The Federal Court of Canada ruled the decision to use the War Measures (Emergencies) Act to respond to the Freedom Convoy was unreasonable and excessive, validating the claims made in a lawsuit brought by various civil liberties groups. “It is declared that the Regulations infringed Section 2b) of the Charter and declared that the Order infringed Section 8 of the Charter and that neither infringement was justified under Section 1,” said the Federal Court in a Tuesday ruling. “There is no award of costs.” .The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said it was pleased the War Measures (Emergencies) Act lawsuit had been decided in favour of the Freedom Convoy protestors. “This is a great victory for democracy, for Charter rights and freedoms, and for the rule of law,” said JCCF President John Carpay. The JCCF provided lawyers to a group of protestors who launched a court action with various civil liberties groups ten days after the War Measures (Emergencies) Act was invoked and sought a court declaration it was invoked without legal justification. The constitutional challenge to the War Measures (Emergencies) Act was filed on behalf of four Canadians who had participated in the Freedom Convoy. These protestors were Jeremiah Jost, Edward Cornell, Harold Ristau, and Vincent Gircys. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the War Measures (Emergencies) Act to respond to the Freedom Convoy in 2022. READ MORE: UPDATED: Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act in CanadaTrudeau 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,” said Trudeau.The JCCF said each of the applicants suffered significant harm after the War Measures (Emergencies) Act was invoked. With two of its applicants, it said they had their bank accounts frozen and seized without judicial authorization or a review process under laws applying to terrorists and enemy countries. Cornell said his experience having his bank account seized was traumatic. “I broke no law, yet the government seized my accounts and froze my hard-earned money,” said Cornell. “I am not a criminal.” Rather, he said he is a Canadian military veteran who served his country with honour. Because of this experience, he admitted he feels betrayed by the Canadian government. Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn said she was thrilled with this decision. “These were very detailed reasons and a complete vindication of the position of civil liberties organizations who viewed the invocation of the Emergencies Act as illegal, unjustified and unconstitutional,” said Van Geyn. “We know the government has said that they plan to appeal, and with these reasons, they now have a mountain to climb.”Since the Canadian government plans on appealing this case, Van Geyn said she looks forward to this fight. Without the support of Haki Chambers lawyer Sujit Choudhry and Goddard and Shanmuganathan lawyer Janani Shanmuganathan, the CCF said it would not have engaged in the excellent advocacy it did.The CCF said in 2022 Trudeau’s measures against the Freedom Convoy negate proper use of legal tools and invocation of the War Measures (Emergencies) Act will be met by 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 Van Geyn. “This is illegal and violates the rule of law and that’s why we are challenging the government in court.”
