A Journal of the State of Emergency

 

It is obvious that Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergency Act is a misuse of the Act. Aside from war or natural disaster, the Act is to be triggered only if Canadian national security is threatened by:

(a) espionage or sabotage that is against Canada or is detrimental to the interests of Canada or activities directed toward or in support of such espionage or sabotage,

(b) foreign influenced activities within or relating to Canada that are detrimental to the interests of Canada and are clandestine or deceptive or involve a threat to any person,

(c) activities within or relating to Canada directed toward or in support of the threat or use of acts of serious violence against persons or property for the purpose of achieving a political, religious or ideological objective within Canada or a foreign state, and

(d) activities directed toward undermining by covert unlawful acts, or directed toward or intended ultimately to lead to the destruction or overthrow by violence of, the constitutionally established system of government in Canada,

but does not include lawful advocacy, protest or dissent, unless carried on in conjunction with any of the activities referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d)

In its own words, it is not to be used against lawful protest or dissent. That is exactly how it is being used now.

There been any espionage or sabotage. The government might point to the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge. But if blockade amounts to sabotage, strikes by unionized workers have also just been outlawed. Moreover, the blockade at the bridge has already been ended. There are smaller, less consequential blockages  at Coutts, and one in Manitoba, but the Alberta and Manitoba governments both say there is no emergency.

There have been no threats of or use of violence against persons or property. Despite its size, the convoy has been a model of peaceful protest. The authorities may try to use the seizure of guns near the Coutts border crossing to claim (c) applies. This is pretty weak; Canadians have the right to own guns, and the possession of a gun is hardly evidence of an intent to overthrow the government. There are also claims online that this is a false flag, that the guns actually seized did not come from the convoy or the protesters. Given what the government has already resorted to, these claims are credible. We know they have been using plants and false flags.

There has been no activity for the purpose of overthrowing Canada’s constitution. The government and the NDP have made much of a memorandum, posted online demanding that the governor general dismiss the Trudeau government. However, this is not obviously in violation of the Canadian constitution, and did not call for any violence; and both the truckers and the online memorandum say it has nothing to do with the truckers.

The one charge the government might try is (b), clandestine or deceptive foreign influence. And it looks as though they are trying to do this. On the grounds that much of the money flowing into GoFundMe or GiveSendGo has been from the US.

This is simply inevitable. Nor is it obviously sinister. Nobody raised any red flags when Barack Obama endorsed Justin Trudeau a couple of elections ago. The government will have to demonstrate that, in this case, it was deceptive and clandestine. But it was not. Nobody was trying to conceal the sources of the donations. GoFundMe or GiveSendGo were following their standard practices. If they are problematic now, they were always problematic. There is no justification to declare an emergency.

As a practical matter, what does the Emergency Act accomplish? Nothing, in terms of public safety. The blockade of the Ambassador Bridge is already ended. If the Ottawa protest was ever unlawful, the Ottawa police always had the legal authority to break it up. 

What is left, then, other than perhaps to seize the bank accounts and assets of any opponents of the government? To intimidate and cripple any future opposition to government power?

I suppose it does not matter that the use of the Emergency Act is illegitimate. If Parliament says it is proper, who can stop it? The Supreme Court?

But this is a serious stain on Canada’s reputation, and a serious destabilization of Canadian democracy. It threatens to throw Canada into a state of civil war. It is no trivial thing that, standing on the other side now are four provincial premiers, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the last surviving signer of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

The Emergency Act was intended for times of war. If Trudeau is now forced out of power, the stain will be on him. If he is not, Canada itself will wear the stain for the rest of history. If Canadian democracy survives.