14151119 14151119The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced this Monday () that will invoke the Emergency Law to end protests related to health restrictions in the country. “It’s about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people’s jobs and restoring faith in our institutions.” 14151119 The objective is to grant exceptional powers to the federal government to quell protests and blockades promoted by protesters, especially truck drivers, against restrictive measures to face the Covid pandemic. -19, such as vaccination passports.
According to information from CTV News, the government does not plan for the time being to summon the military, which would have to be done by invoking another legislation, the National Defense Law.
The Emergencies Act may be invoked when an “urgent and critical situation” cannot be resolved under any other Canadian law and if it “seriously endangers the life, health or safety of Canadians and is of such a proportion or nature that exceeds a province’s capacity or authority limit to deal with it.”
The law is of 1988 and had never been invoked. A law that was replaced by this legislation, called the War Measures Act, was invoked by the father of the current prime minister, then-premier Pierre Trudeau, when separatists from Quebec kidnapped a provincial government minister and a British diplomat in the years 1970.
“We are prepared to use all available tools, including emergency powers, and to ensure that all federal government resources are leveraged. This is a critical situation for the country,” Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told CTV News over the weekend.
The Canadian province of Ontario declared a state of emergency on Friday due to the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, the main land link between the United States and Canada, and the occupation of the center of the capital. Canadian, Ottawa, by truck drivers against vaccination passports.
The bridge was unlocked over the weekend, with several arrests of protesters, following a court ruling. Truck drivers have also blocked three other highways on the US border in recent days.
14151119 In Ottawa, the protesters, who arrived in the capital from 29 January, they say they will only leave if all Canadian vaccine passports are revoked.
According to the Associated Press, Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford announced that health passports stipulated by the provincial government will no longer be required within two weeks, but claimed that this is not a concession in the face of protests, but rather because “it is safe to do so”. Proof of vaccination will be revoked for access to restaurants, gyms and sporting events.
14151119 The main focus of the truck drivers’ protest, the demand for complete vaccination against Covid-19 for professionals who work in land transport of cargo on transnational routes, it is a federal requirement.