Blockades lifted in Canada but state of emergency not over
Eva Deschamps / February 22, 2022
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country's state of emergency is not over, a day after a tense weekend in which police regained control of the capital Ottawa.
Even if the blockades are lifted across the country and the borders are open right now, even if things seem to be working out very well in Ottawa, this state of emergency is not over, he said.
The Prime Minister also defended his decision to invoke a week ago an emergency law to put an end to the illegal blockades of the last few weeks in Canada, on which parliamentarians must vote on Monday evening.
Used for the second time in Canadian peacetime, this provision allows the federal government to use extraordinary measures in times of national emergency.
Canadian parliamentarians have been debating the use of this measure since Thursday in the House of Commons (lower house of Parliament), which was exceptionally suspended on Friday due to the large-scale police operation to clear the streets of the capital.
The Canadian Prime Minister said he was confident that the majority of parliamentarians will stand up for our values, our democracy and their fellow Canadians. He called on all MPs to take action against illegal blockades and to defend public safety for the freedom of Canadians.
The protest movement started with truckers protesting the requirement to be vaccinated to cross the border with the United States and expanded to a rejection of public health rules in Canada.