Tipsheet

Here's How Justin Trudeau Plans to Crush the Canadian Freedom Truckers

He’s had enough of the honking. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was time for these people to go home. Maybe if he spoke to them instead of smearing them as Neo-Nazis, things could have been different because this isn’t a right-wing plot. The Freedom Convoy that’s entrenched itself in Ottawa is made up of folks from every stripe of life in Canada. It’s literally the country demanding a return to normalcy and an end to the COVID panic circus that’s been in town for over two years. These truckers have vowed to not leave until all restrictions are lifted. Now, they may be forced to vacate as Trudeau plans to invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the slew of freedom protests (via CBC):

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told his caucus he will invoke the never-before-used Emergencies Act to give the federal government extra powers to handle anti-vaccine mandate protests across the country, sources say.

Those sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said the prime minister informed the premiers of his decision this morning.

The Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in the 1980s, defines a national emergency as a temporary "urgent and critical situation" that "seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it."

It gives special powers to the prime minister to respond to emergency scenarios affecting public welfare (natural disasters, disease outbreaks), public order (civil unrest), international emergencies or war emergencies.

[…]

Ottawa police have said they are outnumbered by crowds protesting vaccine mandates in the capital. Despite a provincial state of emergency, protesters ignored the threat of arrest and jail time and flocked to the city's centre over the weekend.

[…]

Jack Lindsay, an associate professor in the applied disaster and emergency studies department at Brandon University in Manitoba, said one of the first steps in invoking the Emergencies Act is the government showing that a state of emergency exists.

"They're gonna have to basically prove that first hurdle, that it is a national emergency," he said.

"He's basically going to be arguing that these truckers are basically creating a threat to the security of Canada."

[…]

Under the act, the government is prohibited from taking direct control of police forces, said Lindsay.

"They do have the grounds to regulate and prohibit public assembly and travel and then regulate or prohibit the use of specific properties," he said.

"I suppose they could put out regulations about where semi-trailers are allowed to park overnight, for example. They can designate protected places, like the Ambassador Bridge or something."

The government also can order or direct any person to render services with compensation, said Lindsay. That power could in theory be used to tow trucks blocking streets downtown.

Look, this isn’t the first time a Trudeau decided to invoke such powers. As the CBC noted, his father did so to put down Quebec separatists in 1970. Just talk with these people, Justin. Independent journalists have already done so—hundreds of them—and they’re normal folks who just want to make a living. If that’s right-wing coup talk, then the Left is beyond saving. They’re already going about trying to make ‘freedom’ a dirty word. Lift the mandates, man. It’s time. COVID is over.  

UPDATE: Kim Jong Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act. He did it. This is his “just watch me” moment just like his daddy.

Keep honking!