I was opposed to the use of the
War Measures Act during the
October Crisis because of the danger it posed, owing to the fact that, as it seemed to me, an
apprehended insurrection could be nothing more than a
prime minister's
bad dream.
This is not much of a restriction.
I was under the impression the act has been updated, and that one, or several pieces of legislation were passed, with varying degrees of draconian powers, to replace it. The abuses, by provincial amd municipal politicians, if not federal, that the War Measures Act can lend authority to, are illustrated by the October Crisis.
It was, and is, a shock to most Canadians that such extreme legislation was ever on the books, and used, in Canada. But my country has not always been even as outward-looking as it is today, and has a history, authorized by this bad law, that is something to be ashamed of.
See Japanese Canadian Internment in World War II