A powerful symbol to get out of the cul-de-sac

In the automotive world, you could say that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in a fraction of a second.

He, who has shown a flagrant lack of leadership since the beginning of the unacceptable siege of Ottawa, is now pushing the pedal into the carpet by invoking the Emergency Measures Act.

Yes, it sucks.

Of course, we would have preferred never to go there. We wish the Ottawa police hadn’t stood idly by as protesters blocked the streets, honked their horns relentlessly and pushed their arrogance to the point of having hot tubs installed in front of parliament.

But at the point where we are, we will not complain that Justin Trudeau wants to regain control to clear the truckers who are poisoning the lives of residents of the national capital.

Sorry, this carnival has gone on long enough. It is time for this to stop. Especially since the sanitary measures at the origin of the convoy are disappearing all over the country.

From a political point of view, the Emergency Measures Act will have the merit of sending a very clear ultimatum to the recalcitrants that the softness of the leaders had encouraged to occupy more and more ground.

From a legal point of view, the law will also provide some additional tools to tighten the screws on demonstrators, without however suspending the application of rights and freedoms.

For example, the government will now be able to force recalcitrant towing companies to move trucks, on pain of a fine, an obligation that would have taken a long time to put in place following the normal process.

But it must be recognized that the use of Emergency Measures Act is a bold bet.

First of all, the government must prove that there is a serious threat to national security, which is not so clear. So far, there have been no acts of violence, despite a seizure of weapons on Monday, which gives an idea of ​​the state of mind of the demonstrators blocking the Coutts border crossing, in Alberta.

Long guns, bulletproof vests, ammunition galore…

To justify the use of Emergency Measures Actthe federal government must also demonstrate that the provincial rules are insufficient to manage the situation.

However, the provinces have just proved that they could manage with the means at their disposal. And that the stalemate in Ottawa stems not so much from a deficiency in the law as from a deficiency in its application.

In Windsor, law enforcement succeeded in unblocking the Ambassador Bridge, the most important link for the transport of goods between Canada and the United States. And in Quebec City, Mayor Bruno Marchand, with the unanimous support of the deputies, prevented the convoy of truckers from taking root in front of the National Assembly.

In this context, it is not surprising that the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, does not want to support a law that would allow the federal government to intervene on its territory… when there is no problem.

Except that the objection of the provinces will not change much.

In theory, the Emergency Measures Act provides that the federal government must consult the provinces, which does not give them a right of veto. And even if the provinces wanted to challenge it, it would take them years to end up in the Supreme Court.

By then, the trucks will be gone.

And the Emergency Measures Act will have been a powerful symbol to get out of the cul-de-sac.