What is Canada's Emergencies Act?


Leila Gharagozlou
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked Canada's Emergencies Act for the first time on Monday in an effort to use special measures to shut a border crossing in Ottawa and bring to an end more than two weeks of protests.

Mr Trudeau said he would invoke the legislation to deal with the “Freedom Convoy” protests, which started on January 28 when Canadian lorry drivers opposed a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for hauliers crossing the US border.

The protests became a rallying point for people opposed to a range of Mr Trudeau's policies, including Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and a carbon tax.

The demonstrations have become so big, they shut a main economic corridor between Canada and the US for six days before it was reopened on Sunday.

What is the Emergencies Act?

The Emergencies Act was passed by Canada's Parliament in 1988, authorising the federal government to take "extraordinary measures" to respond to emergencies that affect public welfare, public order and international and war emergencies.

It gives the Canadian government broader powers than it would normally have, allowing it to put in place restrictions on public assembly, protest and travel. It also allows them to call up federal support for local police.

By declaring a public welfare emergency, the government can regulate how essential goods and services are distributed through the country. The act imposes fines on violators while implementing a compensation system for anyone who is adversely impacted by the act's use.

An earlier version of the law, known as the War Measures Act, was used three times in Canadian history: during the two world wars and in 1970 by Mr Trudeau's father, late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, after militant Quebec separatists kidnapped a British diplomat and a provincial Cabinet minister.

Justin Trudeau considered using the act at the start of the pandemic, but held off.

What did Justin Trudeau announce on Monday?

Mr Trudeau is hoping to use the act to stop protests by lorry drivers. The broad reach of the act means that banks and other financial institutions would be able to freeze accounts belonging to those taking part in the blockades without a court order.

All crowdfunding platforms and payment providers they use must register with Canada's anti-money laundering agency, Fintrac, and report suspicious activities effective immediately. The changes are being introduced because crowdfunding platforms are being used to support illegal activities, the government said.

The act will broaden the scope of the government's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules to cover crowdfunding platforms.

Organisers have raised about $10 million Canadian dollars ($7.8 million in US dollars) through GoFundMe for their “Freedom Convoy” protests. However, the site shut down the campaign after Canadian authorities said the protest included "violence and unlawful activity".

The insurance on vehicles being used in the protests can also be suspended. The emergency measures would also allow the government to order towing companies to provide their services to clear blockades.

Mr Trudeau said the measures would be “geographically specific and targeted only to where they are needed”. They will also be “time-limited" meaning the act will probably not be in place for a long period of time.

How is the act invoked?

While the act can be invoked by the government, the Canadian Parliament has to approve the use of the act within seven days and has the authority to revoke the implementation of the legislation.

Mr Trudeau's Liberal minority government needs help from the opposition to pass his use of the act in Parliament. On Monday, New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh said his left-leaning party would be willing to back the move if it meant ending the protests.

Any temporary laws made under the act can be challenged in court and are subject to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Canada's Constitution.

UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics

 

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Abu Dhabi traffic facts

Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road

The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.

Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.

The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.

Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019

 

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6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Multitasking pays off for money goals

Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.

That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.

"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.

Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."

People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.

"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."

Brief scores:

Southampton 2

Armstrong 13', Soares 20'

Manchester United 2

Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'

Leading all-time NBA scorers

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419

England XI for second Test

Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Mobile phone packages comparison
McLaren GT specs

Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 620bhp

Torque: 630Nm

Price: Dh875,000

On sale: now

Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

While you're here
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Updated: February 15, 2022, 10:30 AM