Several Canadian Premiers Come Out Against Trudeau’s Plan to Invoke Emergencies Act

TORONTO(Sputnik) - At least four Canadian premiers have come out against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to invoke a previously unused emergency law to grant his government additional powers in response to the anti-government demonstrations in Ottawa and across the country.

“The illegal blockades must end, but police already have sufficient tools to enforce the law and clear the blockades, as they did over the weekend in Windsor. Therefore, Saskatchewan does not support the Trudeau government invoking the Emergencies Act,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a statement via Twitter.

Moe’s message was echoed by Alberta’s Jason Kenney, Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson and Quebec’s Francois Legault.

Should the Emergencies Act be invoked, both Moe and Kenney demanded that the measure apply only in jurisdictions that request it.

The Emergencies Act, which became law in 1985, is defined as a “urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature” that threatens the ability of the government to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada and endangers the lives, health and safety of citizens.

The wave of protests across Canada began in January, with tens of thousands of truckers and hundreds of other demonstrators converging on Ottawa to express strong opposition to vaccine mandates and demand that the government scrap them.

The protest has since united various groups of citizens in opposition to Trudeau's government.