Members of the Parliament will debate a motion on never-before-used emergency powers in response to the so-called “Freedom convoy” blockades in Ottawa and other parts of the country.
On Wednesday evening, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino tabled the motion in the House of Commons on the specific powers in the Emergencies Act and the invoking of the act itself.
The legislation that was invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday gives the federal government broad powers to clampdown on the “illegal” blockades by demonstrators and their vehicles that have paralyzed the nation’s capital.
The protest group, parked around Parliament Hill since Jan. 28, is calling for an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates among other restrictions and have vowed to continue the blockades until all their demands are met.
Under the Emergencies Act, public assembly is prohibited, you can’t legally travel to the blockade in Ottawa, and you have to leave if you’re already there.
Those powers are already in effect and will remain so for 30 days unless the government revokes them sooner.
The motion on the Emergencies Act will be debated Thursday and will take precedence over all other business.
The Senate must also pass separate motions on the specific powers in the act.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh signalled his party will support the motion, calling the situation a crisis.
The Liberals are 11 seats shy of a majority in the House of Commons and the motion could pass with the support of the NDP.
The Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois say they will not support the motion.
Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen said Conservatives have many questions about Trudeau’s use of the legislation, which she called a “giant sledgehammer.”
Bergen was among the many Conservative MPs who welcomed the protesters to Ottawa when they first arrived. Now, she said keeping their trucks parked on Ottawa’s streets for days on end is illegal and they need to move.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said existing police powers should be enough to allow the Ottawa police and RCMP to clear the protesters from the area.
The Liberal government characterized the blockades at the borders and in Ottawa as being connected by a highly co-ordinated, targeted and largely foreign-funded criminal attack on Canadian interests.
— with Global News files
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