Kenney says he's greatly disturbed by invocation of federal Emergencies Act
CBC News | Posted: February 18, 2022 2:11 AM | Last Updated: February 18, 2022
Alberta premier says provincial government will table a motion in legislature opposing invocation of the act
Premier Jason Kenney is voicing his opposition to the federal government's invoking of the Emergencies Act, calling it disproportionate and unjustified.
In a video posted to Twitter on Thursday, Kenney said freezing people's bank accounts without due process violates democratic norms.
"The prime minister's decision now to invoke the Federal Emergencies Act disturbs me greatly," Kenney said.
"Alberta will continue strongly to oppose this unnecessary and I believe, a counterproductive use of this extraordinary law, the Emergencies Act."
The premier said while the blockades need to end, he's urging Parliament to defeat the Emergencies Act motion.
"Yes, the law must be enforced, but we can do that in Canada without resorting to these kinds of extreme measures," Kenney said.
He also said he will table a motion in Alberta's legislature when it resumes next week, opposing invocation of the act.
In Ottawa, Liberal House leader Mark Holland said the parties in the House of Commons have agreed to debate the use of the Emergencies Act through the weekend with a vote coming Monday evening.
The motion declaring the government's decision to invoke the act was introduced Wednesday evening and debate began Thursday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off the debate Thursday morning by defending his decision.
"For the good of all Canadians, the illegal blockades and occupations have to stop and the borders have to remain open," he said.
"The blockades and occupations are illegal. They're a threat to our economy and [our] relationship with trading partners. They're a threat to supply chains and the availability of essential goods, like food and medicine. And they're a threat to public safety."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the entire NDP caucus is united behind his decision to support the use of the Emergencies Act, allowing Justin Trudeau to push the measures through the House of Commons.
The NDP leader, who was sharply criticized by Conservative MPs for backing the prime minister, says the move is justified to deal with a national crisis without precedent.
Singh says the Emergencies Act will help cut off funding to the so-called freedom convoy, which he says aims to attack democracy and is organized by people with extremist views.
But Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen said the prime minister did nothing to attempt to de-escalate the situation outside Parliament Hill before invoking the Emergencies Act.
Bergen said the Conservatives are the "party of law and order," and they believe the trucks should move or be moved, but they will keep standing up for protesters.
She described the invocation of the act as a "power grab" by the prime minister.
"We want to lower the temperature across the country. The prime minister clearly wants to raise it," Bergen said.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is seeking a judicial review of the government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to quell anti-government protests in downtown Ottawa and elsewhere.
The group says it does not want to minimize the impacts that the protests are having, but it is unclear that the demonstrations endanger the lives, health or safety of Canadians so seriously that they constitute a national emergency.