{"id":413998,"date":"2026-01-16T22:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T22:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413998\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T22:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T22:06:08","slug":"trudeaus-use-of-emergencies-act-to-clear-convoy-protests-unjustified-appeal-court-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413998\/","title":{"rendered":"Trudeau\u2019s use of Emergencies Act to clear convoy protests unjustified, appeal court rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Convoy protesters in 2022 staged a weeks-long demonstration that gridlocked the city of Ottawa over the federal government’s pandemic measures.Justin Tang\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The Trudeau government\u2019s 2022 decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end weeks-long trucker protests in Ottawa and elsewhere was not legally justified, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled on Friday.<\/p>\n

The appeal court was unanimous<\/a>, from a panel of three judges that included Chief Justice Yves de Montigny. In a rarely used move, the judgment was signed: \u201cThe Court.\u201d <\/p>\n

The decision upholds a ruling from the Federal Court two years ago. The appeal court, similar to the previous judgment, said the blockades and protests were \u201cdisturbing and disruptive\u201d but asserted: \u201cThey fell well short of a threat to national security.\u201d <\/p>\n

Invoking Emergencies Act wasn\u2019t justified and infringed on Charter rights, Federal Court rules<\/a><\/p>\n

The decision, which Ottawa can try to appeal to the Supreme Court by mid-March, represents a major judgment in the country\u2019s legal annals. It clarifies the limits of executive power and, in such cases, the actions of the Prime Minister in heated moments where there is the potential to overstep the boundaries of the law in political-decision making.<\/p>\n

The Emergencies Act became law in 1988, and 2022 was the first time it was used. The law had been tailored to include a high bar for its use, as it replaced the previous War Measures Act. Two courts have now clearly ruled former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government failed to meet that strict legal test.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Constitution Foundation, a Calgary-based advocacy group that was among those who challenged Ottawa in court and won, said the appeal court ruling \u201csends a powerful signal to future governments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not an exaggeration to say this decision is about the principles of democracy,\u201d said Joanna Baron, executive director of the foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ruling strengthens the Emergencies Act,\u201d said Howard Sapers, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, another challenger to Ottawa\u2019s use of the act. \u201cIf it is used, we will be truly facing a national emergency.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

An Ottawa police vehicle blocks off Kent Street in front of parked trucks during the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests in Ottawa on Feb. 6, 2022.Justin Tang\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The federal government said it is assessing its next steps. \u201cThe Government remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of Canadians in the face of threats to public safety and national security,\u201d said spokesman Simon Lafortune for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.<\/p>\n

In the winter of 2022, hundreds of protesters drove semi-trailer trucks to Ottawa and parked them there. They were angry over Ottawa\u2019s pandemic vaccine mandates and generally aggrieved with the federal government.<\/p>\n

The protests, billed as the Freedom Convoy, involved large rigs and people and gridlocked parts of central Ottawa. Some residents described feeling harassed<\/a> as truck drivers blared their horns. Some border crossings with the United States were affected as well.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 14, 2022, the federal government cited a threat to the security of Canada as it invoked the Emergencies Act. This allowed the government extraordinary temporary powers, including the prohibition of citizens assembling in public and the freezing of bank assets. <\/p>\n

In a summary<\/a> of the appeal court\u2019s 185-page judgment, it said: \u201cThe government did not demonstrate that it had reasonable grounds to believe that a threat to national security or a national emergency existed within the meaning of the Act, or that existing laws were unable to resolve the situation.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the appeal court judgment itself, the earlier conclusions of the Federal Court about how the situation could have been handled without emergency powers were reiterated. Provincial laws could have helped clear the trucks from Ottawa. More police could have been brought in to clear blockades and protesters.<\/p>\n

Five key take-aways from the Emergencies Act inquiry\u2019s final report<\/a><\/p>\n

A public inquiry<\/a>, required after use of the Emergencies Act, was held in 2022. In a report<\/a> in February, 2023, Justice Paul Rouleau concluded that the use of the act was appropriate but also said it could have been avoided. <\/p>\n

In January, 2024, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that<\/a> Ottawa\u2019s decision did not \u201cbear the hallmarks of reasonableness\u201d and the federal government had failed to prove there was an actual emergency.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the appeal court also said the Federal Court was correct to rule that the use of the Emergencies Act infringed on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: freedom of expression and the protection against unreasonable search or seizure.<\/p>\n

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner on Friday said: \u201cIt gives me an opportunity to emphasize how wrong that the use of the Emergencies Act was and, I think, how it undermined Canadians\u2019 trust the government would uphold Canadian civil liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if the federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney will appeal Friday\u2019s ruling after losing in court for a second time. Some legal experts said the federal government would seek to test the legal boundaries of the Emergencies Act at the top court.<\/p>\n

Leah West, a Carleton University professor who studies national security law, predicted: \u201cIt\u2019s a different government and they won\u2019t [appeal]. Nothing about this ruling curtails executive power. It just says: \u2018Your reasons in the moment were bad.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A protester dances on a barrier in front of vehicles and placards on Rideau Street in Ottawa, during a protest against COVID-19 measures, on Feb. 16, 2022.Justin Tang\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The top court takes only a small fraction of proposed appeals but those do include complicated questions of public law, such as the Emergencies Act. <\/p>\n

An appeal application must be filed to the Supreme Court by mid-March.<\/p>\n

In a potential appeal, the question of earlier commentary on the trucker protests from Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner may come to the fore.<\/p>\n

Chief Justice Wagner did an interview with Montreal newspaper Le Devoir in April, 2022, when he likened the Ottawa protests to the initial stages of anarchy \u2013 \u201cc\u2019est un petit d\u00e9but d\u2019anarchie,\u201d he was quoted as saying \u2013 and said he found that worrying.<\/p>\n

A complaint from a group of about a dozen people, mostly lawyers, to the Canadian Judicial Council alleged a reasonable apprehension of bias in Chief Justice Wagner\u2019s commentary. The council\u2019s acting executive director at the time, Jacqueline Corado, dismissed the complaint, saying it was \u201cmanifestly without substance\u201d and called it hypothetical. <\/p>\n

Beyond the commentary to Le Devoir, Chief Justice Wagner in mid-June of 2022, at his annual news conference, also addressed the protests in response to a question.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou asked what impact that had on us: Obviously, like any other residents of Ottawa, it was deplorable,\u201d he said in French, relayed in English by a translator. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor several weeks, business closed, people lost their jobs, work was much harder for many people, especially for the most vulnerable. And I think this kind of situation should never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article has been updated to correct the year the Emergencies Act became law, in 1988.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Convoy protesters in 2022 staged a weeks-long demonstration that gridlocked the city of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-413998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}