tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/canadas-emergencies-act-84699/articlesCanada's Emergencies Act – The Conversation2023-02-21T22:09:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2002302023-02-21T22:09:13Z2023-02-21T22:09:13ZEmergencies Act inquiry final report is a reminder that we all have a role in upholding the rule of law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511499/original/file-20230221-24-saifen.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C38%2C8575%2C5691&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Justice Paul Rouleau releases his report on the Liberal government's use of the Emergencies Act, in Ottawa, on Feb.17, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/emergencies-act-inquiry-final-report-is-a-reminder-that-we-all-have-a-role-in-upholding-the-rule-of-law" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>On Feb. 17, <a href="https://publicorderemergencycommission.ca/final-report/">Justice Paul Rouleau issued his final report</a> for the Public Order Emergency Commission. In a calm and measured tone, <a href="https://publicorderemergencycommission.ca/">Rouleau concluded</a> that the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to address <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-every-canadian-should-remember-about-the-freedom-convoy-crisis-178296">the February 2022 Convoy Crisis</a> was appropriate.</p>
<p>The Commission’s legally mandated role was to determine if the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act was justified by gathering facts and laying them out before the public. In the overall framework of the act, such commissions promote the rule of law by facilitating public accountability. </p>
<p>It ensures accountability for the government’s use of emergency powers. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511596704">While every constitutional regime</a> has emergency laws that temporarily give the state concentrated power and the ability to limit rights in a crisis, most emergency laws prioritize flexibility over accountability. Canada’s Emergencies Act does not. </p>
<p>It’s far from perfect, but through mechanisms like the inquiry, the Emergencies Act takes the <a href="https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/2020/04/canada-the-good/">rule of law and accountability seriously</a>. </p>
<p>At the front end of decision-making, <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-22-4th-supp/latest/rsc-1985-c-22-4th-supp.html?autocompleteStr=emergencies%20act&autocompletePos=5">the act sets out a labyrinth of unusually strict criteria</a> for declaring emergencies and issuing emergency measures. These decisions are subject to parliamentary oversight. </p>
<p>At the back end of the process stands the requirement for an inquiry: any use of executive power must stand and justify itself before the public. In a democracy, the people are sovereign, and elections ensure we have the final say — even on emergency measures. </p>
<h2>Rouleau’s report</h2>
<p>In his five-volume report, Rouleau documents the convoy’s evolution. While its roots lie deeper, this movement galvanized around resistance to federal pandemic measures, then culminated in border blockades and the effective occupation of the national capital. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A title page that says 'Report of the Public Inquiry into the 2022 Public Order Emergency' lies in an open binder" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511504/original/file-20230221-3073-xfkw6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511504/original/file-20230221-3073-xfkw6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511504/original/file-20230221-3073-xfkw6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511504/original/file-20230221-3073-xfkw6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511504/original/file-20230221-3073-xfkw6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511504/original/file-20230221-3073-xfkw6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511504/original/file-20230221-3073-xfkw6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A copy of Justice Paul Rouleau’s report on the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act is shown in Ottawa on Feb. 17, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-use-emergency-powers-during-freedom-convoy-met-threshold-commissioner-2023-02-17/">Reluctantly, Rouleau gave his qualified approval</a> to the government’s decision to use the Emergencies Act to end the crisis. More cautiously, he approved only certain elements of the special temporary measures — restrictions on movement and property rights — the government undertook under the act’s authority to safely end the crisis. </p>
<p>But beneath Rouleau’s unruffled tone roils a current of chastisement, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/canada-trucker-protests-trudeau.html">complicating headlines vindicating the federal government</a>. The rule of law in an emergency is everybody’s job and Rouleau found that, in February 2022, nearly everyone fell short. </p>
<h2>Many failures</h2>
<p>Some convoy protesters, the report finds, concealed unlawful intentions under the guise of lawful protest. Those peacefully protesting vaccine mandates exercised <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2018CanLIIDocs66#!fragment//BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoByCgSgBpltTCIBFRQ3AT0otokLC4EbDtyp8BQkAGU8pAELcASgFEAMioBqAQQByAYRW1SYAEbRS2ONWpA">freedoms vital to a healthy democracy</a>. But among them were <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-leaders-of-truck-convoy-protests-sought-overthrow-of-government/">others who sought to overthrow the government</a>.</p>
