The Emergency Act
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says the federal government is considering activating the Emergencies Act to deal with continued trucking protests across the country.
The Act, which replaced the old War Measures Act, gives Ottawa wide powers to declare a national emergency, and deploy whatever forces it deems necessary.
Blair tells the CBC that the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces is also being considered.
He says the truckers’ actions are striking at critical infrastructure and blocking our borders, actions that are harming Canadians.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the cabinet last night, and will reportedly talk with the provincial premiers later today.
The Ottawa protest continues
There’s confusion over the future of the truckers’ protest that has paralyzed downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks.
The capital’s mayor, Jim Watson, says they have an agreement with the organizers to concentrate protest vehicles along the street in front of Parliament Hill, and a road running down the Ottawa River to the west.
That would free up residential streets that have been blocked by the truckers.
Watson says he wants to see evidence that the move is underway by noon today.
However, one of the organizers, Tamara Lich, says no such deal has been reached and promises to continue the blockade until all vaccine mandates are lifted.
Traffic is flowing across Canada’s busiest border crossing again after police broke up the week-long truckers’ protest at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor.
Following a court order, police moved in yesterday to remove the remaining demonstrators.
A dozen people were arrested as vehicles were towed out of the way.