A federal judge has sided against the federal government after it invoked the Emergencies Act to clear protestors from the streets of Ottawa.
Federal Court Justice Richard G. Mosley ruled, in a 190-page opinion, that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it declared the Emergencies Act to stop protests that had paralyzed the capital around Parliament Hill in February 2022.
The case was brought by at least two people who were arrested during the so-called Freedom Convoy, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Constitution Foundation, and the Canadian Frontline Nurses.
The federal government has said it will appeal. During a Cabinet retreat in Montreal, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she stands by the call to invoke the Act, as the situation on the streets of Ottawa had become unbearable.
"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," said Freeland, as reported by Global News.
Truckers from all over Canada descended on downtown Ottawa for almost three weeks to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
While the ruling acknowledged that the situation in Ottawa was serious, invoking the Act nationwide was unnecessary. In Windsor, truckers had shut down access to the Ambassador Bridge for a week. After Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency on February 11, 2022, police removed the protestors, and the bridge reopened to full use.
The last of the protestors were removed from the streets of Ottawa on February 20, 2022.
It was the first time the Emergencies Act had been declared in its current form. Its predecessor, the War Measures Act, resulted in the declaration of martial law in Quebec and Ottawa during the 1970 October Crisis.
The Public Order Emergency Commission held public hearings, as required by law after the Act was invoked. The Commission found that the government met a high legal standard for the Act's use. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens was among those called to testify before the Commission.
WindsorNewsToday.ca has reached out to the mayor for his reaction to the ruling.