The Federal Court of Canada has determined the War Measures (Emergencies) Act’s invocation against the Freedom Convoy was unnecessary, building on the country's legacy of responding to emergencies. While the Canadian government thought it was reasonable to invoke the Emergencies Act, the Tuesday decision marked a serious blow to the image it wanted to establish about the Freedom Convoy, which was a protest filled with barbecues, bouncy castles and hot tubs in downtown Ottawa. But the Canadian government wanted to portray the protestors as domestic terrorists. The War Measures (Emergencies) Act’s invocation against the Freedom Convoy will be remembered as a flashpoint in Canadian history. It was one of a handful of occasions it has been used. The War Measures Act was a law adopted by the Canadian government in 1914 after the beginning of the First World War, giving broad powers to cabinet. It was in force from 1914 to 1920. Under it, the Canadian government could censor and suppress communications; arrest, detain or deport people without charges or trials; control transportation, trade and manufacturing; and seize private property. As a result, it was used to ban 253 publications, including 222 American, 164 foreign, and 89 leftist ones. Thousands of Canadians were interned under it when the Canadian government labelled them as enemy aliens. Most internees were recent immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Over the course of the First World War, it interned 8,579 enemy aliens in 24 receiving stations and internment camps across Canada. Of the total number interned, 5,954 were Austro-Hungarians, 2,009 were Germans, 205 were Turks and 99 were Bulgarians. Enemy aliens had their property confiscated and most of it was not returned after the First World War. Many of them were forced to work on large labour projects such as building a portion of the golf course in Banff, AB; making roads; and clearing bushs. While there were immense civil liberties violations with the War Measures Act’s first invocation, the Canadian government used it again for the Second World War. It was brought into effect in 1939 and was repealed in 1945. One week before Canada joined the Second World War, it was used to implement the Defence of Canada Regulations, which would have an immense impact on people’s lives. The Defence of Canada Regulations gave authorities the ability to censor 325 publications and ban 30 religious, cultural and politicial organizations. Some of the banned organizations were the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Communist Party of Canada. It allowed the justice minister to detain anyone without due process who acted in a way threatening Canada. Because of these swift detainments, freedom of expression was restricted. Any person critical of government positions could be interned without charge or trial. Former Montreal mayor Camillien Houde was arrested at Montreal City Hall in 1940 and held in custody for four years after he spoke out against conscription. As in the First World War, thousands of enemy aliens were interned over suspicions they posed a threat to public safety. About 600 Italians and 800 Germans were interned during it. In 1942, about 22,000 Japanese people in Western Canada were interned in remote areas of interior BC and eastern portions of the Rocky Mountains. The Canadian government stripped Japanese people of their property and pressured them to accept mass deportations when the war ended. The only domestic use of the War Measures Act was the October Crisis in 1970. It was invoked because of two abductions by the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ). The FLQ had abducted former British trade commissioner James Cross and former Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte. Laporte was found dead soon after. As authorities grappled with the October Crisis, the FLQ was outlawed and membership in it became a crime. It allowed police to conduct 3,000 searches and detain 497 people. Of the 497 detained people, 435 were released without charges and 62 faced them. These measures lasted for about one month and similar ones were imposed by the Public Order Act for five months. When the October Crisis ended, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau pledged to refine and limit it for internal crises. However, he never followed through on that. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney replaced the War Measures Act with the Emergencies Act in 1988 to allow the Canadian government to respond to national emergencies. It contains a clear definition of national emergency that makes clear how serious a situation needs to be before it can be relied upon. It defines a national emergency as an urgent, temporary and critical situation endangering the health and safety of Canadians or threatening the ability of the federal government to preserve Canada’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. A national emergency is a situation that cannot be dealt with by the provinces and territories or any other law in Canada. It has stringent protections to ensure democratic oversight and accountability with its powers. Once a declaration is issued, a report must be tabled within Parliament in seven days and a commission to review it must be established within six months. Canada has faced many serious situations since 1988, but the Canadian government chose to use the War Measures (Emergencies) Act for the first time during the Freedom Convoy in 2022, which was formed to protest against COVID-19 restrictions. Hundreds of vehicles formed