Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau invokes Emergencies Act for ‘illegal’ blockades

This is the first time the Emergencies Act has been invoked since it came into force in 1988

CITYnews halifax \ Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has invoked the Emergencies Act to bring to an end antigovernment blockades he describes as illegal and not about peaceful protest.

Trudeau says the act will be used to protect critical infrastructure such as borders and airports from the blockades, and is creating time-limited powers that do not already exist.

That includes giving banks the power to suspend or freeze accounts of blockade supporters without a court order, and force crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrencies to follow anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also says companies with trucks involved in the illegal blockades will have their corporate bank accounts frozen, and their insurance suspended.

The government will also enable the RCMP to enforce municipal bylaws.

This is the first time the Emergencies Act has been invoked since it came into force in 1988.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2022.

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press