Is the Emergencies Act a form of Martial Law?

Emergencies act of Canada

We are a few days, or a few weeks at most, for having the Emergencies Act invoked on Canadian soil. This will be the first time if it gets passed. They would invoke the Emergencies Act: Public welfare emergency clause, which is nothing short of martial law. It becomes clearer by the day that the Canadian government is held hostage by the IMF, the UN and the WHO: they want their one world government, and so they need to bring Canada to its knee, by destroying its economy, and our Charter of Rights and Liberties.

Read more here and this one here.

As these guys wrote,The Emergencies Act empowers the federal Cabinet to proclaim a “public welfare emergency” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This mean that:

  • Cabinet can only proclaim a “public welfare emergency” if other federal laws and the provinces’ combined efforts are inadequate to respond effectively to the crisis.

  • If Cabinet proclaims a “public welfare emergency” in response to COVID-19, it would immediately enjoy sweeping powers under the Emergencies Act. Parliament would need to be recalled to confirm the proclamation.

  • Cabinet’s exercise of its extraordinary powers under the Emergencies Act would be subject to limited judicial oversight.

But here’s where it gets all totalitarian. It gives the cabinet utmost power.

Cabinet’s extraordinary powers under the Act

Once the federal Cabinet proclaims a “public welfare emergency”, s. 8(1) of the Emergencies Act empowers the Cabinet to “make such orders or regulations with respect to … [certain] matters as the [Cabinet] believes, on reasonable grounds, are necessary for dealing with the emergency”.

Under the law, the cabinet can:

  • “regulat[e] or prohibit[] … travel to, from or within any specified area, where necessary for the protection of the health or safety of individuals” (s. 8(1)(a));

  • “requisition, use or dispos[e] of property” (s. 8(1)(c));

  • “direct[] … any person … to render essential services of a type that that person … is competent to provide” (s. 8(1)(d));

  • “regulat[e] … the distribution and availability of essential goods, services and resources” (s. 8(1)(e));

  • “mak[e] … emergency payments” (s. 8(1)(f)); and

  • “establish[] … emergency shelters and hospitals (s. 8(1)(g)).

The Cabinet can also provide for fines of up to $5,000 and for terms of imprisonment of up to five years, or both, “for contravention of any order or regulation made under this section” (s. 8(1)(j)).


I hope that it doesn’t get to pass. You can read the full law here.

Should be a fun summer.


JP

Ps: Article from a year ago.

Jean Pascal