Call in the army? Here’s how the military could end the truckers’ protest

OTTAWA — The imagery and the historical precedents are alarming. Tanks in the streets during the FLQ crisis. Soldiers deployed to a standoff with Mohawk warriors at Oka.

Could it really happen with the so-called “Freedom Convoy” occupation in Ottawa?

That question was floated this week after Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly told reporters that he doubts the police alone will be able to resolve the protest that has seen hundreds of vehicles and semi-trucks clog the capital’s downtown streets for seven days. Sloly suggested the military might need to get involved, though he cited the “massive risks” of such a decision, which has only been taken a handful of times in Canadian history, including during the 1970 FLQ crisis and the Oka standoff in 1990.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government downplayed the idea on Thursday, stressing there are “no plans” for military involvement in what they see as a police matter. Trudeau, however, did not rule it out, stating the government would consider all requests for help from Ottawa or Ontario.

Here’s how Canada’s laws allow for the military to help police services, and what one expert believes is most likely to happen as the protesters in Ottawa dig in.

Ways to send in the army

Leaving aside various counter-terrorism measures that could involve parts of the military, there are two legal ways the Canadian Armed Forces could get involved in a domestic operation, explained Philippe Lagassé, a professor at Carleton University who specializes in defense policy.

The first is through the Federal Emergencies Act, the law that replaced the War Measures Act in 1988 and is invoked when the federal government needs to take over the management of a major crisis. That law was used by then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to respond to the FLQ crisis, when separatist extremists kidnapped a British diplomat and a Quebec cabinet minister in October 1970.

For Lagassé, the use of the Emergencies Act would be very unlikely in the case of the convoy truckers, because use of this law would be politically – and maybe legally – controversial.

Instead, Lagassé said it’s more likely the military would get involved through the second avenue: the federal National Defense Act.

National Defense Act

As Lagassé explained, there are two parts of this law that would allow the military to step in and help the Ottawa police. One section – 273.6 (2) – gives the federal cabinet the power to authorize the Canadian military to “provide assistance of any law enforcement matter” that is deemed in the national interest and can not be dealt with “effectively” without the army’s help .

This is often invoked when the military is needed to help find illegal marijuana grow-ops, for example, Lagassé said.

The other avenue the law provides is through a section called “aid to civil power.” This allows a provincial attorney general to directly request military assistance from Canada’s top soldier, the chief of the defense staff, if he or she concludes police can not deal with a “riot or disturbance of peace.”

For Ottawa and the convoy protests, this means Mayor Jim Watson can unilaterally request military aid; that request would need to come from the provincial government.

Premier Doug Ford’s office referred the Star to a statement from National Defense Minister Anita Anand, who tweeted Thursday that the military is “not a police force” and that there are “no plans” for them to get involved in Ottawa.

But if such a request is made, the federal government would have a “constitutional obligation” to respond, said Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont.

Why does this power exist?

As Leuprecht explained, this stems from a “compromise” crafted at the dawn of Confederation, when negotiators for the British colonies that initially formed Canada got together in the mid 1860s. At the time there was disquiet over the existence of sub-national militias, inspired by the horrors of the US civil war. There were also concerns about religious and linguistic divisions in the nascent country of Canada, Leuprecht said, including between French and English speakers.

So instead of getting the authority to raise their own armies, the new provinces were promised – via the Militia Act of 1868 – that the national military would be there to help them if they requested it, Leuprecht said.

That power persists today in the National Defense Act.

“That’s the constitutional compromise,” he said. “We did not want the provincial premiers who would have their own militias.”

Has this power been used before?

The National Defense Act was invoked to call in the army to help police in 1990, during a standoff over a golf course development on disputed land between local Mohawk and the Quebec provincial police in the town of Oka, Que. The provincial government at the time requested the help of the Canadian Armed Forces, after shots were exchanged and police officer Marcel Lemay was killed.

Is the military actually needed in Ottawa?

Sloly, the local police chief, only suggested the potential need for the military. But in the event that they do get called in, Leuprecht said it would be “completely out of the question” for soldiers to confront the protesters and clear them away.

That job should remain with police agencies, he said, arguing sufficient resources exist, including with the help of the RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and other municipal police forces with “public order” units that could clear the demonstrators if needed.

For now, it’s far from clear how this will end. The protesters insisted anew on Thursday that they aren’t going anywhere until their demands are met. Meanwhile, the police say they might not be able to resolve the situation, Trudeau has ruled out speaking to the demonstrators himself, and there are no indications of an impending request for military assistance.

The standoff continues.