Two provinces say they were blindsided by decision to invoke Emergencies Act
OTTAWA - Provincial officials in Saskatchewan and Alberta got a Valentine's Day surprise from the prime minister this year when he called to say he was considering invoking the Emergencies Act, a public inquiry heard Thursday.
Lawyers representing the two provinces were before the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is looking into the federal government's use of emergency powers to end to weeks of protests at border crossings and in downtown Ottawa.
The call (on Feb. 14) was not so much about consulting, it was about telling,” said Saskatchewan government lawyer Mike Morris.
“That phone call was the first time the federal government told the government of Saskatchewan that it was considering invoking the Emergencies Act and declaring a public order emergency.”
The Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, the first time the law had been used since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988. The move temporarily granted police extraordinary powers and allowed banks to freeze accounts.
Saskatchewan and Alberta say they objected to its use and believe the law did not need to be applied across the country.
Alberta's lawyer, Mandy England, described in her opening statement before the commission how existing laws and police resources successfully ended a protest at the border in Coutts, Alta., where several people were arrested and charged with conspiring to commit murder after a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition was found in nearby trailers.
“None of the powers that were created under the federal Emergencies Act were necessary, nor were any of them used in Alberta to resolve the Coutts blockade,” she said.
The federal government is planning to argue the opposite. Robert MacKinnon, representing Justice Canada, said the Emergencies Act was “reasonable and necessary” given the circumstances across the country.
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Trudeau, Dictator in chief, was overheard as saying the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan, along with all of their residents, represents a fringe minority of homophobic racists that should barely be tolerated. “I make the rules here” He said.



“I have no time for an inquiry. I have plans to take the government jet to Tofino. My surfing needs work”
Of course, who knows what will be even revealed……
Civil liberties group raising transparency concerns ahead of Emergencies Act inquiry
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/civil-l ... -1.6106443
Trudeau said, “Civil Liberties? Unacceptable views!”
And you all laugh….