Trudeau is also being roasted by the pro-Trump, right-wing anti-Covid mandate constituency in Canada and the US, who accused him of adopting fascist methods and virtually imposing martial law on a country that is often praised for its democratic credentials.
Canada’s Emergencies Act confers powers on the federal government to override civil rights, restrict trade, and ban public assembly. It is only the second time in the country’s history that Ottawa has used such powers, the last time when Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, invoked similar measures to contain a separatist movement in Quebec.
Although Justin Trudeau pledged his government would not restrict peaceful gatherings in the ongoing protests, he accused truckers of “illegal and dangerous activities” and said he was invoking the act as a “last resort.”
Canada virus outbreak truckers protest
“This has gone on for far too long. It is no longer a lawful protest against federal government policy. It is now an illegal occupation. It’s time for people to go home,” Trudeau said, asserting that the situation “requires additional tools not held by any other federal, provincial or territorial law.”
The move invited a cascade of criticism and online trolling, including from U.S and from India, where a farmers protest in 2020-2021 that had similarly shut down New Delhi for months had found support from Trudeau. “Canada will always be ready to defend the right to peaceful protest,” Trudeau had said, inviting a smackdown from New Delhi, which such comments were “unwarranted” and “ill-informed.” The Canadian PM was accused of pandering to Sikh constituents in his country, some of whom are viewed in India as Khalistani separatists.
Payback for that episode came swiftly online on Monday with one post from India sneering, “Blockade is undemocratic, dangerous and fascist in Canada but enriches democracy in India.”
A cartoon showed Trudeau expressing support for Indian farmers on a tractor in one panel, with second panel where Trudeau is being chased by a truck with “KARMA” emblazoned on its side.
It’s rightly said that karma returns with interest whatever you give to others….He gave it in tractors n got ba… https://t.co/D1IxRmPbBQ
— Rocky🇮🇳 (@Rocky201196) 1643703070000
Even former diplomats came down heavily on Trudeau. “Sins coming home to roost. Stand Trudeau takes on Trucker rally at home contrary to Tractor rally in India. Calls it blocking economy& democracy, no dialogue with truckers, police arresting those supplying fuel to truckers. Usual hypocrisy, double standards by western “liberals,” noted former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.
The right-wing media in Canada and US also came down heavily on the Canadian Prime Minister, who heads a minority government, with one headline reading, Trudeau tests positive for fascism. Fox News’s Tucker Carlson headlined the story “Trudeau bring Martial Law to Canada.”
“Let’s be clear, this is a defining moment in the history of Canada, in the history of the English speaking West. The Emergencies Act is Martial Law,” Carlson said.
Even the liberal New York Times panned Trudeau, saying in an editorial that “protests are a necessary form of expression in a democratic society, particularly for those whose opinions do not command broad popular support,” while noting his support for the farmers’ agitation in India.