UPDATED: Appeal court upholds ruling that Emergencies Act use for Freedom Convoy protest was unreasonable

TORONTO — The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that the federal government’s 2022 invocation of the Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy protests was not legally justified.In a unanimous decision released Friday morning, a three-judge panel upheld a 2024 Federal Court ruling that found the Liberal government failed to meet the legal threshold required to declare a public order emergency. The panel included Chief Justice Yves de Montigny, and the judgment was issued in the name of “The Court.”“The Federal Court correctly determined that the declaration of a public order emergency was unreasonable,” the appeal court wrote.The court also agreed with the lower court’s finding that the use of the Emergencies Act infringed on sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including freedom of expression and protections against unreasonable search and seizure..The case stems from protests in the winter of 2022, when hundreds of demonstrators drove transport trucks to Ottawa to oppose federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates and express broader opposition to the Trudeau government. The protest, known as the Freedom Convoy, involved trucks and demonstrators occupying streets near Parliament Hill, creating traffic disruptions in the city’s core.Some Ottawa residents reported being harassed and intimidated by constant horn-blaring and prolonged demonstrations. Related protests also disrupted several Canada–U.S. border crossings.Reaction to Friday’s ruling came quickly from legal counsel involved in the case. Blair Ector, a founding partner at Loberg Ector LLP, said his firm represented military veteran Edward Cornell and retired police officer Vincent Gircys, both of whom had their bank accounts frozen during the emergency measures.In a post on LinkedIn, Ector said the account freezes occurred without a warrant or prior judicial authorization and argued they amounted to unconstitutional searches or seizures. He said both the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal agreed with that assessment.Ector described the decision as a significant victory, adding that his firm was still reviewing the full 185-page ruling.On Feb. 14, 2022, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time since the legislation was enacted, citing threats to national security. The move granted the federal government temporary powers, including banning public assemblies in designated areas and freezing bank accounts linked to the protests.Under the act, the government was required to hold a public inquiry. In a report released in February 2023, Commissioner Paul Rouleau concluded that the legal threshold for invoking the act had been me

UPDATED: Appeal court upholds ruling that Emergencies Act use for Freedom Convoy protest was unreasonable

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