We’ve been covering the struggle for individual rights being waged by the Freedom Convoy in Canada because, when you get right down to it, it’s a basic fight for us all, against that ever-broadening grab for power and restriction of basic liberties that is afoot not only there, but here and around the world as well.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau grabbed extraordinary powers on February 14 by invoking the Emergencies Act, claiming it was necessary to do so because of the blockades and the occupation of Ottawa by protesters. The Act — which came into being in 1988 — had never been invoked before. There was a good reason why that’s the case — because to invoke it would require an emergency the nature of which doesn’t exist and the invocation a suspension of civil liberties. But that didn’t stop Trudeau who declared the unmitigated right not only to stomp all over people’s rights, but to freeze their bank accounts if he so chose, or even conscript people to work for the government. He admitted he had forced tow truck drivers to work against their will to clear out the protest.

As we reported yesterday, the invocation of those powers was so concerning, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association came out against it, calling for Parliament to reject it. They noted that the alleged excuse for the Act no longer even existed — the blockades (without the need for the Act), even the occupation in Ottawa were over.

“The government’s own proclamation of emergency was clear: they claimed that they needed to invoke the extraordinary Emergencies Act to deal with the blockades. Those blockades are now dismantled. The sweeping national emergency powers they enacted should be dismantled as well,” said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“Whether the Emergencies Act should have been invoked in the first place is a fundamentally important question that will continued to be discussed, both in the legislature and in the courts. The question that is relevant to parliamentarians today, however, is not whether the government was justified in issuing a proclamation of emergency a week ago. It is whether that proclamation continues to be justified today. The clear answer, in our view, is no.”

On Monday night, they held the vote on whether to approve the Act in the House of Commons.

A dark day in Canada as Parliament votes in favor of Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act regardless of legal rationale or duration.pic.twitter.com/oZ9NMMCZZI

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 22, 2022

The motion to confirm the declaration of emergency powers passed 185-151 on Monday evening with the New Democrats voting in favour alongside the minority Liberal government.

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said earlier Monday his party would support the motion, but would withdraw that support as soon as it decides the measures are no longer necessary, including if remaining convoy members stopped lingering in Ottawa and near border crossings.

The Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois opposed it, while the two Green MPs in the House were split.

It expires in 30 days unless renewed. Here’s what Trudeau had to say about that.

"Hello from the CBC, the truckers could come back in 2 months, 3 months, so does that mean we would have to keep it for another 2, 3 months?"
Trudeau: "Indeed. This is something we are thinking about, of course." pic.twitter.com/j2KwQkGVdI

— Keean Bexte (@TheRealKeean) February 21, 2022

It passed because it ultimately became something of a confidence vote and they didn’t want to have to hold another election. So some of the people who voted said they were against the passage of the Act but were voting for it for that reason. Even the guy from Quebec who had chaired the Liberal caucus but quit that over how Trudeau had been dividing the country, Joel Lightbound, voted to approve it for that reason, despite saying he did not believe the threshold was met for the Act.

That’s ✌🏻 @JoelLightbound joins @beynate in saying he is only voting with the government on the #EmergenciesAct because it is a confidence vote. @JustinTrudeau doesn't have the support of a majority of MPs and so is using the threat of an election to get his way. #cdnpoli

— Melissa Lantsman (@MelissaLantsman) February 21, 2022

Liberal MP (lawyer) Joel Lightbound also admits the legal threshold for the Emergencies Act has not been met. pic.twitter.com/l9qiwRtQXG

— Kevin Pacitti 15 🇨🇦🇮🇹🇬🇧 (@kpac_15) February 21, 2022

How disappointing from this guy, who put a lot on the line to criticize Trudeau, now putting party over principle, even as he admits that the threshold was not met.

Now, it still has to pass the Senate, who will now be considering it this week but seeing how the vote went in the House, I am not encouraged.