Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested on Monday that while protests surrounding Parliament Hill in Ottawa have mostly dispersed and the horns are no longer sounding, the work to heal the pandemic divisions in the country that the convoy exposed must now begin.
He made the comments ahead of a vote by MPs on the invocation of the Emergencies Act, which would be revoked if that vote fails.
Trudeau that the Emergencies Act would not be revoked yet as the “state of emergency is not over.” There are concerns over the coming days, he said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino added that the government has seen reports of “potential activity” in the Ottawa area and needs to remain “vigilant” to further potential blockades. The act will lift 30 days after it was invoked, so about mid-March, unless another vote is taken to extend it.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that people need to be “very, very careful” to get the “facts exactly right” regarding the Emergencies Act. She spoke about two Conservative MPs who claim constituents donated small amounts to the so-called “Freedom Convoy” and had their accounts frozen. She countered that at no time, did the RCMP provide a list of donors to Financial Institutions. She said that, according to the RCMP, the police force did provide names of organizers and leaders of the protests and of people whose trucks were “part of occupations and blockades” to financial institutions. She added the measures only applied as of Feb. 15.
The vote on the act is expected to pass when MPs vote at approximately 8 p.m. ET, with the NDP voicing its support for the act. The Conservatives and Bloc Québecois have said they would vote against the motion. If the motion fails, however, the act and all powers stemming from it would be torn up. If it passes, they will remain in place until mid-March at the latest.
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