A. Emergencies Act
How ironic, on Valentine’s Day, Justin Trudeau invoked The Emergencies Act (EA) in order to crush a large and peaceful truckers’ protest in Ottawa. Up until now, the EA had never been used despite becoming law back in 1988 since the country has not faced a national emergency requiring the use of such extreme powers. The act contains a specific definition of “national emergency” that makes clear how serious a situation needs to be before the Act can be invoked.
“A national emergency is an urgent, and critical situation of a temporary nature that (a) seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it, or (b) seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada.”
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