A court in Canada has ruled that the government’s use of the Emergencies Act, introduced to stop demonstrations in Ottawa, was unreasonable and unconstitutional. However, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that the government would appeal the decision, arguing that it was the right decision at the time.
In January 2022, the Freedom Convoy truck demonstration took place in Ottawa, Canada, to protest the government’s strict vaccination mandate at the time. To end the demonstration, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the State of Emergency Act, also known as the Emergencies Act, to stop the widespread popular protests against the country’s coronavirus policy.
The act, designed for emergencies such as security threats or war, was introduced in 1988 and had never been used before. However, it gave the government greater powers to punish those who participated in the demonstration. Police violence, asset freezes, and mass arrests were used to break up the demonstration.
An extensive independent investigation later concluded that the government had met the threshold for declaring martial law.
Nevertheless, the use of martial law against the protesters drew criticism from many, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation, as well as individuals, took the matter to court.
No national emergency
On Tuesday, the court ruled that the government’s use of the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and unconstitutional.
“I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable”, wrote Richard Mosley, a federal court judge, according to ABS News.
It was also found to violate the right to freedom of expression and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, according to a CCLA press release.
Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that the government would appeal the court’s decision, noting that it was the right thing to do because the protests posed “serious threat to public safety, national security and Canada’s economic security”.
– I don’t want to minimize the gravity of the actions we took. Neither do I want to minimize the gravity of the threats Canada faced, Freeland said.
Under the Act, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, the leading public figures of the Freedom Convoy, were arrested, and since September, court hearings on their participation have been ongoing and are expected to conclude soon.