Toronto Liberal MP mused voting against Emergencies Act

In a thoughtful address to Parliament, in advance of a vote by Members of Parliament (MP) on whether to keep the Emergencies Act in force, a Toronto MP argued to the brink of breaking with fellow Liberals about voting down the measure.

Toronto-Beaches East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith posted a speech on Twitter, which he said will “make no one happy,” revealing his thoughts on the Emergencies Act on Monday afternoon.

A speech that will make no one happy. Here are my thoughts on the Emergencies Act. https://t.co/IjWS98gDOA

— Nate Erskine-Smith (@beynate) February 21, 2022

Since the convoy blockading Ottawa streets had been broken up, Erskine-Smith said he didn’t think the measures were still necessary, but he ultimately sided with the government to avoid a non-confidence vote.

“I’m skeptical that the strict legal test was met for the act’s invocation and I’m not convinced that the Emergencies Act measures should exist beyond today,” Erskine-Smith said.

“I would vote accordingly but for the fact that it is now a confidence vote. The disagreement I’ve expressed does not amount to non-confidence, and I have no interest in an election at this time,” he said.

Erskine-Smith was among many MPs that expressed doubt or opposed the invocation of the Emergencies Act in debate on Monday, but it was a rare observation from a member of the governing party. A required vote on whether to approve the use of the act passed 185-151 Monday night.

In a press conference on Monday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he doesn’t want to keep the Emergencies Act invoked longer than necessary.

“Even though the blockades are lifted, even though things seem to be resolving themselves well in Ottawa, the state of emergency is not yet over, and there continues to be real concerns in the coming days,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau and his ministers pointed to concerns about trucks massing in groups outside of Ottawa that could return, and other flare-ups at international border crossings, such as in Surrey, B.C., over the weekend.

The RCMP confirmed in a press release that it had asked banks to freeze 219 financial products, 253 Bitcoin addresses, and a payment processor related to $3.8 million.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said that police had only given financial institutions names of leaders and organizers of the protests, and the people whose trucks were part of the blockades.

“Anyone who is concerned that their accounts may have been frozen because of their participation in these blockades, the way to get your account unfrozen is to stop being part of the illegal blockade and occupation,” Freeland said.

That attitude is concerning for civil liberties advocates like Laura Berger, who is part of the challenge against the invocation of the law by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

She said in the way that the act is being used now, it is possible that small-scale donors could be caught in its net. She said it’s important to avoid a precedent where other protests for other reasons could be targeted without strong protections.

“Our concern is that the Emergencies Act deliberately sets a high threshold. The act provides that it’s available if what threatens the safety and security of Canadians can’t be dealt with under the existing laws of Canada,” she said.

“Our key concern is that the situation has not risen and did not rise to that threshold. There’s no evidence that the existing laws of Canada couldn’t suffice,” she said.

Erskine-Smith said in his speech that he was also concerned with due process.

“Assuming the threshold question is met here, it is not at all clear to me that the government continues to need the ability to freeze bank accounts without due process, if it ever did. Usefulness and effectiveness are very different standards as compared with necessity and proportionality,” he said.