* UPDATE February 13...
From the interim Conservative party leader, Candice Bergen...
We'll see what happens tomorrow...
* UPDATE February 14...
The motion was blocked.
Instead, Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act...which has never been used before in Canadian history...which prompted this reaction from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association...
...as well as reactions from others, including a national security expert at Carleton University in Ottawa...and constitutional law scholar, Professor Jonathan Turley...
...and, this objection from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney...
More irony...
Justin Trudeau in 2012 (as an MP before he was elected Prime Minister in 2015)...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau now...
* UPDATE February 16...
Protesters and truckers of all ages, genders, race and ethnicity have been interviewed at the protests across Canada by a variety of media outlets...so, why has Mr. Trudeau called them misogynistic, racists and white supremacists, without even having met with any of them to listen to their concerns?
The Prime Minister did not apologise to her, but immediately left the building, instead...after a reprimand was issued by the Speaker for his use of 'inflammatory' language during Question Period in the House of Commons.
Mr. Trudeau's declaration will be debated tomorrow and over the weekend and ultimately voted on in the House of Commons on Monday evening, and then in the Senate.
* UPDATE February 17...
Debate has begun in the House.
And, now this news...
* UPDATE February 18...
And, so it begins...a heavy police presence is now in downtown Ottawa and arrests of protesters and the clearing out of vehicles and blockade have begun...and bank accounts of participants and donors are being frozen.
The parliamentary debate on the Prime Minister's Emergencies Act declaration has been suspended for today for security reasons, while police carry out their operation.
Good question...
* UPDATE February 19...
Parliamentary debate on the declaration has resumed today in the House of Commons and is also planned to continue tomorrow and Monday, with a vote to be taken at 8:00 pm ET on Monday.
Police are still clearing the area and continuing with arrests.
Now, this...
* UPDATE February 20...
More opinions and news...
* UPDATE February 21...
- All blockades and protesters at various sites across Canada, including downtown Ottawa, have been removed.
- Notwithstanding the above, the Prime Minister refused to revoke his invocation of the Emergencies Act, but tried to justify the reasons for its continuance during comments expressed in a press conference this morning.
- And so, Parliament continues with its debate today, with a vote still scheduled for 8:00 pm ET.
HOW THE HOUSE OF COMMONS VOTED...
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT...
The Emergencies Act invocation will have to go to the Senate, next, for a vote...debate is set to begin tomorrow, with a vote later in the week.
* UPDATE February 22...
More opinions from scholars/professors...
* UPDATE February 23...
N.B. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revoked the Emergencies Act today.
The following statement was, subsequently, issued by the Conservative Party Interim Leader Candice Bergen...
SO, NOW WHAT?
In Mr. Trudeau's press announcement/conference today, he said that, as required, there would be a commission formed that would be comprised of various members of the House and Senate to examine various aspects leading up to the invocation of the Emergencies Act and its subsequent revocation, followed by the provision of a public report, when complete. He promised that full transparency will be given by his government to this commission during this process, including confidential information relative to the reasons for the invocation...it seems the Senate was perturbed that they had not been given access to this information during their deliberations.
The Senate was still deliberating today on whether or not to vote in favour of the invocation of the Emergencies Act when this announcement was made...so, that process was halted after Mr. Trudeau's revocation.
It's my understanding that any lawsuits filed by various provincial governments and organizations against the Prime Minister's invocation of the Emergencies Act will continue to go forward.
We'll see what repercussions eventually occur, and for whom, from all of Prime Minister Trudeau's actions.
The big question for Mr. Trudeau is, when will he end his punitive mandate that Canadian truckers need to be vaccinated in order to cross into the United States and re-enter into Canada? This is what precipitated this fiasco, in the first place. He's stated publicly many times that 90% of the truckers, along with Canadians, are already vaccinated, including thousands who've recovered from COVID-19, so doesn't that provide some kind of herd immunity for Canada?
If he's expecting 100% perfection from Canadians, he won't get it!
* UPDATE February 25...
Good question for Prime Minister Trudeau, regarding the Russia/Ukraine war.
* UPDATE March 24...
Prime Minister Trudeau was thoroughly rebuked by several European politicians during an emergency meeting of the European Parliament and NATO leaders at the EU headquarters in Brussells on March 23 (to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine) for his role in invoking the Emergencies Act, and the subsequent arrests of Canadian citizens who were protesting against his vaccine mandate of truck drivers.
Surely, this is not the impression that Canada wishes to portray to other countries around the world. Perhaps Mr. Trudeau will reflect seriously on the consequences of his actions and what those mean for future freedoms of all Canadians.
