By Christopher Gelinas
In a significant legal development, a Canadian judge declared the Trudeau government's deployment of the Emergencies Act to suppress protests against vaccine mandates as unreasonable and unconstitutional. The ruling, released on Tuesday by Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley, emphasized that invoking the Emergencies Act led to the infringement of constitutional rights.
Thousands took to the streets of Ottawa as part of the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022, while the Emergencies Act empowered authorities to declare no-go zones, freeze bank accounts, and enforce restrictions on protesters.
Justice Mosley stated that there was no national emergency justifying the act, rendering the decision unreasonable and beyond the powers of the law. The judge concluded that the decision to use the Emergencies Act lacked justification, transparency, and intelligibility. The legal constraints required for declaring a public order emergency were not met, leading to an infringement of Charter rights.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the government's intention to appeal the ruling, telling reporters in Montreal, “We respect very much Canada’s independent judiciary. However, we do not agree with this decision. And respectfully, we will be appealing it,”
“When we took that decision, the public safety of Canadians was under threat our national security, which includes our national economic security was under threat.” said Freeland.
"I was convinced at the time it was the right thing to do, it was the necessary thing to do. I remain and we remain convinced of that." She added.
Member of the European Parliament, Christine Anderson, a critic of Justin Trudeau’s vaccine mandates, reacted to the news on Twitter.
As the government expresses its intent to appeal, the outcome of this legal battle may shape the landscape of civil liberties and government actions in Canada.
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