<p>Some protesters in Ottawa were considerate of their host city. Others mocked its residents’ misery. Some brought flags, but <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/coutts-protest-blockade-arrests-rcmp-monday-1.6351112">others brought guns</a>. Those who cloaked their misdeeds under the guise of the public good fell short of respecting the rule of law. </p>
<p>But the report found that government leaders and news media who painted all the protesters as “<a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/9495793/trudeau-says-he-regrets-calling-ottawa-protesters-a-fringe-minority">a small fringe minority</a>” fell short as well. These leaders disdained the fundamental rights at stake in the convoy events.</p>
<p>Convoy leaders fell short, too. The convoy <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-freedom-convoy-protests-were-unsafe-and-chaotic-inquiry-finds-1.6278508">evolved past peaceful, lawful protest</a>. Organizers who wilfully ignored the harassment, threats and dangers the protest imposed on Ottawans must take responsibility for allowing the abuse of the fundamental freedoms they sought to celebrate.</p>
<p>Ottawa police fell short of fulfilling their duty. Their response, Rouleau found, was riddled with failures of planning, communication, co-ordination, intelligence-sharing, staffing and oversight. This was even the case when accounting for the unique difficulties of the crisis.</p>
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<img alt="A group of RCMP officers in tactical gear stand behind a line of municipal police officers in fluorescent vests" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511512/original/file-20230221-22-q0jypz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511512/original/file-20230221-22-q0jypz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511512/original/file-20230221-22-q0jypz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511512/original/file-20230221-22-q0jypz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511512/original/file-20230221-22-q0jypz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511512/original/file-20230221-22-q0jypz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511512/original/file-20230221-22-q0jypz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">RCMP tactical officers prepare to clear protesters from a blockade of vehicles on Rideau St. during a protest against COVID-19 measures in Ottawa in February 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Weaknesses and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/emergencies-act-ottawa-police-intelligence-fail-1.6752239">gaps in federal intelligence gathering</a> hampered the federal government’s ability to understand the convoy situation on the ground, to properly prepare and lend support to other governments and agencies.</p>
<p>Ontario’s government did little and collaborated less, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/02/17/emergencies-act-report-finds-ontario-abandoned-ottawa-in-freedom-convoy-protests.html">leaving Ottawa residents feeling</a> “abandoned by their provincial government during a time of crisis.” Rouleau confirmed: this was a <a href="https://twitter.com/althiaraj/status/1626635026266718232?cxt=HHwWsICw_YT8-5ItAAAA">failure of federalism</a>. Government leaders had, on the whole, failed to put the common good above the politics of the moment.</p>
<h2>A shared responsibility</h2>
<p>Rouleau made dozens of recommendations about co-ordination and information-sharing within and between governments, oversight for secret and sensitive information and future commissions of inquiry. These sound dry, but the report shows it was at these very intersections where the rubber hit the road, so to speak. </p>
<p>Conflicts between values of co-ordination and autonomy, and transparency and secrecy, mean few of the proposed reforms will be easy. Some parties, such as Ontario Premier Doug Ford <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ford-says-he-wont-testify-at-emergencies-act-inquiry-because-its-a/">who previously disavowed the Commission</a>, may have little motivation to come to the table at all. And in some ways, the report is a litany of failures; the fact that the Emergencies Act was necessary at all is nothing to celebrate.</p>
<p>But there is reason for cheer. The existence of the inquiry, and the presentation of the inquiry’s facts before the public, makes vibrant public discussion, accountability and demands for improvement possible. Such exercises of public accountability <a href="https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/2020/07/emergencies-and-the-rule-of-learning/">sustain the rule of law</a>, even in times of crisis. </p>
<p>Now it’s our turn to take responsibility: how will we use these findings? What will we demand of leaders? How will we hold them to account at the polls? This is how we show our commitment to the rule of law project, a project for which we are all — every one — responsible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jocelyn Stacey receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the McLachlin Foundation. She was a member of the Public Order Emergency Commission's Research Council, but writes here as an expert and scholar in the field of emergencies and the law.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nomi Claire Lazar receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the British Academy. She was a member of the Public Order Emergency Commission's Research Council, but writes here in her own capacity as a scholar of emergency powers. </span></em></p>The Emergencies Act inquiry final report found that almost all parties involved fell short of upholding the rule of law during the convoy protests.Jocelyn Stacey, Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British ColumbiaNomi Claire Lazar, Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1772042022-02-22T17:13:01Z2022-02-22T17:13:01ZHow authorities are targeting the ‘freedom convoy’ money via the Emergencies Act<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447568/original/file-20220221-17-1z0gfuq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4446&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A camper gets hauled away by authorities in Ottawa in front of a Bank of Montreal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Canadian government gave itself extraordinary powers for a 30-day period to end the “freedom convoy” occupation of Ottawa by invoking the <a href="https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2022/2022-02-15-x1/html/sor-dors20-eng.html">Emergencies Act</a>.</p>
