The Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) sent the following email today to Canadian Members of Parliaments and Senators.
A PDF of the email can be read at the link here.
Dear Member of Parliament,
There is no national emergency caused by the Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa.
There is only a peaceful protest of Canadians who are opposed to government policy (mandatory medical procedures) that objectively violates the human rights of life, liberty, and security of the person, and of conscience and religion.
This peaceful protest is taking place on the street immediately facing the Parliament Buildings, the most appropriate site for a protest that one can imagine in Canada.
OCLA volunteers have been observing the protest in person since the convoy arrived in Ottawa in late January. The protest has been eminently peaceful and should be a model of democratic engagement for future generations of Canadians to look up to.
There is no national emergency happening in Ottawa, and no rational basis to use the Emergencies Act (formerly the War Measures Act). Doing so will be an explicit act of government authoritarianism that will permanently damage democracy in Canada.
The Ontario Civil Liberties Association implores you not to do this. It is wrong. It is unconstitutional. It is undemocratic. We ask that you do everything in your power as an elected representative to protect our democracy and reject this misuse of the Emergencies Act to crush peaceful protest.
OCLA’s public statement on this matter can be read at the link here: https://ocla.ca/ocla-
statement-on-the-governments- use-of-the-emergencies-act/ Sincerely,
Joseph Hickey, PhD
Executive Director
Ontario Civil Liberties Association (ocla.ca)
joseph.hickey@ocla.ca
c: 613-252-6148Cc: Canadian Senators
Update — Responses received:
2022-02-19: Response from MP John Williamson (Conservative)
2022-03-03: Response from MP Richard Cannings (NDP)
