Party lines drawn ahead of key Emergencies Act vote on Monday

Canada's political parties are standing firm in their positions during two days of weekend debates on the use of the Emergencies Act, ahead of a key vote on Monday on whether to ratify the extraordinary powers.

MPs, who have been sparring in the House of Commons hour after hour, are scheduled to sit from 7 a.m. ET to midnight on both Saturday and Sunday.

The at-times tense and personal debate has pitted the Liberal government against the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois, a combination Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux referred to as an "unholy alliance." The New Democrats have said they will support the government's use of the act but have urged the Liberals to tread carefully, while reserving the right to pull support at any time.

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who has announced he is seeking the leadership of his party, accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of engineering the crisis for political gain.

"They have attempted to amplify and take advantage of every pain, every fear, every tragedy that has struck throughout this pandemic in order to divide one person against another and replace the people's freedom with the government's power," he said Saturday.

Poilievre said the Emergencies Act was the "latest and greatest example of attacks on our freedom." 

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said Sunday that the "vigorous" debates over the Emergencies Act are a sign of a healthy democracy, casting the discussion in a positive light a day after a major police action cleared protesters away from Parliament Hill on Saturday.

"The fact that there has been a vigorous debate taking place in Parliament, that will come to a vote in our democratically elected House of Commons tomorrow ... to me is an affirmation that our democracy is strong," he said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live.

The Conservatives argue that the protests do not rise to the level of an emergency and do not warrant the use of extraordinary powers — claiming the government's actions are "sinister" and politically motivated.

"There is no emergency, there is no threat to our democracy, and it's a shame the government has not pulled this bill," said Warren Steinley, a Conservative MP from Saskatchewan. Steinley was among several Conservative MPs who voiced support and visited with protesters earlier in the month. The party has since called for the end of the demonstrations.

Other Conservatives characterized the protests as a matter more appropriately dealt with by Ottawa police, not an emergency response.

"There's no al-Qaeda, there's no Taliban, there's no North Korean special forces looking to take over the government. Mr. Speaker, this is a matter for local law enforcement officials, and it is wrong for this government to make it out to be anything more than that," said Conservative MP Michael Kram. His characterization of the protests was criticized by Liberal MPs and Green MP Elizabeth May.

The governing Liberals have argued that the Emergencies Act was necessary to put an end to the protests in Ottawa and others across the country, pointing to such measures as cutting off financial supports and compelling the service of tow truck drivers.

The measures are automatically time-limited, expiring after 30 days, and Parliament has the power to revoke the emergency declaration either in initial votes this week or at any point during the month-long window.