<p>The situation was especially difficult in Ottawa, where trucks occupied the downtown core and Parliament Hill for weeks. Tensions with residents came to a breaking point after three weeks of incessant noise, shuttered businesses, harassment and disruption of normal life. </p>
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<p>Two types of emergency measures were adopted. </p>
<p>First, the <a href="https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2022/2022-02-15-x1/html/sor-dors21-eng.html">Emergency Measures Regulations</a> prohibit public gatherings that could “lead to a breach of the peace.” The regulations also ban travelling to such gatherings, as well as providing any type of property in support of them.</p>
<p>Second, the <a href="https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2022/2022-02-15-x1/html/sor-dors22-eng.html">Emergency Economic Measures Order</a> is aimed at starving the convoy of money and deterring people from supporting its activities. It deprived convoy participants of the ability to pay for gasoline to keep vehicles and generators running, food, hotel rooms, bouncy castles, fireworks, etc. The goal was to end the convoy’s activities so that the city of Ottawa could get back to normal without any need for a violent crackdown.</p>
<p>How did the federal government take away the convoy’s financial resources to force them to end their activities? It did so in two ways: by stopping new money from being sent to convoy organizers and participants, and by blocking access to funds already in their hands. </p>
<h2>Crowdfunding played a big role</h2>
<p>Stopping the flow of new funds means preventing donations from reaching the convoy’s organizers or anyone associated with them. Crowdfunding platforms have been the main vehicle for channelling donations to the convoy. </p>
<p>Until the Emergencies Act was invoked, the only way to stop donations from reaching the convoy was by appealing to the goodwill of crowdfunding platforms, as occurred <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/gofundme-stops-payments-1.6340526">with GoFundMe</a>, or by seeking legal injunctions against them, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ontario-court-freezes-access-to-donations-for-truckers-protest-from-givesendgo-1.5776674">as with GiveSendGo</a>. </p>
<p>In GiveSendGo’s case, the crowdfunding platform refused to abide by the judge’s ruling. It claimed that the Ontario court did not have jurisdiction over its operations since it’s based in the United States. </p>
<p>Furthermore, even if GiveSendGo had respected the injunction, donations to the convoy would have just moved to another platform. That’s what happened after GoFundMe froze the funds destined to the convoy; donors moved to GiveSendGo and other platforms, including ones collecting donations in <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canadian-trucker-protest-raises-over-161208767.html">cryptocurrencies like Tallycoin</a>.</p>
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<p>The emergency economic measures now require domestic and foreign crowdfunding platforms to register temporarily with the <a href="https://www.fintrac-canafe.gc.ca/intro-eng">Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)</a>. </p>
<p>This means they must provide FINTRAC with information about donations sent to the convoy (or similar activities being organized), no matter the amount. That’s because the convoy i<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/givesendgo-risks-breaking-anti-terrorism-laws-funding-truckers-protests-1679191">s now considered akin to a terrorist organization.</a></p>
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<p>According to Barry MacKillop, FINTRAC’s deputy director for intelligence, crowdfunding platforms were not under FINTRAC’s regulatory purview <a href="https://www.fintrac-canafe.gc.ca/new-neuf/ps-pa/2022-02-10-eng">until the Emergencies Act was invoked</a>.</p>
<p>Why such platforms were not already covered by existing rules is unclear, since they are in the business of <a href="https://www.cigionline.org/articles/authorities-were-warned-about-extremist-fundraising-online-but-did-not-seem-to-hear/">remitting or transmitting funds</a>. In any case, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland plans to introduce legislation so that crowdfunding platforms <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2022/02/remarks-by-the-deputy-prime-minister-and-minister-of-finance-regarding-the-emergencies-act.html">continue to register with and report to FINTRAC after the emergency ends</a>.</p>
<p>Once FINTRAC receives information on convoy donations from crowdfunding platforms, it analyzes the information and passes it on to law enforcement agencies like the RCMP. Law enforcement authorities are responsible for freezing the funds associated with these donations, not FINTRAC. </p>
<p>What happens to the seized funds depends on <a href="https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/app-acq/gbs-spm/index-eng.html">the legal proceedings that follow</a>, but convoy donors could lose their donations forever. This possibility is aimed at deterring new donations.</p>
