By designating no-go zones in Canada’s capital, ensuring tow trucks were available to remove vehicles from city streets, and stopping the flow of money and goods used to feed and supply anti-government protesters, the Emergencies Act has helped end blockades of Ottawa, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Sunday ahead of a House of Commons vote on the controversial measure.
Tories are strongly critical of the government’s decision and some are calling on the Liberals to revoke the law now that the lockdowns that effectively shut down the city for more than three weeks appear to be over.
There remains a day of debate on the government’s decision to invoke the law.
MPs will vote on the motion Monday at 8 p.m. and it is expected to pass with the joint support of the Liberals and NDP. The Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives are against it.
If the motion fails, the law and all extraordinary powers flowing from it will be nullified. If passed, they will remain in place until mid-March at the latest.
MPs have been debating the measure since Thursday morning, although the 15-hour debate scheduled for Friday was canceled for security reasons, as police moved in to evict protesters who still blocked the streets outside.
Addressing The Canadian Press in an interview, Mr. Mendicino said he had no doubts that the government’s decision to invoke the law was the right decision.
“The Emergencies Act has helped turn the tide against illegal blockades,” he said.
Police began issuing written warnings to protesters to leave on Thursday, and the following day chased them away with a show of force that lasted until Saturday.
On Sunday, most streets were cleared, tow trucks hauled out the last of the vehicles, and local residents were out on the streets in their neighborhoods to assess the aftermath and clean up any remaining trash. Only small groups of protesters remained around the city center, under a heavy police presence. Several convoy leaders are in prison and 206 accounts have been frozen.
Acting Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell said what some describe as bylaw violations by protesters “were actually moments of terror for the city.”
He said 191 people had been arrested in connection with the protests, with 389 charges laid so far, including mischief, obstructing police, assault and attempting to disarm a police officer.
“The powers given to us by the Emergencies Act, by the Provincial Emergencies Act, by the injunction and by any other legislative means that we have obtained to put an end to this demonstration, have been given to us extremely beneficial to be able to be where we are today, to see clear streets and to have residents who can once again walk in the downtown that belongs to them,” said Mr. Bell.
Ontario Conservative MP Michael Barrett said during Saturday’s debate that invoking the law was just an attempt to have more power, because the charges against those arrested did not require new laws.
“The charges that are being laid in Ottawa are for mischief and conspiracy to commit mischief,” he said. “We don’t need an Emergency Measures Act to deal with these things. We have a public order operation taking place on the streets of Ottawa. It is not a national emergency. »
Mr Mendicino said the law was needed to prevent the resumption of any blockade, the risk of which remains real. British Columbia police had to close the border crossing near Surrey, B.C., again over the weekend due to protests.
New Democrat MP Brian Masse, whose riding of Windsor West has been hit by both a blockade at the Ambassador Bridge and ongoing attempts to prevent it from resuming, said repeatedly during the debate that the crisis n wasn’t over for his constituents.
“Life is not normal,” he said, pointing to ongoing road closures and police presence in the area.
The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest border crossing between Canada and the United States; it is responsible for about a quarter of the trade that crosses the border each day.
Regardless of what happens with the vote, there will be an investigation to review its use. A report must be tabled in the House of Commons and the Senate by next February.
The Senate must also vote on the use of the law, but the debate has not yet started in this chamber.