convoys from several points and traversed Canada before converging on Ottawa. Protestors occupied downtown Ottawa to show their displeasure with COVID-19 restrictions, holding signs calling out the Canadian government and waving Canadian flags. They vowed to not leave until all COVID-19 restrictions were repealed. Similar protests were held in Windsor, ON, and Coutts, AB, but these ones involved blocking border crossings. The Canadian government said it wanted to remove the trucks parked in downtown Ottawa. It admitted action had to be taken because Ottawans had complained about intimidation, harassment and assaults from protestors. Police had been working with protestors to come up with a compromise on clearing out. While they were close to a deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau passed two emergency orders that had serious consequences for rights and freedoms in Canada. The first order placed limits on peaceful protests. Police were given the authority to shut them down if they blocked traffic or sidewalks. The second order required financial institutions to turn over personal financial information to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP to allow them to freeze bank accounts. Various people who had their bank accounts frozen complained about being unable to pay their mortgages, buy groceries and leave Ottawa. Since the measures were not targeted to particular locations, anyone who had shown sympathies to the Freedom Convoy could have been affected. Certain premiers said this lack of geographic targeting was absurd, as there are thousands of protests in Canada every year. The House of Commons voted 185 to 151 to uphold the War Measures (Emergencies) Act one week after it was introduced. Two days later, Trudeau said he would lift it, as he felt he had regained control. Trudeau invoked the War Measures (Emergencies) Act to respond to the Freedom Convoy in 2022. READ MORE: UPDATED: Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act in CanadaHe said it had become clear there were serious challenges for authorities to enforce the law.“Today, to continue building on these efforts, the federal government is ready to use more tools at its disposal to get the situation fully under control,” he said. The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) said in 2022 Trudeau’s measures negated proper use of legal tools and invocation of the War Measures (Emergencies) Act would be met with legal action. READ MORE: Legal challenge of Trudeau’s ‘illegal’ Emergencies Act“The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act as a matter of political convenience,” said CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn. “This is illegal and violates the rule of law and that’s why we are challenging the government in court.”
The Federal Court of Canada has determined the War Measures (Emergencies) Act’s invocation against the Freedom Convoy was unnecessary, building on the country's legacy of responding to emergencies. While the Canadian government thought it was reasonable to invoke the Emergencies Act, the Tuesday decision marked a serious blow to the image it wanted to establish about the Freedom Convoy, which was a protest filled with barbecues, bouncy castles and hot tubs in downtown Ottawa. But the Canadian government wanted to portray the protestors as domestic terrorists. The War Measures (Emergencies) Act’s invocation against the Freedom Convoy will be remembered as a flashpoint in Canadian history. It was one of a handful of occasions it has been used. The War Measures Act was a law adopted by the Canadian government in 1914 after the beginning of the First World War, giving broad powers to cabinet. It was in force from 1914 to 1920. Under it, the Canadian government could censor and suppress communications; arrest, detain or deport people without charges or trials; control transportation, trade and manufacturing; and seize private property. As a result, it was used to ban 253 publications, including 222 American, 164 foreign, and 89 leftist ones. Thousands of Canadians were interned under it when the Canadian government labelled them as enemy aliens. Most internees were recent immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Over the course of the First World War, it interned 8,579 enemy aliens in 24 receiving stations and internment camps across Canada. Of the total number interned, 5,954 were Austro-Hungarians, 2,009 were Germans, 205 were Turks and 99 were Bulgarians. Enemy aliens had their property confiscated and most of it was not returned after the First World War. Many of them were forced to work on large labour projects such as building a portion of the golf course in Banff, AB; making roads; and clearing bushs. While there were immense civil liberties violations with the War Measures Act’s first invocation, the Canadian government used it again for the Second World War. It was brought into effect in 1939 and was repealed in 1945. One week before Canada joined the Second World War, it was used to implement the Defence of Canada Regulations, which would have an immense impact on people’s lives. The Defence of Canada Regulations gave authorities the ability to censor 325 publications and ban 30 religious, cultural and politicial organizations. Some of the banned organizations were the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Communist Party of Canada. It allowed the justice minister to detain anyone without due process who acted in a way threatening Canada. Because of these swift detainments, freedom of expression was restricted. Any person critical