Could Canada's Senate Thwart Trudeau's Invocation of The Emergencies Act?

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act to put an end to the COVIDIOT Convoy which is still causing havoc in Ottawa and several Canadian-U.S. border crossings.

I have no doubt the people of Ottawa are probably asking themselves, "What took so long?" 

The Emergencies Act was enacted in 1988 by the Tory government of Brian Mulroney to replace the War Measures Act which was famously invoked by Trudeau's father Pierre during the FLQ Crisis in October 1970. What distinguishes the Emergencies Act from the War Measures Act is that it is subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and must be approved by Parliament.

For those who don't know the Canadian Parliament has a House of Commons and a Senate. Although NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has been critical of Trudeau's leadership, he will support the measure which ensures its passage in the Commons. Students of Canadian history will know the NDP under Tommy Douglas opposed Trudeau's invocation of the War Measures Act. 

Canada's Senate, which is similar to the House of Lords in the U.K., is an unelected body appointed by the Prime Minister. However, since Trudeau took office in 2015, he has been appointing non-partisan Senators in an effort to make a chamber of "sober second thought." 

I cannot help but wonder if the Senate could throw a monkey wrench into Trudeau's plans. If the Senate were to vote down the invocation of the Emergencies Act then Trudeau's order would be null and void. Now I think the likelihood of this happening is small. Because if the Senate were to voted down the invocation of the Emergencies Act then the Canadian government has no other recourse with the possible exception of invoking the National Defence Act to call in the Canadian military which Trudeau has been very reluctant to do from the outset. If the Trudeau government was unwilling or unable to do so then the COVIDIOT Convoy would hold all the cards and could wait until all COVID restrictions were repealed. 

Nevertheless, given the magnitude of the circumstances and how individual Senators are not bound to Trudeau let alone the Liberal Party, the Senate could see fit to give this very serious deliberation and possibly reign in the Prime Minister and his cabinet. If the Senate were to say no it would be as a direct result of reforms which Trudeau initiated.

But like their fellow MPs, many Senators live in Ottawa while Parliament is in session and live in the very residential areas in downtown Ottawa which have been most adversely affected by this siege and want to put it to an end. Yet given the chaos which has reigned for more than two weeks we must consider the possibility that this might not end as easily as Trudeau and the majority of Canadians would like.