Canadian report justifies government control during Covid protests
Date
2/26/2023 2:48:53 AM
(MENAFN) The Canadian government's use of the Emergencies Act during the country-wide trucker protests against Covid-19 vaccine mandates has been reviewed by a Public Order Emergency Commission, led by former Canadian Liberal Party advisor, Paul Rouleau. The final report concludes that the government was justified in using the measure, despite criticism of the measure as an infringement of free expression. Rouleau emphasized that there are reasonable limits to free expression.
However, some have questioned whether the same justification would have been applied to other protests, such as the 1994 and 2011 riots that followed Vancouver Canucks' losses in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite these protests resulting in hundreds of injuries and millions of dollars' worth of property damage, no federal emergency was declared. Some argue that these protests were seen as less of a threat to those in power compared to the trucker protests against vaccine mandates.
David Vigneault, the head of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Services (CSIS), stated during the inquiry that he did not consider the Freedom Convoy to be a threat to Canada's security, and that CSIS cannot investigate lawful protests. However, Rouleau's report insists that the trucker protests were "unlawful", citing the term several times in the report.
The report has been met with criticism from some who see it as a roadmap for greater government control, as it provides justification for the government to use measures such as blocking bank accounts of not just protesters, but also those who donated to them. It remains to be seen how the Canadian government is going to use the conclusions of the report in future situations.
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