For a primer on emergency law in Canada, Dr. Craig Forcese and Leah West have made available THIS CHAPTER from their forthcoming book on national security law in Canada. Dr. Forcese, with assistance from Hannah Diegel, is also updating a repository of Canadian COVID-19 emergency orders, both at the federal and provincial levels, HERE. Earlier in the week, I…
As of March 25, 2020, anyone entering Canada is required by law to self-isolate & monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days. This order is made under the federal Quarantine Act. You can read the Act, plus debate and other related materials from the most recent substantial update of the Act in 2004-05, here: https://primarydocuments.ca/collection-quarantine-act-sc-2005/. The…
It is worth familiarizing ourselves with the federal Emergencies Act, successor to the War Measures Act, since the federal government may engage its provisions due to COVID-19. Find the Act here, plus debate from when it was enacted: https://primarydocuments.ca/collection-emergencies-act-1988/. Invoking the Emergencies Act allows the federal government to drastically curtail our civil liberties. Parliament would have a crucial oversight…
UPDATE AT 1:24pm, March 24, 2020: If you read my essay below, I make it clear that my objections are completely procedural. I have no objection to the relief measures bill passing today as long as the government provides it to MPs with enough time to read and understand it. The reason the House of Commons is suspended right…
Yesterday, Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez announced that the House of Commons will be recalled to authorize the largest spending package in Canadian history, and that he’d like Parliament to do so by means of an expedited process, in which all of the normal procedural protections are stripped away. Normally any draft legislation can expect to go through the following…
As you know, due to the rapidly changing circumstances, the Government of Canada is recommending that Canadians presently outside of Canada return as soon as possible. Travellers returning to Canada must self-isolate for 14 days after return. Recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to monitor health for fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing for 14 days after…
My Carleton Place office remains open to serve you. If possible, please contact my office using electronic means: Local tel: 613-257-8130 Toll-free: 1-866-277-1577 Email: scott.reid@parl.gc.ca If you need to visit in-person: 224 Bridge Street Carleton Place, ON K7C 3G9 Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 12:30 pm 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
For immediate release Yesterday, local MP Scott Reid (Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston) announced that he will hold a Constituency Referendum – his tenth – to give every eligible voter in his riding the opportunity to cast a vote on whether Mr. Reid should vote in favour of, or against, Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (Medical Assistance in Dying),…
By Scott Reid Member of Parliament for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston Open the PDF here: On Constituency Referenda —————o0o————— This is the second in a series of essays that I will be publishing, during the course of the 2020 Conservative Party leadership race, with the goal of persuading any and all leadership candidates to borrow what I believe to be intelligent…