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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been slammed by four of the country’s premiers for invoking the rarely-used Emergencies Act to bolster police presence across Canada to crack down on protesters. 

On Monday afternoon, Trudeau told protesters they need to ‘go home now’ – but he’s held back deploying the military under the Act, which grants powers that have been used only once before in peacetime, and will now be used to tackle protests over COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions. 

Trudeau said that invoking the Act will strengthen the police’s ability to impose fines and even imprisonment for protesters who blockade borders.It will also grant them the power to tow vehicles, and banks will be given the power to freeze funds associated with protesters if they are used in relation to Freedom Convoy demonstrations.

On Monday night, one report suggested that tow truck drivers could be compelled – and paid – to assist the removal of vehicles blocking bridges. 

‘We will not and cannot allow these illegal and dangerous activities to continue. There are other ways to express yourselves without engaging in illegal and dangerous activities,’ he said. 

‘We are not using the Emergencies Act to call in the military.We are not limiting freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and people’s right to protest freely.’ 

Through protesters have been cleared from the key Ambassador Bridge, where about 30 protesters were arrested on Sunday, large demonstrations continue to paralyze the streets of Ottawa and protesters are blockading several border crossings in western Canada. 

At one of the blockades in Alberta, Canadian Mounties on Monday arrested 11 people and seized a cache of guns, body armor, high-capacity magazines and a machete in connection to what they said was a plot to use force against police if they attempted to disperse the protest. 

Earlier, on Monday morning, Trudeau held meetings with his Liberal Caucus and the premiers of the nation’s provinces, who are the Canadian equivalent of state governors.  

Following the meetings, the provincial premiers of Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan spoke out opposing Trudeau’s extraordinary plan. 

‘We have the legal powers that we need.We have the operational resources that we need to enforce, and I think at this point for the federal government to reach in over top of us without offering anything in particular would frankly be unhelpful,’ said Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, travel – Truy cập tại đây – who is grappling with a border blockade at Coutts.

‘I am concerned that there’s a certain kind of person that if the federal government proceeds with this, who will be further inflamed and that could lead to prolongation of some of these protests,’ he added.

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, who also has a border blockade ongoing in her province, likewise said Trudeau’s plan as ‘not helpful’.

‘In my view, the sweeping effects and signals associated with the never-before-used Emergencies Act are not constructive here in Manitoba, where caution must be taken against overreach and unintended negative consequences,’ Stefanson said in a statement.

‘I am not currently satisfied the Emergencies Act should be applied in Manitoba.Winnipeg’s situation is dramatically different from the one in Ottawa,’ she added.