A last legal challenge of cabinet’s use of emergency powers against the Freedom Convoy goes to Federal Court April 3. Lawyers for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), said they will press their claim that use of the Emergencies Act was unconstitutional, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“The federal government handed itself the power to make laws with almost no constraints,” said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, general counsel for the CCLA. Canadians should be “concerned about democracy, about equality, about justice and about rights,” she said..Lawyers filed the challenge one year ago. The Court will hear arguments on whether protests outside Parliament represented a threat to the security of Canada, a legal requirement for invoking the Act..“That is the job of the courts,” said Cara Zwibel, counsel for the CCLA “That is why we initiated and maintained our application for judicial review before the Federal Court. The Court will assess the legality of the declaration and also consider the legality and constitutionality of the emergency measures that were put in place.”.Rob Kittredge, counsel for the JCCF, noted the Court is not bound by contrary opinions that cabinet’s action was lawful. “We are optimistic the Federal Court will indeed reach a different conclusion,” Kittredge said in a statement..Cabinet has cleared two hurdles to date. The Commons voted 185 to 151 to uphold its use of the Emergencies Act, and the Public Order Emergency Commission on Friday upheld cabinet’s decision..“Cabinet had reasonable grounds to believe there existed a national emergency arising from threats to the security of Canada that necessitated the taking of special temporary measures,” wrote Justice Paul Rouleau, head of the Commission. “I do not come to this conclusion easily as I do not consider the factual basis for it to be overwhelming. Reasonable and informed people could reach a different conclusion than the one I have arrived at.”.MPs who voted for the Emergencies Act had a subdued response to the Commissioner’s report. “We take no joy in where we are at here,” said New Democrat MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, ON)..Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre characterized the Freedom Convoy as a political protest, not a security threat. “A lot of people were so helpless and so desperate they ended up participating in a protest in Ottawa,” said Poilievre. “This was an emergency that Justin Trudeau created.”.“See, he thinks if you’re afraid of your neighbour you’ll forget you can’t pay your rent,” said Poilievre. “If you’re afraid of a trucker you might forget that you’re hungry and take your eyes off the guy who caused the problem in the first place.”.Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party, dismissed the Commission report as the work of Liberal Party operatives. “Is anyone really surprised that Liberals protect their own?” Bernier said in a statement. “The Commission was not as independent as it should have been. It was Liberals investigating Liberals.”.Justice Rouleau previously worked as a partner at Heenan Blaikie & Associates, a now-defunct Montréal firm whose associates included Pierre Trudeau. Rouleau was also a 2002 Liberal appointee to Ontario Superior Court..“Justice Rouleau was handpicked by Trudeau to oversee the inquiry,” said Bernier. “We can’t forget he has a history as a Liberal activist.”
