Federal Court finds Emergencies Act for ‘Freedom Convoy’ violated Charter – National

The Federal Court has ruled the Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act during the so-called “Freedom Convoy” that descended on Ottawa in 2022 violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In his ruling, Justice Richard G. Mosley said the move was “unreasonable” and outside the scope of the law. Mosley is a 21-year veteran of the Federal Court and is a respected voice on national security legal matters. He has weighed in on some of the most high-profile recent cases in Canadian intelligence, including a 2016 decision that found CSIS had been illegally storing Canadians’ communication data for more than a decade.

The case was brought forward by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), the Canadian Constitution Foundation, Canadian Frontline Nurses and a handful of individuals.

Mosley wrote, “I have concluded that the decision to issue the Proclamation does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility — and was not justified in relation to the relevant factual and legal constraints that were required to be taken into consideration.”

“I think it’s in the interest of this government and future governments and all Canadians that the threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act remains high and that it is truly, as Justice Mosley says, a legislation of last resort,” CCLA lawyer Ewa Krajewska told Global News.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says that Ottawa will appeal the ruling.

“We respect very much Canada’s independent judiciary, however we do not agree with this decision, and respectfully we will be appealing it,” Freeland said at the cabinet retreat in Montreal.

Freeland, flanked by Attorney General Arif Virani and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said that in the opinion of the government public, national and economic security was under threat during the protest, and said the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time was a “hard decision.”

“We were convinced at the time – 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,” Freeland said.

Krajewska said it’s not unexpected the federal government is appealing the decision, but is surprised to see this intent announced so quickly.

“I hear the ministers that they sincerely felt that they were doing the…