Trudeau’s Emergency Measures Act “completely, absolutely unnecessary” says Brian Peckford
“Looking at the situation here in Ottawa, it is peaceful, the streets are clean, crime is down since the truckers arrived. And so therefore, it behooves the government, if they are going to proceed on this movement of invoking this act, to prove that this really is necessary to apply to the capital city and to this convoy,” former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Peckford said on February 14th. Photo: Brandon Austen for RWN
Brian Peckford, the last living signatory of the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms, poured some cold water on Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergency Measures Act on February 14th.
“This is completely, absolutely unnecessary,” Peckford said shortly before Trudeau announced his intentions to invoke the Act at a press conference with several of his Cabinet Ministers. No legal text of the order was tabled in Parliament, or is yet available at the time of this posting.
“This is a very, very strange moment in our history. The Prime Minister and the Government of Canada intends to invoke the Emergencies Act. This will be the first time that has been used; it’s the modern version of the War Measures Act.
“Looking at the situation here in Ottawa, it is peaceful, the streets are clean, crime is down since the truckers arrived. And so therefore, it behooves the government, if they are going to proceed on this movement of invoking this act, to prove that this really is necessary to apply to the capital city and to this convoy.
“It’s a great onus upon the Government of Canada when they start initiating these kinds of actions, that they must be consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in all its values. Remember, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms also says, whereas this country is founded on the principles of the supremacy of God and the rule of law, this must also come into play: the Constitution of this nation, not the Emergency Act, the Constitution of this nation is the supreme law of Canada.”
“We don’t do these kinds of things in Canada: we engage in dialogue. Let’s forget the negotiations for a minute; just natural dialogue to reach out and say “Can we sit down and have a talk, see where the major issues lie and see if there’s any common ground to move?”
“It’s my understanding that the Government of Canada has not reached out once to the truckers since they arrived in this capital city. I find that very hard to understand. Because how can you justify going to measure like an Emergency Measures where a lot of powers can be imposed upon the citizens when you have not even taken any action to engage, yourself? First of all, a dialogue?”
Peckford also made particular note of the fact that Ontario Premier Doug Ford had also announced Emergency Orders only three days earlier, on Friday, February 11th. Those orders were among the powers used by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to remove protesters from the Ambassador Bridge on February 13th. OPP used “kettling” techniques and other non-violent practices to methodically crowd protesters off of the bridge, which reopened early Monday morning.
Also on Monday, Premier Ford announced an easing of COVID restrictions across the province, including the elimination of the Vaccine Passport as of March 1, 2022.
