Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cancelled the Emergencies Act just one week after it was put in place saying it is no longer necessary because the emergency is over.
The Act was used to address the anti-mandate blockades, protests and trucker freedom convoy which included occupation of the downtown core of Ottawa.
The House of Commons passed a motion on Monday confirming the time-limited emergency powers, which included financial tools to cut the convoy’s funding that reportedly included freezing of bank accounts of financial donors.
In a large-scale police operation over last weekend, police squads from across the country joined forces to alleviate the truck and protester congestion in downtown Ottawa that had blockaded the city for more than three weeks.
“Today, after careful consideration, we’re ready to confirm that the situation is no longer an emergency. Therefore, the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act,” the prime minister said.
Trudeau added while the “immediate emergency situation is over” the issue itself “won’t go away.”
“We need to constantly work to defend and improve our democracy at home and around the world,” he said, speaking to reporters.
The Senate began debating a motion on the act Tuesday, but adjourned the discussion Wednesday after the prime minister’s announcement.
Opponents of invoking the act were quick to react to Trudeau’s announcement.
“Thank you to all who fought this abuse of power,” tweeted Conservative MP and party leadership hopeful Pierre Poilievre.
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