A motion affirming the Liberal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act passed a crucial House of Commons vote Monday, ensuring the expansive powers contained in the act remain in use by authorities thanks to parliamentary support from the New Democrats.
While the powers contained in the Emergency Act took effect immediately, the Liberal government needed to seek approval for its decision to invoke the act from the House of Commons within seven days. If that vote had failed, the emergency declaration would have been revoked.
Conservative MPs in the House booed and shouted “shame” when the first NDP MPs stood up to vote in favour of the motion. The Conservatives, however, applauded Bloc Québécois MPs when they stood to support the Conservatives.
The Liberals cheered loudly, drowning out heckles from the Conservatives when Green MP Elizabeth May voted in favour of the motion, which passed by a vote of 185 to 151.
Immediately after the vote passed, interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen stood up and tried to enter a motion recalling the use of the Emergencies Act, but that motion was ruled out of order.
Earlier in the day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to protesters occupying some streets in downtown Ottawa, saying the decision to trigger the act was not one he and his government took lightly.
“It became clear that local and provincial authorities needed more tools to restore order and keep people safe,” he said.
Trudeau was asked if the deployment of the act is still necessary, now that police have cleared the area in front of Parliament Hill. He said his government wouldn’t keep the enhanced powers provided for under the act in place “a single day longer than necessary.”
WATCH | Emergency Act extended with support from NDP:
Emergencies Act extended with ‘reluctant’ support from NDP
13 hours ago
Duration 4:27
The Liberal government was able to extend the Emergencies Act after receiving the “reluctant” support of the NDP. But anger over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke it remains, with Conservatives and Bloc members calling it unnecessary. 4:27
“Even though things seem to be resolving very well in Ottawa, this state of emergency is not over,” he said.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who was with Trudeau at his news conference, said a number of people affiliated with the protests remain in the city.
“We have to remain vigilant, and not only in Ottawa but at our ports of entry,” he said, referring to a number of blockades at Canada-U.S. border crossings, including Coutts, Alta., and Windsor, Ont.
WATCH | Mendicino says state of emergency won’t last ‘single moment’ longer than needed:
Mendicino says state of emergency won’t last ‘single moment’ longer than needed
22 hours ago
Duration 2:30
Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino says the state of emergency is not ready to be lifted, but all of government agrees it will not stay in place any longer than necessary. 2:30
Last week, the federal Liberals invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time since its passage in 1988 to deal with an anti-vaccine mandate protest that had been occupying downtown Ottawa for weeks. The measures set out in the act have been in effect ever since.
The New Democrats indicated early on that they would support the government’s use of the act but urged the Liberals to tread carefully, and said they are reserving the right to pull support at any time.
“We share the concern of many Canadians that the government may misuse the powers in the Emergencies Act, so I want to be very clear: We will be watching. We will withdraw our support if, at any point, we feel these powers are being misused,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told the House at the start of the debate on Thursday.
Trudeau walks across an empty Wellington Street to a news conference in Ottawa Monday. The Emergencies Act passed by a vote of 185 to 151 on Monday night in a rare weekend sitting of the House of Commons. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Singh again promised his party’s “reluctant support” for triggering the Emergencies Act early Monday, saying New Democrats are prepared to trigger a second vote if they decide that the measures provided for under the act are no longer necessary.
“It’s not a blank cheque. We are prepared to pull our support as soon as … the act is no longer needed,” he said Monday.
The act states that it cannot be in force for more than 30 days from the date it was invoked, in this case Feb. 14.
Singh said New Democrats would not support its use for that long and called on the government to provide regular updates to MPs.
WATCH | Jagmeet Singh says NDP will ‘reluctantly’ support use of Emergencies Act in vote:
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will ‘reluctantly’ support use of Emergencies Act in Commons vote
21 hours ago
Duration 2:19
Singh says his party reserves the right to pull its support on the use of the Emergencies Act if certain criteria are no longer met. 2:19
At least two Liberal MPs expressed doubts about the continued use of the act in the lead up to the vote.
Ontario MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said that despite reservations he would support the motion because the vote was a question of confidence — one that would trigger a general election if the government loses.
“I’m not convinced that the emergency measures should continue to exist beyond today,” he said during the House of Commons debate on Monday.
“The disagreement I’ve expressed here does not amount to non-confidence, and I have no interest in an election at this time.”
Quebec MP Joël Lightbound echoed Erskine-Smith, saying he would vote against the use of the act if it wasn’t a confidence vote.
Conservatives, Bloc oppose use of act
The at-times tense and personal debate over the Emergencies Act has pitted the Liberal government against the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois, a combination Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux referred to as an “unholy alliance.”
In a statement Monday after the vote, Bergen said the fight isn’t over.
“Conservative MPs stood up for Canadians and voted against this government overreach. The Emergencies Act was not necessary to clear the blockades, the government already had all the tools they need under current Canadian law,” she said.
“We will continue to fight this power grab by the prime minister and his government.”
Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who is seeking his party’s leadership, accused Prime Minister Trudeau of engineering the crisis for political gain.
“They have attempted to amplify and take advantage of every pain, every fear, every tragedy that has struck throughout this pandemic in order to divide one person against another and replace the people’s freedom with the government’s power,” he said Saturday.
The Conservatives argued that the protests did not rise to the level of an emergency and did not warrant the use of extraordinary powers.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said the government didn’t need to invoke the Emergencies Act — that what it needed to do was to provide Ottawa police with additional officers to remove the protesters.
“The police did its job, and it’s a wonderful job which has been done here in the last few days, and by itself it is a proof that this law never had to be used in anyway,” he said outside of Parliament Hill on Monday.
RCMP says it’s not going after small donors
Some Conservative MPs have suggested that police could freeze the bank accounts of small donors who may have given money to the protest early on.
In a statement released Monday, the RCMP said it has provided banks only with the names of organizers and owners of trucks who had refused to leave the protest area.
“At no time did we provide a list of donors to financial institutions,” the statement said.
Police have succeeded in dislodging protesters from their main encampment near Parliament Hill and have established a secure perimeter with fencing. Authorities have towed the vehicles that have occupied much of the city’s downtown core for more than three weeks.
In defending their decision, Liberals have pointed repeatedly to comments made by interim Ottawa police Chief Steve Bell on Friday. Bell said the Emergencies Act allowed police to set up barriers and secure an area in the city’s downtown.
The Senate must also vote on the act’s use but debate has not started yet in that chamber.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
