As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, Humber News looked into what the act is all about.
The Emergencies Act authorizes the government of Canada to take certain temporary measures in response to a national emergency crisis that cannot be controlled by any other existing law, the Canadian federal Justice Laws website says.
It can be used to control four types of emergencies:
- Public welfare
- Public order
- International emergencies
- War emergencies
It gives the cabinet power to take jurisdiction from the provinces.
The convoy blockade in Ottawa and at border crossings, as well, would qualify as a public order crisis being “an emergency that arises from threats to the security of Canada and that is so serious as to be a national emergency,” as stated in the legislation.
In case of the act being used to address a public order crisis, the legislation states that the government can:
– Regulate or prohibit any public assembly that may lead to a breach of the peace, travel within any specified area, or the use of specified property;
– Allow the assumption of the control, and the restoration and maintenance, of public utilities and services;
– Allow for the imposition of fines and imprisonment;
The declaration of a public order emergency is effective on the day on which it is issued and expires at the end of thirty days unless the declaration is revoked or continued, the Justice Laws website.
It’s not the first time the government has considered using the act; the first time was during the first months of COVID.
If the government decides to invoke the act, it will be the first time it was used since it was created in 1988 to replace the War Measures Act, previously created during the first world war to serve as an emergency in times of war.
The War Measures Act was implemented in August 1914, less than a month after the beginning of World War 1, allowing the Cabinet to pass laws and regulations without going through Parliament.
The Act gave the government power, during the first war, to control communications; arrest, detain and deport people without charges or trials; control transportation, trade and manufacturing; and seize private property.
The War Measures Act was invoked in Canada three times: World War 1, World War 2 and The October Crisis.
That last crisis began on Oct. 15, 1970, by Trudeau’s father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau when he was prime minister.
It was the only time the War Measures Act had been used in a domestic crisis.
The War Measures Act came in response to actions of a terrorist group, the Front de libération du Québec, or FLQ, a separatist group, who kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte, who was found dead days later.
Being a member of the FLQ became a criminal act, allowing police to conduct more than 3,000 searches and detain 497 people.
That was the last time the War Measures Act was used.
The Act was later repealed and replaced by the Emergencies Act in 1988, which was more limited in its scope of powers.
The new legislation states the federal cabinet needs to have the declaration of an emergency approved by the Parliament and have any temporary laws be subject to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.