Ottawa, February 21: Invoking the Emergencies Act has been necessary, but the situation that prompted it is “not something we ever want to see again,” nor is it over, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday.
Asked whether the wide-spanning national emergency powers are still required, given the blockades at border crossings have been alleviated and downtown Ottawa is quiet and largely free from trucks or convoy protesters after a weekend of massive police operations, Trudeau said he doesn’t want to keep the Act in effect “a single day longer” than it needs to be.
“This state of emergency is not over. There continues to be real concerns about the coming days. But we will continue to evaluate every single day whether or not it is time,” said the prime minister during a press conference on Monday.
Trudeau thanked the law enforcement agencies from across the country who joined the operations in Ottawa and noted that the last few weeks have been difficult, “disturbing,” and stressful for many Canadians.
“This situation is not anything anyone wanted and, quite frankly, is not something we ever want to see again,” Trudeau said.
The prime minister said that the country now has a choice to make as a society: To choose to keep “reliving these scenes that tear at the values that bind us as Canadians,” or “choose to remember who we are, and the best vision of what Canada can be.”
Echoing his comments when he first enacted the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, Trudeau said that he did not want to take the unprecedented step of using these powers, but the situation required it.
From weeks of unlawful activity, harassment of citizens, impacts to businesses, and acts of desecration, to evidence of ideologically motivated violent extremism and foreign-backed funding and disinformation, Trudeau said it was clear that local and provincial authorities did not have the tools needed to restore order.
Later today, MPs will be voting to confirm the powers, with Trudeau suggesting he also views the vote as an indication of the level of confidence the House of Commons has in his continued leadership.
“I can’t imagine anyone voting against this bill as expressing anything other than a deep mistrust in the government’s ability to keep Canadians safe at an extraordinarily important time,” Trudeau said.
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