Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that invoked the use of special emergency powers to control the protests that truck drivers and anti-vaccine groups have been leading for more than two weeks in various parts of the country.
Trudeau said in a televised speech that he made the decision because “it is clear” that local authorities are having problems enforcing the law, after weeks of protests and blockades of border crossings.
The last time a Canadian government invoked the use of emergency powers was in 1970 when the then prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, father of the current ruler, used the War Measures Act to combat the Quebec Liberation Front (FLQ ), a terrorist group that kidnapped the deputy prime minister of Quebec and a British diplomat.
Trudeau assured that the measure it will not limit freedom of expression or the ability to demonstrate legally in the country.
The prime minister also assured that the measures “will be reasonable” and proportional to the threats that exist and that the Government will not deploy members of the Armed Forces.
During consultations with provincial chief executives, both the provinces of Quebec and Alberta indicated their opposition to the use of the Emergencies Law.