In light of CBC reporting let me reiterate the law. For the #emergenciesact to be invoked the Federa Government must consult with provinces and Cabinet must believe the protests rise to the level of a national emergency. What does that mean…
3 For the purposes of this Act, a national emergency is an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that
(b) seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada
AND
(b) seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada
AND
and that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada.
I have serious doubts that this definition is met. Can it truly be said the security of Canada is threatened by largely non-violent protests? Certainly, our sovereignty and territorial integrity are not at risk.
Moreover the national emergency needs to stem from a “threat to the security of Canada”. This is a defined term under the CSIS act:
threats to the security of Canada means
(a) espionage or sabotage that is against Canada or is detrimental to the interests of Canada or activities directed toward or in support of such espionage or sabotage,
(a) espionage or sabotage that is against Canada or is detrimental to the interests of Canada or activities directed toward or in support of such espionage or sabotage,
(b) foreign influenced activities within or relating to Canada that are detrimental to the interests of Canada and are clandestine or deceptive or involve a threat to any person,
(c) activities within or relating to Canada directed toward or in support of the threat or use of acts of serious violence against persons or property for the purpose of achieving a political, religious or ideological objective within Canada or a foreign state, and
(d) activities directed toward undermining by covert unlawful acts, or directed toward or intended ultimately to lead to the destruction or overthrow by violence of, the constitutionally established system of government in Canada,
but does not include lawful advocacy, protest or dissent, unless carried on in conjunction with any of the activities referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d). (menaces envers la sécurité du Canada)
Yes there is foreign money coming in, but is it clandestine and deceptive and or a direct threat to someone’s safety or life? I would want to see Cabinet present evidence to that because right now we only have speculative reporting about dollars coming in from US citizens.
Not sure our government is ready to say the US is engaged in foreign influence that threatens Canadian security.
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