Emergencies Act inquiry called by federal government

The federal government has officially called an independent public inquiry into its use of the Emergencies Act during the blockades at Canadian border crossings and in Ottawa earlier this year.

The Emergencies Act requires the government to call an inquiry into the use of the legislation within 60 days of revoking the declaration.

The review will examine the circumstances that led to the declaration and the measures taken to deal with it.

The act was invoked for the first time in Canadian history in mid February. It gave the federal government the power to ban public gatherings in specific areas, take control of public services it deems necessary to deal with the situation, and issue fines and jail time to those who breach public orders.

The blockades made several border crossings across the country virtually unusable. They also brought the downtown core of the nation’s capital to a standstill for more than two weeks.

When he invoked the Emergencies Act, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the demonstrations were not peaceful and that it was apparent there were “serious challenges” for police to enforce the law.

The motion to approve use of the Emergencies Act passed with a vote of 185-151. It was supported by the Liberals and NDP, while Conservative and Bloc Quebecois MPs voted against it.

Many Tory MPs had previously argued that the federal government overstepped its bounds by invoking the temporary measures.

Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen was among those to express her disdain.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has also said the government did not meet the threshold to invoke the act and was seeking judicial review.

Use of the Emergencies Act was revoked on Feb. 23 after just more than a week.

Trudeau has said the measures complied with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

-With files from Michael Ranger, Meredith Bond, and Lucas Casaletto