MNI BRIEF: Canada House Backs Emergency Truck Protest Law

Canada's House of Commons passed a vote Monday night backing Emergency Act powers for police to deal with truck protests around Parliament and at border crossings that had threatened exports worth 30% of the country's GDP.

The motion carried 185-151 with backing from the governing Liberals and the opposition NDP, and must also pass in the unelected Senate for the law to remain in force.

Conservatives raised questions about overreach and whether the protests were violent. The Bloc Quebecois said the measures should not apply in Quebec where protests have been limited and given Canada's history of putting soldiers in the streets of Montreal in 1970 after a terrorist threat.

"After these illegal blockades and occupations received disturbing amounts of foreign funding to destabilize Canada's democracy, it became clear that local and provincial authorities needed more tools to restore order," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said before the vote.

The main protest was cleared out over the weekend, but officials say the powers must remain in case new blockades emerge and to keep out mostly U.S.-based foreign funding. It is unclear if the measures will remain in place for the full 30 days the law allows.