Trudeau declares national emergency amid truckers’ protests over Covid vaccines

The government of Canada had declared a national emergency in response to the ongoing truckers’ protests against various Covid-19 related measures including vaccine mandates.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement by invoking the Emergency Act, which was enacted in 1988, and was never used before in the history of Canada as the protest entered into its 18th day. The emergency powers came into immediate effect and will last for 30 days.

After the enforcement of the Emergency Act now tougher measures will be applied for law enforcement to disperse gatherings of protestors including at major border trade routes connecting Canada to the United States. The 1988 act will also allow the government to go after crowdfunding platforms and payment processors that have been used by the Freedom Convoy 2022 to fund their protest, and compel financial institutions to freeze accounts of individuals or organisations linked to the agitation.

Speaking in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau said, “the agitation had caused reputational damage and the country had suffered a lot due to the ongoing protests, and such opposition to vaccine-related issues is something democracies around the world are concerned about”. The announcement came amid news that Canada is facing pressure from many western countries, primarily the United States to act expeditiously to deal with the crisis.

The human rights groups of Canada questioned the action by the government, the Canadian Center for Civil Liberties, a prominent rights group tweeted, “The federal government has not met the threshold necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act. This law creates a high and clear standard for good reason: the act allows the government to bypass ordinary democratic processes. This standard has not been met.”

The announcement to declare a national emergency came after the prime minister hosted a conference call with premiers of provinces and territories and asked for their suggestions and feedback on the evolving situation across the country. 

Speaking in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau said, “the agitation had caused reputational damage and the country had suffered a lot due to the ongoing protests, and such opposition to vaccine-related issues is something democracies around the world are concerned about”.