“The blockade is detrimental to our economy and endangers public safety,” PM Temple Justin Trudeau said to a press conference. “We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue.”
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday he will activate emergency power that is rarely used in an effort to end the protest that has closed several border crossings and paralyzes the parts of the capital.
“The blockade is detrimental to our economy and endanger public safety,” Trudeau said at a press conference. “We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue.”
Frustration has grown with what critics see as the permissive approach by the police for demonstrations in the border city of Windsor, Ontario, and in Ottawa, the capital city, where protests entered the third week.
“Despite their best efforts, it is now clear that there are serious challenges to the ability of law enforcement to effectively enforce the law,” Trudeau said.
The protesters blocked the Ambassador Bridge, a vital trade route to Detroit, for six days before the police cleared the protest on Sunday.
“Freedom convoy” protests, started by the Canadian truck driver who opposed the covid-19-quarantine vaccine mandate for the cross-border driver, has attracted people against the trudeau policy of everything starting from pandemic restrictions to carbon taxes.
The 1988 Emergency Act allows the federal government to override the province and ratify special steps to ensure security during national emergencies.
The law was only used once before the peaceful period, in 1970, by Trudeau’s father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
Previously on Monday, four provincial premiers – in Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan – said they opposed the plan to beg for the action, said it was unnecessary.
Canadian Parliament must approve the use of emergency steps within seven days, and also have the power to revoke it.