Over 100 arrests of anti vaccine mandate protesters arrested.

[Anonymous]

The NDP's decision to vote for the Emergencies Act was severely criticized by interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen who accused the party of "supporting the Liberals in this sledgehammer approach."



She was referencing Tommy Douglas's criticism of the War Measures Act to end the October crisis in 1970, when the then NDP leader accused Pierre Elliot Trudeau's Liberal government of using a "sledgehammer to crack a peanut."



"History will not be kind to the leader of the NDP or his members on this particular question," said Bergen during her speech in the Commons on Thursday.



The Conservative interim leader was not alone in her criticism. Two former NDP MPs, Svend Robinson and Erin Weir, came out publicly in the past week to criticize their party.



"The NDP Caucus in 1970 under Tommy Douglas took a courageous and principled stand against the War Measures Act. Today's @NDP under Jagmeet Singh betrays that legacy and supports Liberals on the Emergencies Act," tweeted Robinson.



"Shame. A very dangerous precedent is being set," he added.



In an interview, Weir suggested that "there was probably more justification" for invoking the War Measures Act during the FLQ crisis more than 50 years ago than there is for the Emergencies Act now, given that blockades at the U.S. border were broken up before the act even took effect.



"Nevertheless, Douglas and the federal NDP rightly stood up for Canadian civil liberties," said Weir. "So it's quite disappointing to see the federal NDP today support the Emergencies Act when there really isn't a national emergency as is settled in that legislation."