A distinction needs to be made between this power and the opportunity to exercise it. The main thrust of my comment was to congratulate the government on its decision not to have exercised it and to have demonstrated just how unproductive and inadequate it would have been to do so under the circumstances. There were also several benefits to refraining from exercising this power. The federal authorities were also not prevented from implementing any standards, regulations or actions by not exercising the Emergencies Act. That's the first part of my response
The second is that the Constitution clearly provides exorbitant powers that are inconsistent with what federalism in its ideal form ought to be, but that can be exercised in certain circumstances. These include the power to act in an emergency, which is time limited and has serious consequences because it can be exercised with impunity towards the principles that are central to our system, like rights and freedoms and federalism.
These powers need to be exercised when necessary and useful,and when there are good reasons to do so. I believe that it was very wise to have paused and taken some time to think before moving in that direction. The good news is that did not have to take this extraordinary and exorbitant action, which should only be used in very limited circumstances.