The Emergencies Act has come and gone, and now the inquests begin.
Three questions:
First question: Did the trucker-inspired protests over vaccine mandates that swelled into a national movement with demonstrations across the country calling for the restoration of democratic freedoms – freedoms, it was claimed, that the Trudeau government had taken away –really amount to a “public order emergency,” as the prime minister declared when he invoked the Emergencies Act?
Second question: Was the Emergencies Act really necessary to deal with the three-week occupation of Ottawa, and the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge and other border crossings?
Third question: After these experiences, is the Emergencies Act worth retaining?
First answer: No. By no stretch did the “Freedom Convoy” and the ugly scenes it spawned meet the test set out in the act for “an emergency that arises from threats to the security of Canada and that is so serious as to be a national emergency.” The government was never in peril of being overthrown; the security of the nation was never in jeopardy. The influx of foreign money and the participation of individuals who drew inspiration and tactics from the darkest corners of American protest culture were certainly causes for concern, but not at a level that, as the act puts it, “seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada.” The demonstrations could have been handled, as in the past, by the police, with forces drawing support from one another, as needed. No exceptional powers were required.
Second answer: This may seem at odds with the first answer, but Yes. The Emergencies Act was required because of the failure of the police, especially in Ottawa where they were unable to control the flood of protesters and to defuse the demonstration in a timely manner. Why a local police force should have primary responsibility for protecting the nation’s capital with its many high-value targets is a worthy subject for another day.
As it was, the Ottawa police did not anticipate that the convey would swell the way it did as it approached the capital, and they were caught unawares by the truckers’ strategy. Instead of closing the centre of city to truck traffic, they let the convoy get through to streets adjacent to Parliament Hill. Once the 18-wheelers were parked on Wellington Street, the demonstrators had control.
The Ottawa police are not solely to blame. They are servants of a dysfunctional city council and police commission. Their chief, Peter Sloly (soon to be made the scapegoat), knew he was undermanned, but he could not get the resources he requested. With municipal elections due in the fall, council members were intent on keeping a lid on property taxes; they wanted Sloly to do less policing and reduce his numbers.
Policing being a constitutional responsibility of the provinces, there was one person who could have prevented the mess in Ottawa and broken up blockade of the Ambassador Bridge as it began. That, of course, was Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford. As soon as he saw what was developing, he should have sent enough reinforcements from the OPP and municipal forces across the province to help reopen the streets of Ottawa, back up the Mounties protecting Parliament Hill, and clear the trucks from the Ambassador Bridge. But Ford faces a provincial election in June. He had no intention of carrying the can for breaking up demonstrations organized by truck drivers – they vote – and supported by ordinary Ontarians voters who simply want control of their lives again. The Emergencies Act was his way out. As soon as Justin Trudeau decided to invoke it, Ford had cover. He could dispatch all the police he wished, and if things went badly, he had the PM to blame.
Third answer: No. It is not worth retaining the Emergencies Act. Not in its present form. As I suggested last week, it is too compromised by conditions and limitations to be useful in a genuine emergency. It needs to be replaced – and that’s a subject for another column.
Cambridge resident Geoffrey Stevens is a former Ottawa columnist and managing editor of the Globe and Mail. He is the co-author of Flora! A Woman in a Man’s World. He welcomes comments at geoffstevens40@gmail.com