Canada: Court Rules Emergencies Act Use During Freedom Convoy 'Unreasonable'
The Spin
Government-critical narrative
Canadians won today. The Federal Court of Appeal confirmed the Trudeau government unlawfully weaponized emergency powers against peaceful protesters, criminalizing dissent and freezing bank accounts of ordinary Canadians who simply opposed government policy. This landmark ruling proves the legal threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act was never met and governments cannot override fundamental freedoms at their whim. Accountability must begin now for this profound democratic failure that vilified and punished citizens instead of engaging in dialogue.
Pro-government narrative
Today's Federal Court of Appeal ruling is a loss for good governance in Canada. The Emergencies Act met the very high legal threshold needed to address a national crisis, where lawful protest had descended into lawlessness, with downtown Ottawa gridlocked for 18 days and border points blocked. Commissioner Rouleau found credible evidence of a public order emergency, and cabinet reasonably feared the situation was worsening. The extraordinary powers were necessary to restore peace, order and good government after policing failures created conditions requiring federal intervention.
