Procurement Minister Anita Anand isn’t ruling out any options that could help Canada curb its third wave of COVID-19, including invoking the Canada Emergencies Act.
When asked about whether Canada would be considering the Act on Sunday, she told The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson federal cabinet would reconvene over the weekend and again early next week to “consider all options.”
The Canada Emergencies Act would give the federal government the power to issue executive orders and reallocate public funds quickly following a Parliamentary review.
Canada stopped short of declaring a federal emergency during the first wave last year, but plenty of provinces have already declared public health emergencies and invoked emergency measures.
The act itself has never been used in Canada.
The now-repealed War Measures Act, which allowed the federal government to take action to ensure safety and security during national emergencies, has been invoked three times in Canada: during the First and Second World Wars, and during the October Crisis of 1970, when Front de Libération du Québec members abducted then-provincial Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross.
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