Court Rules Against Trudeau’s ‘Draconian’ Use of Emergencies Act in 2022 Freedom Convoy
© Sputnik / Pavel Bednyakov
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The Freedom Convoy protests in 2022 saw thousands of protestors clogging the streets of Ottawa and swarming Parliament Hill as a way to protest vaccine mandates for truckers and other COVID-19 mandates.
On Tuesday, a Canadian federal court judge ruled that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of the 1998 Emergencies Act was “not justified” in addressing the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests against COVID-19 restrictions. The Emergencies Act enabled authorities to freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts and also allowed for the towing of vehicles. Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley said that doing so led to the infringement of constitutional rights. The government will reportedly repeal the result.
Dimitri Lascaris, a lawyer and journalist who joined Sputnik’s The Final Countdown on Thursday, said the implementation of the Emergencies Act to address the 2022 trucker protest in Ottawa was “draconian” and “not necessary”.
“In defense of the citizens of Ottawa, this was a very difficult period because these trucks were there for weeks on end. They were blocking major thoroughfares into the center of the city. And they were producing a tremendous amount of noise and a lot of pollution. And even though I myself routinely participate in protests around a variety of issues, I recognize that there have to be some constraints and limits on protest that, to accommodate innocent members of society,” said Lascaris.
Lascaris added that at the time of the protests he had written two articles analyzing whether or not the Emergencies Act—which was invoked by Trudeau’s government for the first time in history—were necessary or appropriate.
“I wrote two articles as a lawyer analyzing the situation and said, absolutely not, this is not necessary, nor is it appropriate. And in fact, I have serious problems about the existence of this legislation, the Emergencies Act, because seizing people's bank accounts, what they did was they froze bank accounts with no due process. Nothing. There was no court order, no court process, no opportunity contested,” he explained.
“If you lose the ability even for a temporary period to access your bank account, you might not be able to pay your rent. You might not be able to buy food. You might not be able to buy medicines. I mean, this is outrageous that they went to this length,” Lascaris added. “I'm not at all surprised by this decision.
“If this decision stands, I'm hopeful that no Canadian government will ever attempt something this preposterous again.”
Sputnik’s Jamarl Thomas then asked what other decisions Trudeau could have made to address the truckers' protests that would not have involved invoking the Emergencies Act.
“I'll give you an example of something that's happening right now,” Lascaris answered. “It doesn't involve invocation of the Emergencies Act. It relates to protests in support of Palestinian rights in Toronto. There's a group who have been going on overpasses of major freeways in the city, and they're waving flags.”
Lascaris explained that "under pressure" the police have begun to arrest people they find on that overpass and have charged them with mischief and disturbing the peace.
"They don't have to invoke the Emergencies Act to do that. And that's precisely what the cops could have done in Ottawa, they could have gotten out there, started handing out tickets, and told people to clear the streets. If they didn't do that: arrest people, charge them with mischief, charge them with disturbing the peace," he added.
“This is part of a larger trend that's happening in Western society right now. There is a broad-based assault on our right to free assembly, free protest and freedom of speech. And it's happening in many different ways. The invocation of this draconian legislation and circumstances, as I said, I don't even think this legislation should exist. But if it exists, it should be used in only the most extreme of circumstances. And this is just one example of the ways in which our basic civil liberties are being increasingly eroded by Western governments,” he added.
Thomas then asked Lascaris why the authorities resorted to using federal power to address the protests in 2022 as opposed to basic policing.
“I have my suspicions,” said Lascaris. “I thought perhaps to some degree this was a trial run. They wanted to see if they could get away with it. And there were circumstances, they picked a moment when there was widespread anger, not just in Ottawa, but across the country with these protests.”
“It was the height of the pandemic and there was a tremendous amount of antipathy towards people who weren't getting vaccinated. So Trudeau found himself in a situation where he could invoke legislation with widespread public support,” he said, adding that many from his left-wing party agreed with Trudeau’s decision.
“And if this decision is overturned, sooner or later, this law is going to be wielded against us,” Lascaris warned. “Those of us who disagreed with the truckers for reasons having nothing to do with health policy or pandemic policy, for example, you know, we might be out there protesting in support of Palestinian rights, and we have a government in power that is intensely hostile to our protest. They may use that legislation against us if they get away with it this time. So I'm very concerned about what's going to happen with the appeal. And I very much hope that the appellate court upholds this decision.”
As for Trudeau and his party’s political future, Lascaris said they’re “in trouble”.
“Trudeau just held his cabinet retreat here in Montreal where I am. And the talk of the town was that the Liberals are in serious political trouble, and they're trying to figure out a way to regain their popularity. So [Trudeau] can barely put his face in public now without being heckled and booed on a whole range of issues. So this court rendering this decision at this time is very bad for the political prospects of Trudeau, and I'm sure he's hoping beyond hope that the appellate court is going to overturn the decision.”
In February of last year, a public inquiry found that the government had acted appropriately when it invoked the Emergencies Act. But the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation applied for a judicial review. Political opponents of Trudeau and his party have used Tuesday’s decision as a talking point to criticize the prime minister. The Conservative party is currently polling far ahead of the Liberal party in an election that is expected to occur next year.
