With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to blockades on the streets of Ottawa, as well as at a number of border crossings in the country, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has stated he does not support the decision.

The prime minister consulted with all of the country’s premiers Monday morning about the invoking of the act, including Moe. The Emergencies Act, passed in 1988, allows the government to put temporary measures into place such as barring people from gathering or travelling to certain locations as well as measures to protect national security, public order and public welfare. The Act also allows for the military to be used in the place of law enforcement, but it has been stated by multiple sources that will be under active consideration.

In a post on social media, Moe stated that police already have sufficient tools in place to deal with the blockades, and therefore the province does not support the use of the Emergencies Act.

“If the federal government does proceed with this measure, I would hope it would only be invoked in provinces that request it, as legislation allows,” Moe concluded his post.

In addition to Moe stating Saskatchewan would not support the invocation of the Act, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson and Quebec Premier Francois Legault have also said they do not support the use of the Act and ask that it not be applied to their provinces.

The move by the premier comes as protests against COVI-19 measures spread from Ottawa in late January to locations throughout the country.  A blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, the busiest border crossing in the country, was broken up by law enforcement on the weekend. Blockades are still in place at the border crossing at Coutts, Alberta as well as at the Emerson border crossing in Manitoba.

Monday, RCMP reported they had arrested 11 people at the Coutts blockade after the discovery of a cache of firearms and ammunition. They stated a group within the protest had a willingness to use force against police if there were any attempts made by law enforcement to disrupt the blockade.

In all, there were 13 long guns seized, as well as handguns, sets of body armour, a machete, ammunition and high-capacity magazines.

A protest was held in Saskatchewan Saturday at the Regway border crossing south of Regina, however, traffic was still allowed to cross through the port-of-entry. A similar protest is planned for North Portal on Friday.

This will be the first time since the Emergencies Act was passed in 1988. The act itself was passed by the Brian Mulroney-led Progressive Conservative government of the day. The law requires that any declaration of an emergency by the federal Cabinet must be reviewed by Parliament and that any temporary laws made under the act are subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, meaning even under the emergency, any suspension of civil rights must meet the Oakes test.

The predecessor to the Emergencies Act – the War Measures Act – was invoked three times: by Sir Robert Borden at the start of the First World War, by William Lyon Mackenzie King at the outset of the Second World War, and by Pierre Trudeau during the FLQ Crisis of 1970.

--with files from Canadian Press