Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday suspended the Emergencies Act, with which he was given special powers to deal with protests by truck drivers and anti-vaccination passport groups blocking US border crossings. and occupied the center of the capital, Ottawa.
Trudeau made the announcement following the lifting of the blockade on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Canada and the US, and the dispersal of protesters in the Canadian capital, saying it was no longer necessary to continue to apply the rule.
“Today, after careful consideration, we are ready to confirm that the situation is no longer an emergency. Consequently, the federal government will end the use of the Emergency Act,” Trudeau declared.
The prime minister invoked the law on February 14 to control protests that truck drivers and groups against health passports had been carrying out for more than two weeks in various parts of the country.
The protests blocked for two weeks the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor (Canada) to Detroit (USA) and through which around US$ 400 million in goods pass daily. Protesters also occupied downtown Ottawa, blocking access to Parliament.
The last time a Canadian government invoked emergency powers was in 1970, when then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, father of the current ruler, used the War Measures Act to fight the Quebec Liberation Front, a terrorist group. who kidnapped the deputy prime minister of Quebec and a British diplomat.
In 1988, the War Measures Act was replaced by the Emergencies Act. Invoking special powers allowed the Trudeau government to block the bank accounts of protesters and ban squatters like the one in downtown Ottawa.
Trudeau said on Wednesday that, after the government’s actions since Feb. 14, existing laws “are sufficient to keep people safe.”
In 60 days, an investigation commission will be launched to analyze the government’s decision to invoke the Emergency Law and police actions to disperse the protesters.
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