Federal Court Grants Victory to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in Emergencies Act Challenge
'Setting a clear and critical precedent'
The Federal Court of Canada has concluded that the federal government’s decision to declare a public order emergency under the Emergencies Act in February 2022 was unreasonable and not justified on the facts of law. According to a press release by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), the court also concluded that the regulations violated the Charter right to freedom of expression and the right to secure against unreasonable search or seizure.
CCLA Executive Director Nao Mendelsohn Aviv stated:
Emergency is not in the eye of the beholder. Emergency powers are necessary in extreme circumstances but they are also dangerous to democracy. They should be used sparingly and carefully. They cannot be used even to address a massive and disruptive demonstration if that could have been dealt with through regular policing and laws. The threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act is extremely high. The government must demonstrate that there is an emergency arising from threats to the security of Canada and that that emergency truly has a national scope. The Federal Court agreed that this threshold was not met… The Federal Court's decision sets a clear and critical precedent for every future government.
Link to Federal Court decision
The federal government has announced it will be appealing the decision.
The Quaking Swamp Journal has covered this story from the very beginning: from the Freedom Convoy to the Public Order Emergencies Commission to the CCLA court challenge.
Here is a list of the articles as they appeared in chronological order:
‘A sledgehammer to crack a peanut’
When the War Measures Act was invoked by Pierre Elliot Trudeau back in October of 1970—a time now referred to as the October Crisis—the overwhelming majority of MPs supported him. The feeling was something extraordinary needed to be done to put a stop to the horrifying chain of events that began when members of the Front de libération du Québec kidnappe…
Why the Canadian Civil Liberties Association will be challenging the government’s narrative on the need to invoke the Emergencies Act
An independent public inquiry into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act last February, in response to the “Freedom Convoy” blockade, will begin this week. The invocation of the Act—a law that was passed in 1988—was unprecedented in the history of the country, and automatically resulted in the establishment of the
Testimony by Ontario's Intelligence Bureau Commander raises serious doubts about claims of national security threats posed by Freedom Convoy or its organizers
In its first week, an independent public inquiry into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act heard from a key witness, whose sworn testimony raises serious doubts about whether there were reasonable grounds to declare a national emergency in the first place.
'Emergency is not in the eye of the beholder' says Cara Zwibel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Last week the Public Order Emergencies Commission heard from key federal officials, including the prime minister’s security and intelligence advisor, and according to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, none were able to back up the claim there was a national emergency as defined by the
Emergency orders were unlawful, unconstitutional, and did not meet the legal threshold, concludes the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
In its final submission to the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC), the The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) represented by Cara Zwibel and Ewa Krajewska—stated in no uncertain terms that the emergency orders were unlawful, unconstitutional, and did not meet the legal threshold of the
Great work on this Linda with all your articles
The Emergencies Act is dangerous to civil liberties like the War Measures Act was
Looking forward to seeing this result on CBC! (Sound of sarcasm dripping...)