OAN's Elizabeth Bolbelding
6:20pm – Tuesday, January 23, 2024
A federal judge has declared Canada's use of emergency powers to quell the 2022 anti-government protests “Freedom Convoy” to be “unreasonable” and “unjustified.”
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On Tuesday, Justice Richard Mosley announced that Canada's use of emergency powers to quell the anti-government Freedom Convoy demonstration was “unjustified” and in violation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
However, the federal government of Canada announced that it would appeal the ruling.
Emergencies laws give the government additional powers in times of emergency. According to the Federal Court, the government's use of emergency legislation in response to the Freedom Convoy protests was “justified in the context of the relevant factual and legal constraints that needed to be taken into account.” “It was not done.”
Three weeks after protests shut down the capital, Ottawa, on February 14ththIt was activated in 2022 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Protests against the government's mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations, dubbed the “Freedom Convoy,” have been going on for weeks, with hundreds of protesters, many in trucks, near Ottawa's Parliament Hill. It was held and attracted attention from all over the world.
There were also shorter demonstrations and blockades at several border crossings across the country.
The emergency powers allowed the government to ban gatherings in certain places and travel to demonstration areas, including abroad.
“I consider that the decision to issue this declaration lacks the hallmarks of reasonableness, transparency and clarity, and was not justified in the context of the relevant factual and legal constraints that had to be taken into account. concluded,” Judge Mosley said. he said in Tuesday's decision.
The lawsuit was brought by the Canadian Civil Liberties Union and the Canadian Constitution Foundation. The associations argued that the demonstrations “did not meet the high legal standards” required to enact the law.
On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the government's decision, arguing that it was an “option of last resort” and that the country faced threats to its economy and national security at the time.
“We acted in the interest of the safety and protection of Canada and the security and protection of our national interests,” Freeland told reporters in Montreal. “It wasn't an easy time and it wasn't an easy decision.”
A federal review conducted last year found the Canadian government met “high standards” for applying the law.
Judge Paul Rouleau, who led the investigation, called the ruling a “drastic step” but not “dictatorial.”
Rouleau also made a statement at the Security and Emergency Committee report in February 2023, accusing truck drivers of becoming “lawless”.
“A lawful protest has descended into lawlessness and a national emergency,” Rouleau said.
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