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<img alt="A police checkpoint is seen on a busy city street at dusk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447572/original/file-20220221-25-1uofyle.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447572/original/file-20220221-25-1uofyle.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447572/original/file-20220221-25-1uofyle.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447572/original/file-20220221-25-1uofyle.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447572/original/file-20220221-25-1uofyle.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447572/original/file-20220221-25-1uofyle.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447572/original/file-20220221-25-1uofyle.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Police work a checkpoint after authorities took action to clear the ‘freedom convoy’ in Ottawa over the weekend.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span>
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<h2>Will foreign platforms comply?</h2>
<p>What isn’t clear yet is whether foreign crowdfunding platforms are complying with the new requirement to register with and report to FINTRAC (if they collect donations for the convoy), and, if they don’t, how they’ll be sanctioned. </p>
<p>For this reason, blocking access to financial services used by the convoy’s organizers and associates has probably been more effective at starving the protests of funds. The emergency economic measures require financial institutions, payments platforms, funding platforms, digital currency exchanges, etc., to stop doing business with anyone directly or indirectly associated with the convoy.</p>
<p>This includes freezing their accounts for the emergency’s duration. The measures also cover those who provide in-kind contributions to the convoy, like food or gas.</p>
<p>Fear of losing access to their money, even if only for a few weeks, should keep people and businesses away from the convoy and its activities. But law enforcement authorities must play their part. </p>
<p>First, they must collect the names of people and companies associated with the convoy and pass them on to entities providing financial services in Canada (so accounts can be frozen). Second, they need to ensure that sanctions are imposed on anyone in the financial system who does not abide by the Emergency Economic Measures Order.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person walks past a shop that advertises a Bitcoin ATM." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447574/original/file-20220221-28-ffj536.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A sign advertises a Bitcoin automated teller machine, or ATM, at a shop in Halifax.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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<p>After that, the only way for the convoy movement to survive would be to conduct its entire business in cash. But with accounts in Canada frozen, where would the cash come from? It isn’t likely to come from <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3nw4j/freedom-convoy-truckers-struggle-to-cash-out-bitcoin-worth-dollar1-million">converting Bitcoins collected for the convoy into cash</a> because it’s too difficult to do without going through traditional financial institutions.</p>
<p>Cash would have to come from abroad, especially the United States, where accounts cannot be frozen. Already, anyone bringing more than $10,000 in any form into Canada must declare it. And border officials have likely been extra-vigilant about cash entering the country in the past few days.</p>
<p>The backbone of the convoy’s activities was its access to a steady flow of financing from donors both domestic and foreign. By deterring convoy supporters and participants, the federal government made it easier for law enforcement to bring a relatively peaceful end to an unprecedented crisis in Canada.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Leblond is affiliated with the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations (CIRANO).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Costanza Musu receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. (SSHRC) </span></em></p>The backbone of the so-called freedom convoy’s activities was its access to a steady flow of financing from donors both domestic and foreign. The Emergencies Act put a stop to that.Patrick Leblond, CN-Paul M. Tellier Chair on Business and Public Policy, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaCostanza Musu, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1770472022-02-15T20:49:14Z2022-02-15T20:49:14ZProtecting infrastructure from the ‘freedom convoy’ could forever silence legitimate dissent<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446528/original/file-20220215-23-185h97i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5181%2C2900&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Traffic flows over the Ambassador Bridge joining Detroit and Windsor, Ont., a day after protesters who were blocking it were cleared by police under Ontario's declaration of emergency. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Invocation of emergency measures may succeed in breaking the “freedom convoy” siege of Ottawa and restoring the flow of people and goods across the Canada-United States border (estimated to be <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/windsor-bridge-blockade-1.6344714">$300 million a day</a> at the Ambassador Bridge alone). </p>
<p>But we should be concerned that powers instituted in the midst of crises could become permanent fixtures. A plausible outcome of the current crisis is enhanced police powers to stifle legitimate public dissent in the future.</p>
