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Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states granted themselves emergency powers or declared full-fledged states of emergency. This paper focuses on pandemic emergencies in France and Canada in order to subject debates about the state of exception to comparative and conjunctural analysis. Adding to already existing exceptional state powers justified in the name of antiterrorism, pandemic states of emergency risk becoming normalized in both contexts. However, due in part to different histories of politicizing earlier states of emergency, sanitary emergency powers have reinforced existing political crisis tendencies only in France, not Canada—at least not yet. This paper is part of the SPE Theme on the Political Economy of COVID-19.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the reviewers as well as Ahmed Allahwala, Roger Keil, and Karen Wirsig for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this text.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
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3 United Nations, COVID-19; see also Amnesty International, Policing the Pandemic.
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6 Kipfer, Urban Revolutions.
7 Jiwani, "A Patriot Act”; James, “Race-based.”
8 Losurdo, Liberalism.
9 Agamben, State of Exception.
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11 Atiles-Osoria, “State of Exception”; Reynolds, “The Political Economy.”
12 Sotiris, “Thinking Beyond the Lockdown”; Toscano, “The State of the Pandemic”; Garo, “Covid-19.”
13 Boukalas, “No Exceptions.”
14 Greene, State of Emergency; Frankenberg, Political Technology; Kundnani, The Muslims are Coming.
15 Boukalas, “No Exceptions”; Poulantzas, State, Power, Socialism, 203–23.
16 Mohamud, The Paradox of Black Life.
17 Ayad and Beaudet, “Estrosi.”
18 Yuan et al., “Modelling”; Prashad, Xiaojun, and Zhu, “China.”
19 Plourde, Le capitalisme; Hermann, “Life after the Pandemic.”
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21 COVID Strategic Choices Group, “Building the Canadian Shield.”
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24 Federal Government, Quarantine Act 2005, 9.
25 Federal Government, Quarantine Act 2005, 9.
26 Federal Government, Quarantine Act 2005, 9.
27 Department of Justice, “Government of Canada Facilitates Enforcement,” paragraph 2.
28 Poulantzas, State, Power, Socialism, 104–7.
29 Chinese Canadian National Council, Toronto Chapter, A Year.
30 Public Safety Minister Bill Blair cited in Hill and Russell, “Coronavirus”; also Chen and Lien, “Border Closures.”
31 Canada Civil Liberties Association, “Emergency Orders,” paragraph 3.
32 Canada Civil Liberties Association, “Emergency Orders,” paragraph 3.
33 Glasbeek and Tucker, “The Anti-Union Virus”; Alphonso, “Quebec Teachers”; De Poe, “Alberta Government”; Panitch and Swartz, From Consent to Coercion.
34 Schofield, “Key Pandemic Legislation.”
35 Ontario Nurses’ Association, Bill 195, paragraph 3.
36 Government of Canada, Bill 195, paragraph 5.
37 Canadian Civil Liberties Association, “CCLA to Ontario MPPs,” paragraph 1.
38 Kecskes, “An Economic Recovery for Whom?” paragraph 6.
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50 Emergencies Act, 8.
51 Emergencies Act, 8.
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54 Russell, “Canadians Have Racked Up $13M,” paragraph 1.
55 Jouan, “COVID-19.”
56 Luscombe and McClelland, “Policing the Pandemic,” 2; Luscombe and McClelland, “An Extreme Last Resort”; Walia, “Our Civil Liberties”; Leier, “Crisis Policing.”
57 Russell, “Canadians Have Racked Up $13M,” paragraph 7.
58 Brand, “On Narrative, Reckoning,” paragraph 5.
59 Cheung, “Black People Make Up 83% of COVID-19,” paragraph 2.
60 Levesque and Thériault, “Indigenous Communities,” paragraph 13.
61 Pagliaro, “New Toronto Data Reveals,” paragraph 3.
62 Bryant et al., “Unequal Impact of COVID-19,” 27–28.
63 Government of Canada, “Canada Emergency Response Benefit,” paragraph 3; Canadian Press, “Trudeau.”
64 Bryant et al., “Unequal Impact of COVID-19,” 27.
65 Bryant et al., “Unequal Impact of COVID-19,” 28.
66 Brand, “On Narrative, Reckoning,” paragraph 2.
67 Brand, “On Narrative, Reckoning,” paragraph 1.
68 Walcott, “Toward Abolitionist Futures,” paragraph 3.
69 Courage Coalition, “Cancel Rent.”
70 Mochoma, “Black Communities Have Known.”
71 Defund the Police, “Defund the Police”; Maynard and Ritchie, “Black Communities”; M4BL, “Healthcare not Warfare.”
72 Lloyd, “Settler Colonialism.”
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74 Noakes, “The Pandemic”; 1492 Land Back Lane; Martin, “Peace”; Tiny House Warriors; Unist’ot’en.
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76 Brengarth, “Prorogation”; Force Ouvrière, “Prorogation.”
77 Claire Hédon cited in Jacquin, “Inquiétudes.”
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79 Achache, “Marwan Mohammed.”
80 Bergeron et al., Covid-19 ; Escalona, “D’un confinement à l’autre.”; Rouget, “Crise sanitaire.”
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82 Vincent Aubelle, cited in Soullier, “En France.” Le Monde, October 15.
83 Bas Les Masques! Un Appel des Soignant.e.s.
84 Amnesty International, Policing the Pandemic, 20–22; L’Observatoire de l’état d’urgence sanitaire, Premier rapport, Deuxième rapport.
85 Epicov survey results presented in Herzberg, Le Covid; Gilbert; Mariette and Pitti, “Covid-19.”
86 Gilbert, “Le Covid-19”; Mariette and Pitti, “Covid-19.”
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91 Kipfer, “Which Colour?”
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93 Mechaï and Hergon, “Make Yourself,” 42–43.
94 Mechaï, “Des lois.”
95 Serfati, “Militaro-sécurité globale.”
96 Jacquin, “Avec toutes ses lois sécuritaires.”
97 Kundnani, “From Fanon to Ventilators.”
98 Chandra and Chandra, “Health Care”; Hermann, “Life after the Pandemic; Plourde, Le capitalisme; The Independent Panel, Make it the Last Pandemic.
99 UNEP, Emissions Gap Report 2020.
100 McQuade and Neocleous,“Beware.”
101 Kundnani, “From Fanon to Ventilators”; Sotiris, “Thinking Beyond.”
102 Malm, Corona, 12.
103 Larminat, “Le nouveau monde ou rien.”
104 Poulantzas, State, Power, Socialism, 140.
105 Toscano, “The State of the Pandemic,” 9.
106 Brigades de solidarité populaire.
107 Toscano, “The State of the Plague”; Sotiris, “Thinking Beyond”; Löwy, “Planification”; Plourde, Le capitalisme.
108 Tufekci, “How Hong Kong Did It.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Stefan Kipfer
Stefan Kipfer teaches in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jamilla Mohamud
Jamilla Mohamud has completed the Master's in Environmental Studies Planning Program at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.