Canadian civil liberties organization asks feds to "immediately revoke" Emergencies Act

Feb 21 2022, 7:57 pm

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is calling on the federal government to immediately revoke the Emergencies Act.

The CCLA is calling on all parties to vote against Monday’s vote regarding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declaration of emergency which was invoked last week.

The organization, which has been defending Canadian civil liberties and constitutional rights since 1964, is asking individual legislators to vote according to their “own personal conscience,” not with their respective political parties.

In a letter written to the government on Monday, the CCLA pointed out that the blockade in Ottawa has been cleared and that various border crossings had been reopened — without reliance — on the invocation of federal emergency powers.

“The government’s own proclamation of emergency was clear: they claimed that they needed to invoke the extraordinary Emergencies Act to deal with the blockades. Those blockades are now dismantled. The sweeping national emergency powers they enacted should be dismantled as well,” said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “Whether the Emergencies Act should have been invoked in the first place is a fundamentally important question that will continue to be discussed, both in the legislature and in the courts.”

Mendelsohn says the question is no longer whether the government was justified in issuing a proclamation of emergency a week ago but asks why it “continues to be justified today.”

“Let’s be clear; every Canadian is currently subject to the emergency orders,” says the CCLA. “The orders limit peaceful assembly across the country and require financial institutions to freeze bank accounts without judicial oversight. The federal government does not control how and when these laws are used. These legal powers have been placed in the hands of police officers across the country. As with all broad grants of power, the risk of abuse is significant.”

Last week, the CCLA announced plans to sue the federal government over its decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. At the time, Mendelsohn said, “emergency powers cannot and must not be normalized.”

On Monday morning, Trudeau told Canadians the country’s first-ever use of the Emergencies Act won’t be used “for a minute longer” than necessary in order to stabilize Ottawa.

“The situation is not something anyone wanted,” Trudeau said, “we didn’t want to use the Emergencies Act, it’s never something to turn to without serious consideration.” The prime minister said the Act was necessary and that law enforcement agencies “relied on it,” saying the controversial enactment was “the responsible thing to do.”

Trudeau stated the situation seems to “be resolving well in Ottawa” and — while answering questions from journalists — said the Emergencies Act won’t be lifted yet, citing there are “real concerns” about the coming days in the capital.

Because of the nature of an emergency act, the initiative has already gone into effect and must be debated in the House, where it will either pass through or fail. Should it fail, the Emergencies Act will be repealed. If passed, it will be in effect for a maximum of 30 more days.

A Parliamentary vote is scheduled to take place on Monday night at 8 pm ET, after a 14-hour sitting at the House.

The House of Commons has 338 members, and a majority vote would need to take place in order for the Emergencies Act to be revoked. The Liberals have 159 seats, Conservatives 119, Bloc Québécois 32, NDP 25, Green Party has two, and Independent has one.

Last week, the Conservative Party and the Bloc Québécois were adamant about opposing the Emergencies Act. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party “would support it” if (and when) the Emergencies Act was brought to the House of Commons. Singh says NDP would “withdraw support if powers were being misused.”

House of Commons Sittings can be watched through the weekend on the government website.

Ty JadahTy Jadah

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