What the federal government's new powers might mean for the Ottawa protest
[ https://subscriptions.cbc.ca/newsletter ... 022-02-15/ ]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have triggered the Emergencies Act — a decades-old law that gives sweeping powers to the federal government to establish order during a crisis. The law, which has never before been invoked, gives the federal government substantial short-term powers.
Here's a look at some of the biggest questions about the act and what it might mean for the protest in Ottawa:
What can the federal government do now?
In the context of the Ottawa protest, Trudeau said the federal powers will be used to prohibit people from illegally gathering in the city's downtown core and to order tow truck companies in the area to help remove big rigs used in the protests.
The RCMP, which normally doesn't carry out many policing functions in Ontario, will be empowered to enforce all municipal bylaws and provincial offences.
The cabinet is also directing banks and financial institutions to halt the flow of funds to protest organizers through amendments to the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the corporate accounts of truckers participating in the Ottawa blockade will be frozen and their insurance will be suspended.
Is there a role for the military?
The Emergencies Act itself is silent on the role of the military during this sort of emergency. Trudeau said the government is "not using the Emergencies Act to call in the military," so a role for the Canadian Armed Forces is off the table for now.
How long would these powers be in effect?
As soon as the cabinet declares an emergency, the powers go into effect immediately. The act stipulates, however, that Trudeau and his ministers also must go before Parliament to seek approval from MPs and senators within seven days. The act says that these extraordinary powers are time-limited to just 30 days, although they could be extended.
What do experts think?
Reaction is mixed. Wesley Wark, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and one of the country's top intelligence experts, said invoking the Emergencies Act against the blockades is "long overdue." The occupation of downtown Ottawa has been mishandled by local authorities and law enforcement, and one level of government should be "clearly in charge of the situation," Wark said.
Leah West, a former national security lawyer with the federal Justice Department, takes a different view. West told CBC News she's not convinced that the ongoing protests rise to the level of a public order emergency. "As someone who studies the law very carefully, I'm kind of shocked, to be honest, that the government actually believes this meets the definition to even invoke the act," she said.
More on this issue :
Read the full story, including more on what the act says, here.
[ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/emerge ... -1.6351504 ]
ANALYSIS | By invoking the Emergencies Act, Trudeau tries to seize a new crisis
[ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudea ... -1.6351781 ]
Hacked convoy data shows more than half of donations came from U.S.
[ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/convoy ... -1.6351292 ]