<p>Despite the gravity of Emergencies Act being invoked temporarily at the federal level for the first time, this outcome is most pernicuous at the provincial level. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-in-crisis-why-justin-trudeau-has-invoked-the-emergencies-act-to-end-trucker-protests-177017">Canada in crisis: Why Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act to end trucker protests</a>
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<p>Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-announcement-ontario-protests-1.6347810">declaration of emergency</a> on Feb. 11 contained provisions for enhanced police powers in relation to “critical infrastructure” described as “international border crossings, 400-series highways, airports, ports, bridges and railways.” </p>
<p>Ford said he had “every intention” to make the temporary emergency measures pertaining to critical infrastructure “permanent in law” as soon as possible.</p>
<h2>Assigning points to infrastructure risks</h2>
<p>For much of the Cold War, the federal government operated <a href="https://security.frontline.online/content/protection-resilience">a civil defence program known as the vital points program</a>, which is a rough precursor to what we recognize today as critical infrastructure. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/cls.2019.5">What I’ve learned</a> from researching 50 years of these efforts is that what’s deemed “vital,” “essential” and “critical” to a country is shaped by expectations of the threats and sources of vulnerability that prevail in a given period. </p>
<p>For example, the list of vital points compiled in 1958 (about 150) to protect civilian industry from sabotage is quite different from the list of vital points crafted only a few years later when the threat of a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/cold-war-culture-the-nuclear-fear-of-the-1950s-and-1960s">nuclear strike became a distinct possibility</a> (about 500). It looked different yet again in the 1970s after the <a href="https://historyofrights.ca/history/october-crisis/">FLQ crisis (about 8,000)</a>. </p>
<p>Each of these lists are glimpses at what was deemed to be important in relation to political calculations on threats, vulnerabilities and collective priorities of the time.</p>
<p>Today there are multiple sources of danger to society: climate change, pandemics and extremist-driven social unrest directed at democratic institutions. Yet the focus on distinct risks to society is almost exclusively economic in nature, particularly the national competitiveness of our largest industries. </p>
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<img alt="A flooded highway with mountains in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446540/original/file-20220215-25-10p4ui8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446540/original/file-20220215-25-10p4ui8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446540/original/file-20220215-25-10p4ui8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446540/original/file-20220215-25-10p4ui8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446540/original/file-20220215-25-10p4ui8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446540/original/file-20220215-25-10p4ui8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446540/original/file-20220215-25-10p4ui8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Highway 1 is seen covered in flood waters looking towards Chilliwack, B.C., in November 2021 after massive rainfall and flooding.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span>
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<p>In other words, in an era of neoliberal economic expansion in which global competitiveness is paramount, what gets counted as “critical” infrastructure is what links local and regional economic activity to global economic flows. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-exactly-is-neoliberalism-84755">What exactly is neoliberalism?</a>
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<p>While this may seem as obvious and invisible as water is to a fish, the benefit of a historical perspective is in revealing how contingent, fragile and above all recent this particular understanding of critical infrastructure is. </p>
<p>And made invisible in these calculations are the more endemic sources of harm that afflict our most vulnerable and politically powerless populations, such as the lack of safe drinking water for Indigenous and northern communities in Ontario. This and other infrastructure deficits that can be life-or-death for some communities literally do not get accounted for in what is considered “critical” today.</p>
<h2>Enhances police powers</h2>
<p>Ford’s emergency order is intended to enhance police powers in relation to the material systems of global capitalism.</p>
<p>Just look at the Toronto G20 protests for a cautionary tale of how these powers can be misused. The province drew upon the <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2010/07/02/what-is-the-public-works-protection-act-anyway/">Public Works Protection Act</a> of 1939, which enhanced police powers to secure “any railway, canal, highway, bridge, power works, or any other public works.” </p>
