The Trudeau government agrees that the threat of another blockade of Ottawa, or border crossings, is now well and truly over. The Emergency Measures Act is revoked on Wednesday, before the Senate even has time to finish its debates on its use.
“Today, after having carefully examined the situation, we see that we are no longer in a situation. This is why the government will put an end to the Emergency Measures Act, ”announced Justin Trudeau, during a press briefing convened Wednesday afternoon.
As soon as the Governor General signs the order, the declaration of invocation of the Emergencies Act will no longer exist. “We now judge that the laws in place are sufficient to ensure the situation,” explains the Prime Minister.
This suddenly renders obsolete the current debates in the Senate on the subject, the last institution which had the power to block the use of emergency measures. Speeches from senators of different stripes, heard since Tuesday morning, seemed to indicate that the Upper House would easily approve the measures in a vote expected by the end of the week.
The elected members of the House of Commons, for their part, gave their support to the very first invocation of this law, adopted in 1988, during a crucial vote on Monday evening. Thanks to the “reluctant” support of the NDP, the Trudeau government’s motion was adopted 185 to 151. A parliamentary committee had yet to be set up to monitor the use of emergency measures, which have been in effect for a decade. days.
The Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, specified that all the bank accounts still frozen under the special powers granted to the authorities are in the process of being unfrozen, since this measure was only intended to convince the demonstrators to lift the camp. Those arrested during the vast police operation will still face justice.
National emergency questioned
The “freedom convoy” was completely dislodged from the federal capital this weekend, and the blockades of border crossings had already ended by then. Elected officials on both sides of the House have cited this reason for opposing the continuation of emergency measures this week.
“To invoke this law […] the risk of serious violence must constitute a national crisis. And this aspect, for me, is far from clear, ”said the Liberal MP for Louis-Hébert, Joël Lightbound, for example, on Monday, before finally voting with his party.
The argument was taken up by senators during their own debates on Wednesday.
“Even if the declaration of the emergency was legitimate, and the measures met the criteria [pour être invoquées]the urgency no longer exists,” Conservative Senator Don Plett said at the outset.
His colleague from the Canadian Senators Group, Quebecer Jean-Guy Dagenais, for his part indicated that “ [des] inappropriate remarks on a sign or on social networks cannot be without further proof the basis for invoking the law on emergency measures, otherwise we would live in a continuous state of emergency measures. »
However, representatives of the two other groups of senators, who together form a clear majority, as well as unaffiliated senators, have indicated their support for the exceptional measures invoked by the Trudeau government.
Still in the suburbs of Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh both said earlier this week they believe the emergency still exists as truckers evicted from Ottawa were still around, ready to return. .
“We still feel that these days, in the present moment, the situation is still fragile, the emergency situation is still present,” said Mr. Trudeau on Monday.
According to the information he had at the time, trucks were in towns in Eastern Ontario such as Arnprior and Embrun. Police also reportedly routed another convoy from Fort McMurray, Alberta.
“The Emergencies Act is a tool that continues to be used […] also in a very effective way to prevent future blockages, ”added his Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, before the vote in the Commons.
The Ottawa police confirmed that the emergency measures allowed them in particular to requisition tow trucks to dislodge trucks. They also allowed authorities to freeze at least 206 bank accounts, a finance ministry official told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.
Protesters still motivated
Demonstrators still on the run since their forced departure from Ottawa have made no secret of their desire to return to disturb the restored tranquility of the federal capital. On their social networks since the beginning of the week, several of them have mentioned a “strategic withdrawal” of their movement.
“We are this close to winning […] it’s not over, ”warned one of them in discussion on Facebook Live with a Quebec influencer of the movement, Vincent Picard. Without specifying where he is, he mentioned the existence of a new “well-established” and well-supplied camp. “We are going to prepare a strategy, and we will see what will happen. »
A handful of supporters of the “freedom convoy” who had taken refuge in the last rally in Ottawa emptied by the police on Sunday, signed a “declaration of the freedom of the Canadian people”. On this document without legal value shared on social networks, it specifies the intention “to expropriate [er] the power of the federal government of Canada”, while giving “the order” to the police services “to cease the repression of peaceful demonstrators. »
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