KAWARTHA LAKES-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government will now revoke Emergencies Act. (EA)
The Regulations under the act granted the government powers to require banks to freeze accounts of people participating “directly” or “indirectly” in the protest and compel tow truck companies to remove vehicles from the area of the protest.
“We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe,” Trudeau told a news conference Wednesday in Ottawa”, stated Trudeau “I want to reassure Canadians: law enforcement agencies are prepared to deal with anyone engaging in unlawful or dangerous activities.”
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland had stated last week that some financial measures will become permanent.
“Our banks and financial institutions are already obligated to report to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FINTRAC. As of today, all crowdfunding platforms, and the payment service providers they use, must register with FINTRAC and must report large and suspicious transactions to FINTRAC.” said Freeland. “The government will also bring forward legislation to provide these authorities to FINTRAC on a permanent basis.”
Conservative leader and Leader of the Official Opposition, Candice Bergen said her party voted against the measures on Monday because it was wrong then and it is wrong now.
“Nothing has changed between Monday and today other than a flood of concerns from Canadian citizens, bad press and international ridicule.”
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) said it welcomed the overdue measure.
“From the outset, however, we have stated that the government did not meet the legal thresholds set out in the Emergencies Act,” said Abby Deshman, Director of Criminal Justice for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “We continue to believe that there was an insufficient legal basis for resort to the Emergencies Act and that the orders the government passed under this legislation were unconstitutional.”
The CCLA had filed a lawsuit against the government over invoking the EA. Officials said they will be continuing with the court challenge.
“We also continue to believe that it is important for the courts to comment on the legal threshold and constitutional issues so as to guide the actions of future governments. Even though the orders are no longer in force, Canadians are left with the precedent that the government’s actions have set. We will be consulting with our counsel over the next few days to determine what the next steps are in our litigation, but at this time we will continue our case.”
Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time last week saying police needed extra powers to end blockades at key Canada-U.S. border crossings and to deal with a large protest on Parliament Hill that had been ongoing for almost three weeks. The border crossing blockades were dismantled without the need for powers under the Emergencies Act.
On Monday, Trudeau said the continuing use of the Emergencies Act was still needed because his government was worried about blockades returning.
In an abrupt about-face Trudeau now says that order has now been restored and that while threats remain, police and existing legislation will be enough to prevent other occupations.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people had their bank accounts seized without having been charged with any crime according to officials.
The House of Commons passed a motion to approve the measures under the act Monday evening, with the NDP voting in favour alongside the minority Liberal government.
Senate approval was required for the measures to continue. They began debating a motion on the act Tuesday.
Downtown Ottawa remains under heavy police presence with numerous “checkpoints” throughout the downtown core. A fence around the lawn at Parliament Hill also remains.
