Former cabinet ministers who advocated using the War Measures (Emergencies) Act against Freedom Convoy protestors did not comment on the ruling about it, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino lied when he said police asked for the War Measures (Emergencies) Act and alleged the Freedom Convoy was lawless. Mendicino was fired from cabinet in July. Former justice minister David Lametti, who suggested cabinet use the Canadian Armed Forces against the Freedom Convoy, did not comment. Lametti was fired from cabinet in July. Other key War Measures (Emergencies) Act participants to resign or retire to date include RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, National Security Advisor Jody Thomas, Privy Council Clerk Janice Charette, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, and Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland defended cabinet’s action and said the Federal Court of Canada’s ruling will be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal. “It was the right thing to do,” said Freeland. “It was the necessary thing to do.” Freeland admitted the Canadian government “took these decisions with a heavy heart.” With the Freedom Convoy, she said it was not a situation the Canadian government wanted to find itself in. “This was however, and I want people to remember that, an extremely tense time,” she said. “The safety of individual Canadians was under real threat.”Cabinet attempted to block court access to internal emails contradicting its claim the Freedom Convoy was a national crisis. Records show police concluded protestors posed no threat to public safety. “There was no serious violence in Ottawa — the main reason for the Emergencies Act,” said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan. While the Canadian government saw the Freedom Convoy as dangerous, Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director David Vigneault said in a report in 2022 protestors never “constituted a threat to the security of Canada.”Ontario Provincial Police Supt. Patrick Morris reported in 2022 there was no evidence protestors were armed, dangerous, or extremists. “It is not an ‘extremist’ movement,” said Morris. “It is not comprised of ideologically motivated violent extremists.”When it came to the leaders, Morris said they were not violent extremists with criminal records. “The lack of violent crime was shocking,” he said. “I mean, even in the arrest and charges considering the whole thing in totality.”He said he wanted to be clear about it. The OPP produced no intelligence to indicate they would be armed. “There has been a lot of hyperbole around that,” he said. Lawyers for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), the Canadian Constitution Foundation, and other civil liberties groups challenged cabinet’s use of the War Measures (Emergencies) Act. “They placed unprecedented restrictions on every single Canadian’s constitutional rights,” said CCLA Director Abby Deshman. The Federal Court ruled on Tuesday 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. READ MORE: UPDATED: Federal Court declares War Measures (Emergencies) Act usage against Freedom Convoy wrong“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. “There is no award of costs.”
Former cabinet ministers who advocated using the War Measures (Emergencies) Act against Freedom Convoy protestors did not comment on the ruling about it, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino lied when he said police asked for the War Measures (Emergencies) Act and alleged the Freedom Convoy was lawless. Mendicino was fired from cabinet in July. Former justice minister David Lametti, who suggested cabinet use the Canadian Armed Forces against the Freedom Convoy, did not comment. Lametti was fired from cabinet in July. Other key War Measures (Emergencies) Act participants to resign or retire to date include RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, National Security Advisor Jody Thomas, Privy Council Clerk Janice Charette, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, and Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland defended cabinet’s action and said the Federal Court of Canada’s ruling will be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal. “It was the right thing to do,” said Freeland. “It was the necessary thing to do.” Freeland admitted the Canadian government “took these decisions with a heavy heart.” With the Freedom Convoy, she said it was not a situation the Canadian government wanted to find itself in. “This was however, and I want people to remember that, an extremely tense time,” she said. “The safety of individual Canadians was under real threat.”Cabinet attempted to block court access to internal emails contradicting its claim the Freedom Convoy was a national crisis. Records show police concluded protestors posed no threat to public safety. “There was no serious violence in Ottawa — the main reason for the Emergencies Act,” said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan. While the Canadian government saw the Freedom Convoy as dangerous, Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director David Vigneault said in a report in 2022 protestors never “constituted a threat to the security of Canada.”Ontario Provincial Police Supt. Patrick Morris reported in 2022 there was no evidence protestors were armed, dangerous, or extremists. “It is not an ‘extremist’ movement,” said Morris. “It is not comprised of ideologically motivated violent extremists.”When it came to the leaders, Morris said they were not violent extremists with criminal records. “The lack of violent crime was shocking,” he said. “I mean, even in the arrest and charges considering the whole thing in totality.”He said he wanted to be clear about it. The OPP produced no intelligence to indicate they would be armed. “There has been a lot of hyperbole around that,” he said. Lawyers for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), the Canadian Constitution Foundation, and other civil liberties groups challenged cabinet’s use of the War Measures (Emergencies) Act. “They placed unprecedented restrictions on every single Canadian’s constitutional rights,” said CCLA Director Abby Deshman. The Federal Court ruled on Tuesday 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. READ MORE: UPDATED: Federal Court declares War Measures (Emergencies) Act usage against Freedom Convoy wrong“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. “There is no award of costs.”
