In a news conference last Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to impose specific restrictions on public assembly and travel and to mobilize federal support for local and provincial police for a 30-day period. These “special temporary measures,” enacted to break up the illegal trucker blockade, mark the first time the act has been used this way in recent Canadian history. If approved by Parliament, the act would work towards ensuring safety and security during this national emergency.

The “Freedom Convoy” blockade of anti-vaccine truckers, occupying Ottawa with both local and international support, threatens local and cross-border transportation, businesses, and access to healthcare facilities. The three-week-old protest over COVID-19 restrictions has set off a round of copycat protests in New Zealand and Australia, with ongoing organization for blockades in the United States. According to Reuters, the blockade members demand an end to Trudeau’s coronavirus restrictions and vaccine mandates but have set the state for an opposition platform against Canada’s liberal government policies.

The protesting truck drivers were warned that blockading the downtown core could lead to arrest, Reuters reports.

Canada’s official responses have acknowledged the importance of freedom of expression, but expressed that unlawful organization would not be condoned. “You have sent your message, we encourage people to continue to express their views in a lawful and peaceful way, but the ongoing blockade of our borders and our highways at Coutts will no longer be tolerated,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said. Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed, telling reporters that he supported “the federal government and any proposal they have to bring law and order back to our province, to make sure we stabilize our business and trade around the world.”

Public sentiment largely consists of frustration with the blockade, as well as the federal government’s inability to shut it down. Based on a study by the independent research at The Angus Reid Institute, nearly three out of four Canadians say the time has come for protesters to “go home” and agree that “[the protestors] have made their point,” while approximately 70% think local police need to step in and send people home.

“The people that are suffering are small-business owners, the employees and the residents,” said Sarah Chown, a local restaurant manager. The protesters aren’t harming the policymakers they wanted to pressure, she said, although a handful of protestors have been detained for carrying weapons in their vehicles. Following the arrest of 11 blockade participants, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement that searching three trailers at the Coutts blockade uncovered 13 long guns, handguns, body armour, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition, and high-capacity magazines.

The Ottawa demonstrations represent a global rallying point for far-right and anti-vaccine groups. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for example, warned local and state law enforcement officers of similar protests being organized by far-right groups. While freedom of assembly is a sign of a healthy democracy, these protests challenge the standards for public health and safety, as well as freedom of travel. Using the power of the federal government and police force to break up the trucker blockades is an important step towards facilitating trade and transportation for small business owners near the respective borders. But is breaking the bloc an infringement of civil liberties or a defense of local communities?

Hundreds of officers already moved into the capital on Friday and have begun to make arrests and clear out the truckers. “We’ll always defend the rights of Canadians to peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression,” Trudeau posted on Twitter. “We’ll also do whatever is necessary to reinforce the principles, values, and institutions that keep all Canadians free – and that’s what we’re doing with the Emergencies Act.” Regardless of whether Parliament approves the Emergency Act’s use, local governments and police forces must ensure the truckers’ peaceful dispersion.