Emergencies Act

Canadian law allowing for special temporary powers during national emergencies

The Emergencies Act (French: Loi sur les mesures d'urgence) is a law passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988. It allows the federal government to use extreme short-time actions to respond to public welfare emergencies, public order emergencies, international emergencies and war emergencies. The law repeals the War Measures Act passed in 1914.

Emergencies Act
Loi sur les mesures d'urgence
Parliament of Canada
  • An Act to authorize the taking of special temporary measures to ensure safety and security during national emergencies and to amend other Acts in consequence thereof
CitationRSC 1985, c 22 (4th Supp)
Enacted byParliament of Canada
Royal assentJuly 21, 1988
Legislative history
Bill citationC-77, 33rd Parliament, 2nd session
Introduced byPerrin Beatty, Minister of National Defence
First readingJune 26, 1987
Second readingNovember 2, 1987
Repeals
War Measures Act
Status: Current legislation

The Emergencies Act has been used only once since it was passed in 1988, in response to the Canadian convoy protests in 2022.[1][2] Six of the 10 provincial premiers urged Trudeau not to implement the Emergencies Act. But on Monday, February 14,[3] 2022, Trudeau declared a state of emergency in Canada anyway.[4] The Emergencies Act is effective immediately, but must be tabled in Parliament within 7, and will be in place for 30 days. On Monday (21.02.2022), the Emergencies Act passed a vital vote in the House of Commons thanks to the support of Jagmeet Singh/NDP (185 voted in favour, 151 against).[5]

References

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  1. Aiello, Rachel (2022-02-14). "Trudeau makes history, invokes Emergencies Act to deal with trucker protests". CTV News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  2. Tunney, Catharine (February 14, 2022). "Federal government invokes Emergencies Act for first time ever in response to protests". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022.
  3. News release. February 15, 2022 - Ottawa - Canada.ca
  4. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney filing legal challenge to end Trudeau's Emergencies Act | Edmonton Sun Feb 19, 2022
  5. Vote on Trudeau’s use of Emergencies Act passes with NDP support | True North

Other websites

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