The regulations of the Emergencies Act need to be circumscribed

Speaker: Ms. May
Time: 21/02/2022 15:08:07
Context: Question

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Mr. Speaker, as hon. colleagues will know, from the beginning I have been very concerned that the regulations appear overly broad and not connected to the declaration itself. I want to ask the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada if he is satisfied, then he can satisfy me, that the declaration is tied to these regulations and that they cannot be used other than for this specific emergency as described in the declaration.

Hon. David Lametti (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question.

The way in which the regulations for orders are based in the declaration as well as the way in which they are written clearly indicate that they flow from the declaration. So, I can assure the hon. member and I can assure Canadians that the regulations for orders can only be used for combatting this particular emergency and no other situation.