MPs to vote tonight on Liberals’ decision to invoke Emergencies Act for blockades

MPs will vote on the motion Monday at 8 p.m. ET, and it is expected to pass with the joint support of the Liberals and NDP. The Bloc Quebecois and the Conservatives are against it.

Designating no go zones within Canada’s capital, ensuring tow trucks were available to remove vehicles from city streets and stopping the flow of money and goods keeping anti-government demonstrators fed and fuelled are all clear ways the Emergencies Act helped end the Ottawa blockades, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Sunday ahead of a House of Commons vote on the controversial measure.

Conservatives, however, are highly critical of the government move and some are pushing the Liberals to revoke the act now that blockades that effectively shut the city down for more than three weeks appear to be over.

There is one day left of debate on the government’s decision to invoke the act.

MPs will vote on the motion Monday at 8 p.m. ET, and it is expected to pass with the joint support of the Liberals and NDP. The Bloc Quebecois and the Conservatives are against it.

If the motion fails, the act and all the extraordinary powers stemming from it will be torn up. If it passes they will remain in place until mid-March at the latest.

MPs have been debating the measure since Thursday morning, though the 15 hours of debate planned for Friday were cancelled due to safety concerns as police moved in to remove protesters still blockading the streets outside.

Speaking to The Canadian Press in an interview Mendicino said he has no doubt the government’s decision to invoke the act was the right call.

“The Emergencies Act has been instrumental in turning the tide against the illegal blockades,” he said.