Canada truckers' protest
Justin Trudeau ends emergency act in Canada after 'improvement in situation' over truckers' protest
Ottawa/IBNS: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday revoked the emergency actwhich was deployed as a powerful legislative tool just over a week ago in response to the ongoing trucker convoy blockades and protests in Ottawa and at border crossings over recent weeks.
“The situation is no longer an emergency,” Trudeau told a news conference on Feb 23.
“We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe.”
Trudeau said the decision to revoke the Emergency Act use was taken only after consulting with police services across Canada, which told the government that they can control and prevent further disruptions under normal laws.
When we invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday of last week, we had three principles in mind: restoring peace and order, making sure the measures were proportionate and compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and making sure it was time-limited.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 24, 2022
Ottawa police said the act helped them and officers from outside of Ontario to participate in the operation to end the protests.
The revocation of the Emergency Act was signed off by Canada's Governor-General Mary Simon on Wednesday afternoon, which formally ended the state of emergency.
Trudeau reportedly said that while the immediate emergency situation is over the issue itself remains there and added,
“We need to constantly work to defend and improve our democracy at home and around the world,” he said, speaking to reporters.
“Today, after careful consideration, we’re ready to confirm that the situation is no longer an emergency. Therefore, the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act,” the prime minister said.
"We said from the beginning that it should be revoked as soon as it was no longer needed. We're glad to see that has been done," NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement on Feb 23.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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