The federal government will invoke the never-before-used Emergencies Act to give them extra powers to handle anti-vaccine mandate protests across the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed the premiers of his decision, and told his caucus this morning. The Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in the 1980s, defines a national emergency as a temporary “urgent and critical situation” that “seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians”.