Canada clamps down
Will emergency powers end the trucker protest? Matthew Partridge reports
Facing pressure from the “Freedom Convoy” protests against Covid-19 restrictions that have spread across Canada in recent weeks, and that continue to grip the nation’s capital, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has invoked emergency powers, say Matthew Rocco and Charlie Mitchell in the Financial Times. These give the federal government “broad authority” to take action, including prohibiting public assembly and travel. The government has also indicated that financial institutions may be directed to regulate or ban “the use of property to fund or support illegal blockades” and will be “able to immediately freeze or suspend accounts without a court order” if they are being used to support the protests.
An attack on democracy
Trudeau’s “unprecedented” move needs to be seen in the context of worries that the protesters “are increasingly unwilling to leave the blockades” and that some might even be preparing for violence, says Leyland Cecco in The Guardian. Police have already seized guns, ammunition and body armour from protestors. The finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, argues that the “substantial financial support” the truckers are receiving from donors outside Canada represents “an attack on democracy”. The government says the protests have already hurt the economy by disrupting border trade with the US.
Nonsense, says Ben Shapiro on Real Clear Politics. There is nothing going on that justifies the use of emergency powers. Before being invoked, the police had already removed trucks to reopen a trade artery with the US and the protests were starting to lose momentum as provinces across Canada began alleviating their Covid-19 restrictions. By “empowering banks to freeze accounts from those who give money to political causes the government doesn’t like”, Trudeau’s administration has set a dangerous precedent that raises the risk of future governments “violating liberties on the same pretext”.
Populist insurgency
The truckers have “made their point” and should abandon their attempt to “dictate policy”, says Eric Kaufmann in The Daily Telegraph, but Trudeau’s “combative” approach is hypocritical given the “gentle” attitude he has taken to other disruptive actions. When indigenous protesters blocked rail lines and pipelines over a longer period than the trucker convoy, for example, Trudeau patiently called for “dialogue and mutual respect”. He called the actions of thugs who burned down 30 Catholic churches over false allegations of mass graves “understandable”. No wonder that, although just 22% of Canadians want the protests to continue, 65% say Trudeau has made the situation worse.
Don’t expect a change of tone any time soon, says The Economist. Free-speech advocates have been left “aghast” at his government’s “anti-hate” bill, which allows people to pre-emptively sue if they feel they are about to hear something hateful. But Trudeau may end up in a stronger position if the truckers spark a “populist insurgency” that splits the right. Opposition Conservatives are “glancing nervously over their right shoulders” at Maxime Bernier, a former minister who has been “handing out freedom pancakes to the protesters”.