issue and the fact that it’s been three weeks is probably why the Liberals are taking this political gambit and saying, ‘We’re going to introduce this measure,'” Hanlon continued.

He adds that this ‘political mess’ stems from a poor decision made by the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, who was late in introducing the provincial Emergencies Act.

“Those protestors, they were in the provincial territory for weeks. They could have been removed much earlier, so we’ve seen a lot of politicians kind of placating the responsibility, buck passing, kind of rejecting this as a serious issue, and so now it’s come to this,” said Hanlon.