<p>While the public works designation applied to the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre and surrounding security fence, deliberate obfuscation over the limits of the designation led police to arrest people across the downtown core, which contributed to the largest <a href="https://www.oiprd.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/G20-Systemic-Review-2012_E-2.pdf">mass arrests</a> in Canadian history.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Police surround and club protesters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446539/original/file-20220215-4191-e4rir7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446539/original/file-20220215-4191-e4rir7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446539/original/file-20220215-4191-e4rir7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446539/original/file-20220215-4191-e4rir7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446539/original/file-20220215-4191-e4rir7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446539/original/file-20220215-4191-e4rir7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446539/original/file-20220215-4191-e4rir7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Police club a crowd of activists during the protest at the G20 Summit in Toronto in June 2010.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese</span></span>
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<p>And even if comparable powers are used with restraint today, the sheer density of locales that could be construed as “critical” to some form of important economic activity could make cities like Toronto, Vancouver or Montréal effectively no-go zones for displays of public dissent. </p>
<p>Protests, if allowed to occur at all, will have fewer and less strategic places to be visible at all.</p>
<h2>Shutting down dissent</h2>
<p>Legislation in other provinces, such as Alberta’s <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/protecting-critical-infrastructure.aspx">Critical Infrastructure Defence Act</a>, may provide a model for what Ford envisions for Ontario. Or we may see the cobbling together of existing laws to regulate public dissent in the vicinity of critical infrastructure. </p>
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<img alt="Police swarm protesters near a railway crossing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446527/original/file-20220215-17-1bjzlrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446527/original/file-20220215-17-1bjzlrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446527/original/file-20220215-17-1bjzlrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446527/original/file-20220215-17-1bjzlrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446527/original/file-20220215-17-1bjzlrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446527/original/file-20220215-17-1bjzlrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446527/original/file-20220215-17-1bjzlrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ontario Provincial Police officers make arrests at a 2020 rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory as they protest in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
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<p>Who loses most? Racialized and marginalized populations whose protest movements who are already subject to ongoing forms of monitoring, infiltration, violence and pre-emptive police action that were conspicuously missing from the convoy now occupying Ottawa. </p>
<p>For them, protesting the conditions of white settler liberalism may be further constrained by enhanced powers to secure critical infrastructure once the immediate crisis has passed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Boyle receives funding from the University of Waterloo and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>Racialized and marginalized populations whose protest movements are already subject to ongoing forms of monitoring, infiltration and pre-emptive police action are at risk from the convoy crisis.Philip Boyle, Associate Professor, Public Safety, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1343092020-04-01T14:27:04Z2020-04-01T14:27:04ZThe limits of Canada’s federal emergency law during the coronavirus pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323820/original/file-20200329-146705-khx0wb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5823%2C4515&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on March 26, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While there has never been an official national public health emergency in Canada, there <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/heres-what-happens-if-the-federal-government-declares-an-emergency">has been discussion</a> of whether the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to precipitate one soon. </p>
<p>It’s therefore important to understand the legal framework for public health emergency responses in Canada and identify tools that may be needed to facilitate that response. </p>
<p>One challenge, however, is Canada’s constitutional division of powers, which limits the federal government’s capacity to respond in a public health emergency. </p>
<p>Constitutional federalism involves centralized federal jurisdiction alongside provincial governance, with neither subordinate to the other. Within this structure, the area of health is not specifically assigned to either level of government, which means the federal and provincial governments share public health responsibilities. </p>
<h2>Public health emergency law in Canada</h2>
<p>Provincial authority in public health comes from its constitutionally defined jurisdiction over the delivery of health care and emergency response. </p>
<p>The federal government’s public health power derives from multiple sources. One is the power to quarantine under the provisions of the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-1.html">Constitution Act (1867/1982).</a> </p>
<p><a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/q-1.1/index.html">The Quarantine Act</a>, passed in 2005, is based on this power and allows the federal government to quarantine and isolate individuals at national borders. The federal government also has some jurisdiction in the area of health <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1290/index.do">based on its criminal law power also outlined in the Constitution Act</a>.</p>
