According to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian government plans to challenge a court ruling that found Ottawa’s use of emergency powers in early 2022 to disband anti-government protests to be unreasonable, reported by CBC News.
A federal judge stated on Tuesday that the Liberal government’s application of the Emergencies Act to disperse the “Freedom Convoy” protests, which stalled the capital in 2022, was unreasonable.
“We greatly respect Canada’s independent judiciary. Nevertheless, we do not agree with this ruling, and we will be appealing it,” Freeland announced to reporters in Montreal.
Freeland, who also acts as the deputy prime minister, defended the decision to enforce emergency powers, stating that it was necessary for the public safety of Canadians and national security.
“I was convinced at the time that it was the right and necessary thing to do. I remain convinced of that,” she emphasized.
The convoy protests against public health measures, including vaccine mandates, caused the shutdown of Ottawa and the blockage of some border crossings for several weeks in January and February 2022. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau justified the use of emergency powers as unavoidable, claiming negotiation with the protesters was not feasible.
Last year, the commissioner of an independent inquiry into the decision affirmed that the government met the threshold for enforcing emergency powers.
“I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote in the Tuesday decision, according to CBC.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Constitution Foundation, and individuals who argued that Ottawa did not meet the legal threshold when invoking the legislation, which had never been used before, brought the case forward.
(This story has been refiled to change the picture)
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa; Editing by Chris Reese and Sharon Singleton)
