• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau activated rarely used emergency powers to bring an end to trucker-led protests that have shut some US border crossings and paralyzed parts of the capital.

• Under the Emergencies Act, the government introduced measures intended to cut off protesters’ funding and took steps to reinforce provincial and local law enforcement with federal police.

• The Canadian Parliament must approve the use of the emergency measures within seven days, and the left-leaning New Democrat party said it would support Trudeau’s Liberal minority government to pass the measures.

What sparked the protests?

• For the past two weeks, hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters in trucks and other vehicles have clogged the streets of Ottawa, the capital, railing against vaccine mandates and other virus precautions and condemning Trudeau’s Liberal government.

• Members of the self-styled ‘Freedom Convoy’ have blockaded various US-Canadian border crossings.

• The protests, started by Canadian truckers opposing a COVID-19 vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, have drawn people opposed to Trudeau’s policies on everything from pandemic restrictions to a carbon tax. 

• Protesters blockaded the Ambassador Bridge, a vital trade route between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, for six days before police cleared the protest, while others have shut down smaller border crossings in Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia.

• The government announced the declaration of a public order emergency under the Emergencies Act, to end disruptions, border blockades and the occupation of Ottawa’s downtown core.

What is the Emergencies Act?

• The Emergencies Act, which became law in 1988, is a federal law that can be used by the federal government in the event of a national emergency.

• The Act contains a specific definition of “national emergency” that makes clear how serious a situation needs to be before the Act can be relied upon.  A national emergency is an urgent, temporary and critical situation that seriously endangers the health and safety of Canadians or that seriously threatens the ability of the government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada. 

There are four types of emergencies that can be declared under the Emergencies Act:

1) Public welfare emergency

2) Public order emergency

3) International emergency

4) War emergency.

• Previously known as the War Measures Act, the Emergencies Act has been used only three times in Canadian history: during the two World Wars and in 1970 by Trudeau’s father, late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, after militant Quebec separatists kidnapped a British diplomat and a provincial Cabinet minister.

What are the key measures announced?

• When a declaration of a public order emergency is made under the Emergencies Act, it allows the federal government to make orders and regulations that it believes are necessary for dealing with the emergency, on reasonable and proportional grounds.

• Banks and financial institutions will be able to temporarily freeze the accounts of those suspected of supporting the blockades, without obtaining a court order. 

• The insurance on vehicles being used in the protests can also be suspended.

• All crowdfunding platforms and payment providers they use must register with Canada’s anti-money laundering agency, FINTRAC, and report suspicious activities effective immediately.

• The emergency measures would also allow the government to order towing companies to provide their services to clear blockades.

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