Maandag beriep de premier van Canada zich op een wet die specifiek is bedoeld voor een oorlogssituatie, maar zet dat nog niet door.

De politie van Canada verspreidde vandaag waarschuwingen onder de demonstranten dat wie niet vertrekt het risico loopt gearresteerd te worden:

Apparently Ottawa police are handing out this notice in Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/m3V1JGeg9c

— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) February 16, 2022

Ottawa police have been going from truck to truck, passing out flyers to Freedom Convoy protesters which demand they vacate the demonstration zone immediately or face arrest and criminal charges.

“You must leave the area now,” reads the notice. “Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking [of] streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

The notice is an escalation of law-enforcement efforts as the protest against vaccine mandates and social restrictions enters its 20th day. The move comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers this week aimed at ending the demonstrations.

Ottawa police, in its notice, said that with the new powers made available under the federal emergency order, it is now illegal for new protesters or their supporters to enter downtown Ottawa and join the demonstration. Police also said drivers’ licenses could be revoked, per a separate emergency order from the province of Ontario. -WSJ

De ingeroepen wet geeft in Canada nu al veel problemen, met name over wie doelwit zijn, en op wie gelet moet worden.

Trudeau’s orders, aimed in part at cutting off funds to protesters, have a wider scope than previously reported – which is “forcing portfolio managers and securities firms to take a harder look at who they are doing business with,” according to Bloomberg.

The new rules make demands of a broad list of entities — including banks, investment firms, credit unions, loan companies, securities dealers, fundraising platforms, insurance companies and fraternal benefit societies. They must determine whether they’re in “possession or control of property” of a person who’s attending an illegal protest or providing supplies to demonstrators, according to orders published by the government late Tuesday night. 
If they find such a person in their customer list, they must freeze their accounts and report it to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or Canada’s intelligence service, the regulations say. Any suspicious transactions must also be reported to the country’s anti-money-laundering agency, known as Fintrac. -Bloomberg

Trudeau heeft echter nóg een probleem dat hij niet heeft geadresseerd: de ingeroepen wet vereist dat de regering binnen 7 dagen na inroepen een debat in het parlement voert over de maatregel, en daar een meerderheid aan steun voor verkrijgt:

During the first question period after invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time on Feb. 14, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked by the Tories when this extreme measure would be debated in the House of Commons.
“Twenty-four hours in and there are more questions than answers: questions about whether this is justified, questions around if the criteria is met, questions around what this means to Canadians’ rights and freedoms. Parliamentary approval is required in order for the prime minister to use this unprecedented sledgehammer,” said interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen.

En zover is het dus nog bij lange na niet. Er is geen datum aangekondigd, en dat debat dient uiterlijk maandag te worden voltooid. Maar de hierboven besproken maatregelen en operaties van de politie van Ottawa suggereren dat Trudeau voornemens is eerst te handelen (dit weekend lijkt dus waarschijnlijk), en nadien in het parlement zijn gelijk te halen.

Dit is een hoogst dubieuze manier van werken, zeker omdat de premiers van een aantal deelstaten al hebben aangekondigd het niet met Trudeaus aanpak eens te zijn. Oppositie en tegenstanders van de inzet van deze wet zeggen dan ook dat aan de in de wet vereiste criteria niet is voldaan, zodat de inzet er van niet kan.

Opponents of the Emergencies Act’s use, such as civil liberties and constitutional rights groups, say the current situation does not meet the threshold for its implementation, and so debates in the House of Commons could help to flesh out the government’s narrative for invoking it.

“So can the prime minister tell us when will Parliament be debating this? Will it be coming to us on Friday? And does he expect that we will look at it Friday but then rise, take a week off, and not actually deal with this until March?” Bergen said.

De reactie van Trudeau was kenmerkend voor een westers politicus die in problemen verkeert:

Trudeau did not answer directly, saying that before invoking the Act he consulted with his cabinet, his caucus, the premiers, and the opposition leaders.

“The scope of these measures are time-limited and geographically-targeted. They are reasonable and proportionate to the threats they’re meant to address. And they are fully to be compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to reassure all Canadians that this is the right thing to move forward,” Trudeau said.

Bergen questioned if invoking the Act would instead make things worse, now that the blockades of Coutts in Alberta and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., are cleared.
She also referred to her recent motion calling for a plan to end federal mandates that was defeated by the Liberals and NDP on Feb. 14, asking Trudeau when he would “end the divisive, outdated, and unscientific mandates and restrictions.”

In response, Trudeau accused Tories of playing “crass political games and divide.”

De situatie kan niet veel langer zo voortduren, dat is duidelijk:

The cross-country movement of protests was started by truck drivers asking for the lifting of COVID-19 vaccination requirement for drivers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. As more supporters joined the movement, many are now asking for an end to all COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. Many protesters are saying they will remain in Ottawa until the government lifts the mandates.
Trudeau has refused to meet with protesters and hear their concerns, while linking them with racism and hatred, a charge the protest organizers deny, saying they are peaceful.
Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 for the first time since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988.
The government is required to table its declaratio in the Parliament within seven days, and a parliamentary committee will oversee the issue while the emergency is in effect, officials speaking on background said at a press conference on Feb. 15.
With emergency powers, the federal government will be able to compel towing companies to help remove the trucks blocking the streets of Ottawa, and also crack down on financing by allowing banks to freeze the accounts of the protesters and supporters. Fines and prison sentences will also be easier to hand out to participants under the Act.
The premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec are opposed to the federal government’s move to invoke the Act.
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec have either ended their vaccine passport programs, or intend to end them in the near future.

Zeker niet nu er voor de mandaten waar door de regering-Trudeau op is ingezet hun functie lijken te verliezen: Corona wordt wereldwijd als een aflopen de zaak beschouwd. Dat zal het voor de regering-Trudeau moeilijker maken net te doen alsof de pandemie zojuist is begonnen.

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