The ten days of the use of the Emergencies Act measures have now come to an end, with the Prime Minister announcing this afternoon that the need for the never before used Act was no longer in place and he was "confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe"
The announcement that brought an end to a memorable chapter of Canadian history came earlier this afternoon, with the required revocation being forwarded to and acted upon by the Governor General.
The process now shifting to a review of events, that through a Parliamentary Committee Inquiry ahead to explore the conditions that led to the use of the controversial legislation that brought an end to the occupation of the streets of the nations capital of January and February.
That Committee inquiry is set to begin within the next sixty days.
With the use of the Act soon to be terminated for this incident, a speech from Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach from Saturday will now be more of a historical anecdote to the evolution of the times, his fifteen minute presentation a synopsis of a minute in time of tumult.
His presentation highlighted a number of themes among them the impact on the residents of Ottawa, the impact on trade, employment as well as the funding that was provided in support of the occupation
"The third reason lies in the stream of funding coming from south of the border from individuals who see fit to destabilize our country in the same vein as the attempted insurrection at the US capital on January 6th.
And the fourth reason is the presence of extremism evidenced by the occupations' leaders their history their rhetoric and their associations"
His comments for the Record make for a measured review of the situation in Ottawa over the last month, as well as his view of how the incident evolved. Also of note for Mr. Bachrach was how it was handled compared to other situations of the past, including those related to Indigenous themes.
"Now I know that there are many in Northwest BC for whom the occupation and the convoy have provided an outlet for their frustrations and their anger and I ask them simply to look into who is behind this event"
Also of note for Mr. Bachrach was how it was handled compared to other situations of the past, including those related to Indigenous themes.
"At the centre of this crisis lies the failure of the police, if they had done their job properly from the outset, if they had taken the threats seriously we would not find ourselves where we do this evening.
As the occupation dug in, I heard from many Indigenous and Non-Indigenous constituents who were stunned between the contrast of the kid-glove approach of the Ottawa Police and the way in which Indigenous protesters in Northwest BC and across Canada are policed.
Many in this place have noted that contrast and it's something that must be addressed"
Towards the enacting of the measures the NDP MP observed how he weighed the differing elements before casting this vote to approve it.
"Now, this is not to say Madam Speaker, that I'm comfortable with the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
I hear the voices of those who caution us that this is a dangerous precedent and that this could lead to future uses that are less appropriate, including the use against lawful demonstrations.
It falls to all of us in this place to ensure this does not happen, and New Democrats have been clear that we will not tolerate the inappropriate use of these powers by this government and that we are prepared to initiate their revocation at a moments notice'
His comment also explored elements of the current debate on the pandemic and the frustrations that Canadians have towards the situation of the moment.
The full speech to the Commons can be reviewed below:
As we noted earlier today, the opening moments of his Saturday presentation to the House of Commons spoke to the concerns over a recent incident at the Coastal GasLink camp of last week.
The feedback from his constituents from his comments can be reviewed here.
More notes on the work of Mr. Bachrach in Ottawa can be explored here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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