of government positions could be interned without charge or trial. Former Montreal mayor Camillien Houde was arrested at Montreal City Hall in 1940 and held in custody for four years after he spoke out against conscription. As in the First World War, thousands of enemy aliens were interned over suspicions they posed a threat to public safety. About 600 Italians and 800 Germans were interned during it. In 1942, about 22,000 Japanese people in Western Canada were interned in remote areas of interior BC and eastern portions of the Rocky Mountains. The Canadian government stripped Japanese people of their property and pressured them to accept mass deportations when the war ended. The only domestic use of the War Measures Act was the October Crisis in 1970. It was invoked because of two abductions by the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ). The FLQ had abducted former British trade commissioner James Cross and former Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte. Laporte was found dead soon after. As authorities grappled with the October Crisis, the FLQ was outlawed and membership in it became a crime. It allowed police to conduct 3,000 searches and detain 497 people. Of the 497 detained people, 435 were released without charges and 62 faced them. These measures lasted for about one month and similar ones were imposed by the Public Order Act for five months. When the October Crisis ended, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau pledged to refine and limit it for internal crises. However, he never followed through on that. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney replaced the War Measures Act with the Emergencies Act in 1988 to allow the Canadian government to respond to national emergencies. It contains a clear definition of national emergency that makes clear how serious a situation needs to be before it can be relied upon. It defines a national emergency as an urgent, temporary and critical situation endangering the health and safety of Canadians or threatening the ability of the federal government to preserve Canada’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. A national emergency is a situation that cannot be dealt with by the provinces and territories or any other law in Canada. It has stringent protections to ensure democratic oversight and accountability with its powers. Once a declaration is issued, a report must be tabled within Parliament in seven days and a commission to review it must be established within six months. Canada has faced many serious situations since 1988, but the Canadian government chose to use the War Measures (Emergencies) Act for the first time during the Freedom Convoy in 2022, which was formed to protest against COVID-19 restrictions. Hundreds of vehicles formed convoys from several points and traversed Canada before converging on Ottawa. Protestors occupied downtown Ottawa to show their displeasure with COVID-19 restrictions, holding signs calling out the Canadian government and waving Canadian flags. They vowed to not leave until all COVID-19 restrictions were repealed. Similar protests were held in Windsor, ON, and Coutts, AB, but these ones involved blocking border crossings. The Canadian government said it wanted to remove the trucks parked in downtown Ottawa. It admitted action had to be taken because Ottawans had complained about intimidation, harassment and assaults from protestors. Police had been working with protestors to come up with a compromise on clearing out. While they were close to a deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau passed two emergency orders that had serious consequences for rights and freedoms in Canada. The first order placed limits on peaceful protests. Police were given the authority to shut them down if they blocked traffic or sidewalks. The second order required financial institutions to turn over personal financial information to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP to allow them to freeze bank accounts. Various people who had their bank accounts frozen complained about being unable to pay their mortgages, buy groceries and leave Ottawa. Since the measures were not targeted to particular locations, anyone who had shown sympathies to the Freedom Convoy could have been affected. Certain premiers said this lack of geographic targeting was absurd, as there are thousands of protests in Canada every year. The House of Commons voted 185 to 151 to uphold the War Measures (Emergencies) Act one week after it was introduced. Two days later, Trudeau said he would lift it, as he felt he had regained control. Trudeau invoked the War Measures (Emergencies) Act to respond to the Freedom Convoy in 2022. READ MORE: UPDATED: Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act in CanadaHe said it had become clear there were serious challenges for authorities to enforce the law.“Today, to continue building on these efforts, the federal government is ready to use more tools at its disposal to get the situation fully under control,” he said. The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) said in 2022 Trudeau’s measures negated proper use of legal tools and invocation of the War Measures (Emergencies) Act would be met with legal action. READ MORE: Legal challenge of Trudeau’s ‘illegal’ Emergencies Act“The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act as a matter of political convenience,” said CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn. “This is illegal and violates the rule of law and that’s why we are challenging the government in court.”
