Corona protests in Canada: blockades are to be ended by emergency law

Created: 02/15/2022, 11:08 am

By: Stefan Krieger

The protests against compulsory vaccination in Canada have turned into blockades against the entire corona policy.

Premier Trudeau takes an unusual step.

• In Canada, people with truck convoys are protesting against compulsory vaccination and corona policy*.

• With so-called "freedom" convoys, truck drivers block several border crossings to the USA*

• Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to act against the opposition of several prime ministers.

Ottawa - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shows no leniency when dealing with blockades by opponents of the Corona measures.

In an unusual move, on Monday (02/14/2022) Trudeau invoked the government's emergency powers to crack down on the protests led by truck drivers.

Authorities are now being given more legal powers to arrest protesters, confiscate their trucks and cut off funding for the protests.

According to their own statements, the police had previously found a weapons cache during a blockade at a border crossing.

"The federal government has invoked the Emergency Act to supplement provincial and territorial capacities to deal with the blockades and occupations," Trudeau told reporters.

"We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue." Trudeau said he has invoked the emergency law to end anti-government blockades, which he describes as illegal, not peaceful protest.

It is only the second time in Canadian history that a prime minister has exercised such powers in peacetime.

Corona protests in Canada: the military should not be deployed at first

"It's about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people's jobs and restoring trust in our institutions," Trudeau said.

The measure is “limited in time” and is used “geographically targeted”.

The military should therefore initially not be used.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not rule out the violent dissolution of the trucker blockades in Canada that have been going on for more than two weeks.

© Justin Tang / dpa

With so-called “freedom convoys”, truck drivers are currently blocking several border crossings to the USA and the capital Ottawa.

At the weekend, the authorities had already cleared the important Ambassador border bridge, which connects the Canadian province of Ontario with the US metropolis of Detroit.

The production of several car manufacturers, which had come to a standstill in the meantime due to the blockade, was resumed on Monday.

Corona protests in Canada: Protests are now also directed against the prime minister

On Monday, police discovered guns and handguns and “large amounts of ammunition” in several vehicles at a blocked border crossing * between Coutts in the state of Alberta and the US state of Montana.

Eleven suspects were arrested.

"The group is said to have been prepared to use force against the police if attempts were made to disrupt the blockade," the police said.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.

© Justin Tang / dpa

The actions of the truck drivers had started in protest against the vaccination requirement at border crossings, which had been introduced by Canada and the USA in mid-January.

Unvaccinated Canadian truck drivers must therefore isolate themselves for two weeks when returning from the USA, while US drivers without a vaccination are not allowed into the country at all.

Several Canadian states have now announced that vaccination certificates will be lifted, including Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The demonstrations are now directed against the Corona rules and the government of Prime Minister Trudeau in general*.

The protests have found imitators around the world, including in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Israel and New Zealand.

Corona protests in Canada: Prime Ministers announce resistance

Canada's Emergency Act can be used in the event of a "national crisis".

It allows the federal government in Ottawa "temporary, extraordinary measures".

It was last used in 1970 by the incumbent Prime Minister's father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, to send the army to Quebec after separatists kidnapped a British trade attaché and a minister there.

The minister, Pierre Laporte, was later found dead in a trunk.

Prior to Justin Trudeau's announcement, several Canadian state prime ministers had expressed their opposition to the law's application.

(skr with afp/dpa)