I agree with you about the Conservatives. I did not vote for the Conservative PM candidate last time around, and I also refuse to vote for Doug Ford. I think the CCLA brings up some important points about the precedent that has been set now.
https://ccla.org/major-cases-and-reports...y%20powers.
The emergency orders were not targeted; they were not limited to specific protests, or specific geographic locations. There are thousands of protests in Canada every year. Protests about climate change. Indigenous land claims. Anti-Black racism.
And, more recently, protests in support of, and against, public health measures. Many of these protests are disruptive. The vast majority are also peaceful. The emergency orders, while in force, could have applied to them all.
The government revoked the proclamation of emergency on February 23, 2022. Even though the orders are no longer in force, Canadians are left with the precedent that the government’s actions have set and uncertainty about when the government might make use of this extraordinary legislation again.
CCLA is concerned with the long game. We do not believe that Cabinet today, or a different government in the future, should give itself extraordinary powers unless the situation clearly meets the very high standards required by the Emergencies Act. Any orders passed under the Emergencies Act must also be targeted and proportional—as required by the constitution.
CCLA continues to believe that there was an insufficient legal basis for resort to the Emergencies Act and that the orders the government passed under this legislation were unconstitutional. We also continue to believe that it is important for the courts to consider the legal threshold and constitutional issues so as to guide the actions of future governments. We will continue to move forward with our court case, and plan on being involved in the various reviews of the government’s extraordinary actions.
https://ccla.org/major-cases-and-reports...y%20powers.
The emergency orders were not targeted; they were not limited to specific protests, or specific geographic locations. There are thousands of protests in Canada every year. Protests about climate change. Indigenous land claims. Anti-Black racism.
And, more recently, protests in support of, and against, public health measures. Many of these protests are disruptive. The vast majority are also peaceful. The emergency orders, while in force, could have applied to them all.
The government revoked the proclamation of emergency on February 23, 2022. Even though the orders are no longer in force, Canadians are left with the precedent that the government’s actions have set and uncertainty about when the government might make use of this extraordinary legislation again.
CCLA is concerned with the long game. We do not believe that Cabinet today, or a different government in the future, should give itself extraordinary powers unless the situation clearly meets the very high standards required by the Emergencies Act. Any orders passed under the Emergencies Act must also be targeted and proportional—as required by the constitution.
CCLA continues to believe that there was an insufficient legal basis for resort to the Emergencies Act and that the orders the government passed under this legislation were unconstitutional. We also continue to believe that it is important for the courts to consider the legal threshold and constitutional issues so as to guide the actions of future governments. We will continue to move forward with our court case, and plan on being involved in the various reviews of the government’s extraordinary actions.
