Freedom Convoy: Trudeau declares emergency just hours after Ontario announces end to vaccine passports
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday declared a national emergency during peacetime for only the second time in Canadian history, to put an end to the Freedom Convoy protests against the country's COVID-19 restrictions, The New York Times reports.
"Those people who disagree with the measures that governments put in place to keep Canadians safe . . . have gone from protesting and disagreeing with those measures to limiting and blocking the freedoms of their fellow citizens, hurting jobs, hurting lives and livelihoods, endangering public safety, and weakening our country." Trudeau told reporters. "These illegal blockades are hurting Canadians, and they need to stop."
He also said the government's powers under the Emergency Act would be "time limited, geographically specific, and extremely bounded."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trudeau declared an emergency on the same day Ontario, the epicenter of the Freedom Convoy protests, announced it would stop requiring vaccine passports on March 1, The Detroit News reported.
The emergency declaration empowers the government to restrict travel, public assembly, and "the use of specified property," and to compel any person "to render essential services" in return for "reasonable compensation."
Canada's Parliament must approve the emergency within seven days. Emergencies automatically expire after 30 days but can be extended.
The Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in 1988, had never been invoked before.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Trudeau's father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, invoked the War Measures Act during peacetime for the first and only time in the country's history after Québécois terrorists kidnapped Quebec's deputy premier in 1970. According to CBC, the emergency "allowed police searches and arrests without warrants, and prolonged detentions without charges and without the right to see a lawyer." More than 400 people were detained.
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmandsFeature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Argentinian beef is at the center of American farmers’ woesThe Explainer ‘It feels like a slap in the face to rural America,’ said one farmer
-
‘Businesses that lose money and are uncompetitive won’t survive’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
‘The nonviolence resulted from the organizers’ message’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
