On 15 February 2022, the Canadian government formally published two orders-in-council outlining its rationale for invoking the Emergencies Act:
EMERGENCY MEASURES REGULATIONS in order to 1) designate critical infrastructure and protected places; 2) prohibit public assembly expected to lead to a breach of the peace; 3) prohibit a person from causing a minor to be involved in such an assembly; 4) prohibit entry in Canada by a foreign national for the purposes of participating in such an assembly; and 5) direct that persons make available essential goods and services if directed to do so by the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In order to invoke the Emergencies Act, there must be a situation so serious as to imperil the security of Canada. There are no such threats.
What place does the government intend to designate as protected? I assume Parliament Hill. Throughout three weeks of protesting, what damage has been done to Parliament Hill? None. The only violence has been directed towards those assembled peacefully to defend their Charter rights and freedoms.
The prime minister has claimed that the government’s intention is to protect our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the order-in-council would prohibit peaceful public assembly, which is protected by Section Two of the Charter. There has never been a more peaceful and good-spirited assembly than the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa over the last three weeks. All of the world has been inspired by the peacefulness and determination of the truckers and other protesters.
When the order-in-council prohibits public assemblies “expected to lead to a breach of the peace,” I am asking what the government has in mind. Who is planning to breach the peace in Ottawa? No reasonable Canadian can anticipate that the peace will be broken by the peaceful assembly of freedom-loving Canadians. So, I conclude that the government is intending to breach the peace.
Further evidence of the government’s ill intent is seen in section 3, by which it would be an offence to bring children to the peaceful assembly currently taking place in Ottawa. To date, the children have been protected by their parents. They have myriad amenities and are obviously undergoing an unparalleled education in democratic principles. Again, what does the government have in mind?
We see also that the government is forcing Canadians to betray the protesters who are defending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on behalf of all of us by requiring us to help the RCMP against our best judgement. That violates Section Two of the Charter: freedom of conscience.
Also on 15 February 2022, the government published Order-in-Council PC Number 2022-0108, which states:
EMERGENCY ECONOMIC MEASURES ORDER in order to prohibit individuals and entities from engaging in financial transactions supporting activities prohibited by the Emergency Measures Regulations.
Again, this is a violation of Section Two of the Charter: freedom of conscience and freedom of association.
These two orders-in-council criminalize activities clearly protected by the Charter. Any member of Parliament or senator who votes to authorize the Emergencies Act is declaring himself or herself complicit in a crime against humanity. Remember that the protesters are defending their right to security of the person, Section Seven of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The right to be free of coerced medical experimentation is also protected by Article Seven of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Canada is a signatory to that international law.
There is no justification for supporting the implementation of the Emergencies Act.
I am further advising you that, should you attempt to impede the right of Canadians to protect their Charter rights and freedoms by enforcing the Emergency Act, Canadians will rise up everywhere. The Ottawa protest will be the least of your concerns. I suggest that, instead of targeting them, you stop suppressing our rights and freedoms, guaranteed by the Charter.