Last February 14 the Canadian government decreed an Emergencies Act in Ottawa aimed the quash the protests and blockades that erupted in Ottawa and at border crossings over recent weeks; the same was revoked on Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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The PM announced the lifting of the Emergencies Act not too long after the House of Commons passed it by saying that the immediate crisis was over, explaining that the decision was made after careful consideration.
The Prime Minister said, "the situation is no longer an emergency. We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe."
Later in the afternoon, the Governor-General inked the revocation, which formally ended the state of emergency. The decision the implement a state of emergency brought out a lot of criticism and concerns about overreach, as it had never been used since Parliament passed it in 1988.
Trudeau labeled the use of the emergency act as a last resort to releasing tensions the country was under. "As the weeks went by, it became obvious that provincial and local authorities needed more tools to enforce the law and protect Canadians. And that's exactly what the Emergencies Act provided," the Canadian PM said.
"It was the responsible and necessary thing to do," he added. According to the Ottawa police, the decreed of the Emergency State facilitated them the tools to end the convoy protest, making possible the participation of police forces from outside the province of Ontario.