<p>The act also allows the federal government to use its power to make laws “<a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1290/index.do">for the peace, order and good government of Canada</a>.” That includes acting in national emergency situations. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anti-inflation-act-reference">Anti-Inflation Act</a> passed in 1976, national emergencies are defined as situations “<a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1290/index.do">imperilling the well-being of the people of Canada as a whole and requiring Parliament’s stern intervention in the interests of the country as a whole</a>.” This doctrine would apply in public health emergencies as well. </p>
<p>Two laws have been created based on the federal government’s emergency powers. First, the 2007 <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-4.56/page-1.html">Emergency Management Act</a> provides a framework for helping provinces in an emergency and co-ordinates the response activities of federal institutions with the provinces. The act doesn’t allow for unilateral intervention by the federal government, but provides a structure for voluntary collaboration between different levels of government. </p>
<h2>No need for provincial co-operation</h2>
<p><a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-4.5/page-1.html">The Emergencies Act of 1985</a> goes further. It gives the federal government authority to declare a national emergency and subsequently act without provincial co-operation.</p>
<p>A national emergency is defined as “<a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1290/index.do">an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that … cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada.</a>” </p>
<p>Four types of emergency are outlined: war emergencies, international emergencies, public order emergencies and public welfare emergencies. A public welfare emergency is caused by “a real or imminent … disease in human beings, animals or plants” that presents a risk to life or property, social disruption or a breakdown in the supply of essential goods or services.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323821/original/file-20200329-146671-g1wjzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323821/original/file-20200329-146671-g1wjzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323821/original/file-20200329-146671-g1wjzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323821/original/file-20200329-146671-g1wjzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323821/original/file-20200329-146671-g1wjzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323821/original/file-20200329-146671-g1wjzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323821/original/file-20200329-146671-g1wjzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bill Blair, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, talks on his phone while he stands with staff in Ottawa on March 13, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To qualify as a national emergency, a situation must “exceed the capacity or the authority … (of provinces) … to deal with.” While it affords extraordinary power to the federal government, it can only be invoked if an emergency extends beyond the control of provinces.</p>
<p>The effectiveness of the Emergencies Act is questionable during a pandemic because federal authorities can intervene only after the spread has exceeded the response capacities of the provinces. But the best and more effective response to a pandemic is stopping the spread of the communicable disease as soon as possible. </p>
<h2>Dealing with the lack of federal authority</h2>
<p>Two options have been suggested to address the lack of federal authority in a national public health emergency.</p>
<p>Both centre on enhancing the power of the federal government vis-à-vis the provinces. One possibility is that <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1290/index.do">Parliament could amend the Emergencies Act to make it easier for the federal government to declare a public welfare emergency</a>. This could be done by adding a provision authorizing the federal government to invoke such an emergency if something merely risks becoming a national emergency. </p>
<p>Another option is to interpret the federal government’s power to quarantine more broadly. The Constitution authorizes the federal government to use isolation or quarantine measures. However, since first drafted in 1867, other techniques to control diseases have developed, such as vaccination and prophylactic drugs.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.070130">Some have argued</a> the original drafters of the Constitution intended to authorize a broad power aimed at protecting public health and that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.070130">these should be included within this power</a>.</p>
<p>For now, the current COVID-19 pandemic has not reached the level of a national public health emergency and so far provinces have mostly responded in co-ordination with the federal government. </p>
<p>But the situation could worsen. And given the structural limitations of Canadian federalism, the use of the Emergencies Act could cause conflict between provincial and federal governments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134309/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Swiffen receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Le Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture. </span></em></p>Given the structural limitations of Canadian federalism, the use of the Emergencies Act during the coronavirus pandemic could cause conflict between provincial and federal governments.Amy Swiffen, Associate Professor of Sociology, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.