The most concerning thing about Trudeau's use of the Emergencies Act is that it was both unnecessary and, despite the protests being quelled, ongoing.
First, the police in Ottawa chose not to enforce even basic laws in the area of the protest for several weeks. The result was lawlessness and a total lack of respect for the police. They were being jeered at for putting threatening flyers under windshield wipers one day, and the next they brought in armoured vehicles and riot squads. If the police had consistently written tickets and made arrests from the start of the protest it likely would not have grown as large as it did.
Presently, Trudeau is keeping the Emergencies Act in effect, not because there is an ongoing emergency, but because there might be. He's argued that some of the protesters have not left Ottawa and might return to the protest site if given the chance to do so, but there is nothing in the Emergency act that is required for the police to maintain peace and order. Trudeau wants the act to remain in effect for other reasons apparently.
The opposition is introducing a motion in parliament to end the Act, but that will likely fail unless Trudeau loses the NDP's support. However, the senate could also end the Act at any time. Given that the emergency is over they should do just that. It is entirely unclear what Trudeau hopes to accomplish by holding onto these powers.
Is it really unclear? There are examples from other countries. Erdogan got emergency powers during a coup and continued to hold on to them for a long time and before finally giving up, he made enough changes in the constitution and law that effectively he retains all of them.
I see the same pattern here. I would be surprised if there is going to be another PM ever in Canada. If it sounds ridiculous, think about the fact that current government is a Minority one. The way they gather support is by showing carrot and stick to the rest of the parties. And these emergency powers are a big stick just waiting to be used at the right time.
I'm sorry but it does sound ridiculous, ridiculous beyond belief. I think the words "get a hold of yourself" are appropriate here. Using emergency powers to clear away a disruptive protest (which stretches the definition substantially, in that it was blocking streets and border crossings) is hardly dictator for life material.
Do you know what "minority government" means? It means that if he loses support of the other parties he's toast.
Come back to us and tell us about "no more PMs in Canada" when he's had his mob stage a January the 6th style event and he refuses to step aside in the face of an election.
It was suspicious from the get go. Trudeau insulting a movement which are peacefully against specific government programs (legit by any democratic standard), virtually disappearing (modulo sporadic casual insults) and then refusing to re-assess the mandates, or even talk to the organizers – despite the pandemic getting better and research showing vaccines being close to worthless for preventing spread. It's not uncommon that politicians are so tonedeaf and insulated from the people they govern, but with Trudeau's background, I find it hard to believe he would misjudge and respond to the situation so badly, if he genuinely wanted a resolution. It almost seems like they were welcoming civil unrest in order to suddenly show up as saviors once regular people with no dog in the fight got tired enough, and use the opportunity to expand their authority – a "bring it on" mindset. In either case, the timing of such reckless politics couldn't be worse, given the toll the pandemic has had on all of us.
First, the police in Ottawa chose not to enforce even basic laws in the area of the protest for several weeks. The result was lawlessness and a total lack of respect for the police. They were being jeered at for putting threatening flyers under windshield wipers one day, and the next they brought in armoured vehicles and riot squads. If the police had consistently written tickets and made arrests from the start of the protest it likely would not have grown as large as it did.
Presently, Trudeau is keeping the Emergencies Act in effect, not because there is an ongoing emergency, but because there might be. He's argued that some of the protesters have not left Ottawa and might return to the protest site if given the chance to do so, but there is nothing in the Emergency act that is required for the police to maintain peace and order. Trudeau wants the act to remain in effect for other reasons apparently.
The opposition is introducing a motion in parliament to end the Act, but that will likely fail unless Trudeau loses the NDP's support. However, the senate could also end the Act at any time. Given that the emergency is over they should do just that. It is entirely unclear what Trudeau hopes to accomplish by holding onto these powers.