An independent public inquiry into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act last February, in response to the “Freedom Convoy” blockade, will begin this week. The invocation of the Act—a law that was passed in 1988—was unprecedented in the history of the country, and automatically resulted in the establishment of the
Oct 11, 2022·edited Oct 11, 2022Liked by Linda Pannozzo
Minor point, but the use of the Emergencies Act is not truly unprecedented. Its predecessor, the War Measures Act, was invoked in October 1970 and subsequently judged to give government too much power. The Emergencies Act replaced it and included the public accountability process we are about to see. I'm glad the CCLA is intervening and expect some valuable insights.
Thanks Bill. Yes, you are correct, the War Measures Act was invoked by P. Trudeau in 1970. But this was the first time the Emergencies Act was invoked. In the piece I wrote in February I covered a bit of that ground: https://lindapannozzo.substack.com/p/a-sledgehammer-to-crack-a-peanut
Minor point, but the use of the Emergencies Act is not truly unprecedented. Its predecessor, the War Measures Act, was invoked in October 1970 and subsequently judged to give government too much power. The Emergencies Act replaced it and included the public accountability process we are about to see. I'm glad the CCLA is intervening and expect some valuable insights.
Thanks Bill. Yes, you are correct, the War Measures Act was invoked by P. Trudeau in 1970. But this was the first time the Emergencies Act was invoked. In the piece I wrote in February I covered a bit of that ground: https://lindapannozzo.substack.com/p/a-sledgehammer-to-crack-a-peanut
Thanks for covering this. I'm hoping, with some of the last bits of my waning optimism, that the CCLA's goals are met. Should be interesting.