Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau utilized rarely-used emergency powers to put an end to trucker-led protests against COVID-19 health standards. It happened after police arrested 11 people with a “cache of firearms” obstructing a border crossing with the United States,
This was only the second time that Canada has used such emergency powers in its history. It came as hundreds of heavy rigs jammed the streets of Ottawa, as well as two border crossings.
The government has used the Emergencies Act to enact several measures aimed at cutting off protesters’ funding. It is also to bolster provincial and local law enforcement with federal officers.
“The federal government has invoked the Emergencies Act to supplement provincial and territorial capacity to address the blockades and occupations,” Trudeau told a news conference.
Trudeau stated that the military would not go at this time. But the authorities have got greater authority to arrest protesters, seize their trucks to clear blockages, and prohibit the protests from getting funds.
Federal police claimed they arrested 11 protestors with rifles, handguns, body armor, and ammunition at the border between Coutts, Alberta, and Sweet Grass, Montana. It took place barely a day after another crucial US-Canada border crossing in Ontario had cleared.
“The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.
Footsteps of his father
Protests by Canadian truckers and their supporters are against forced vaccines and pursuing a broader anti-establishment agenda. It has also sparked copycat movements from France to New Zealand, with US truckers considering similar marches.
Under pressure to act, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assembled a special federal response group on Sunday. It was to focus on efforts to end the occupation of Ottawa and the continuing, economically destructive border blockades in Alberta and Manitoba.
During the October Crisis of 1970, Trudeau’s father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, activated the Emergencies Act.
The Prime Minister has followed in the footsteps of his father by making this decision. He is the son of former Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He’s also the first Canadian leader to proclaim a state of emergency in peacetime since 50 years ago.
Troops went to Quebec to restore order after extremist separatists kidnapped a British trade attaché and a Quebec minister, Pierre Laporte. He was found strangled to death in the trunk of a car.
“The blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety. We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue,” Trudeau told a press briefing.
However, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association claimed that the government failed to meet the criteria for invoking the Emergencies Act. The act is existing to deal with threats to “sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.”