In 1988, as Parliament was studying the bill, Emergencies Act, MPs spent a great deal of time defining the term “national emergency.” In the end, Parliament set forth exacting criteria, it was hoped, prevent the invocation of the legislation in all but the gravest of situations 
The reasons advanced this week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government meet none of those benchmarks.
As I write this, police are in the process of clearing the streets of downtown Ottawa. Although this action has little to do with the Emergencies Act, the Liberals will claim victory. However, history will remember that, in order to look tough, they disregarded their principles.
Despite the Liberal government’s efforts to paint the current events with the most dramatic colours, it has become patently clear that we are not faced with a “national emergency,” as defined by the Emergencies Act.
The seriousness of today’s events is not at all comparable to what happened in 1970. Neither are the risks of abuse under the current Emergencies Act, but risks do exist.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
