The Emergencies Act was originally intended as a reduction of the scope of the War Measures act, itself created during the panicked reaction to World War I. The original 1988 act replaced the 1914 War Measures Act, which was used on three occasions in Canadian history: World War I, World War II, and the October Crisis of 1970, when it was invoked by Pierre Trudeau, Justin Trudeau’s father, to quell a separatist movement in Quebec after a request from the provincial government. This was the first time the legislation had been invoked since it was created. About 200 demonstrators were arrested, including key protest leaders. Two weekends ago, a combined team of police from across the country started a large-scale operation to end the occupation and clear the protest grounds, which had makeshift tents and trucks. The protests, dubbed by the participants as the Freedom Convoy, snowballed into an occupation, with the protesters, as well as occupying streets in Ottawa, blocking access to the U.S.-Canada border crossing and disrupting commerce.Īfter the House of Commons passed a motion confirming the time-limited emergency powers, the government moved in on the protesters. Days later, thousands of Canadians joined, demanding the government drop the COVID-19 mandates.
But Canadians are now debating whether the act goes too far-and how it should be used in the future.īack in January, hundreds of self-described truckers drove to Ottawa, the capital city, in a convoy protesting against vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions. Ten days later, the government said it was revoking the act because the “situation is no longer an emergency.” The Emergencies Act, which was passed as law in 1988, gives the government sweeping powers and can be used in the event of national emergencies. 14, Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, invoked the Emergencies Act following waves of protests across the country against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
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