As the protests took over Canada’s capital city of Ottawa in late January and trucks jammed the downtown core of residential, commercial and government buildings, the world watched to see how the government would respond. In mid-February, Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau enacted the never-before used Emergency Act to give government and local emergency management more resources to deal with the protesters. Although the time period of the act has now passed, questions are now emerging about the implication of the use of this act. Interim Ottawa police chief Steve Bell told BNN Bloomberg that these powers allowed police to erect no-go zones around the parliament and assisted in dislodging entrenched protesters, while preventing others from getting an established foothold.
These powers also come with a checks and balances system in the Canadian government, where an inquiry must be held by law within 360 days of the end of the act’s powers. “It could look at policing. The inquiry could also examine the funding influence and disinformation that supported the illegal blockades and occupations, both foreign and domestic,” Prime Minister Trudeau said in a press conference.
Source:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/emergency-act-ends-but-questions-linger-on-legacy-of-actions-1.1728007
