KAWARTHA LAKES-A federal court ruled this afternoon that the government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act against the trucker convoy in Ottawa two years ago was unconstitutional.
In its ruling this afternoon, Justice Mosley declared the decision was unreasonable and ultra vires which means it was “beyond the powers” of the government. The term is used to describe an act which requires legal authority or power but then is completed outside of or without the requisite authority. The court also declared the regulations infringed on sections 2(b) of the Charter and sections 8 of the Charter and that neither infringement was justified.
The challenge was brought by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA)and Canadian Frontline Nurses.
“From the moment the Emergencies Act was invoked, the CCLA raised our concerns.” said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Executive Director and General Counsel of the CCLA. “Emergency is not in the eye of the beholder. Emergency powers are necessary in extreme circumstances, but they are also dangerous to democracy. They should be used sparingly and carefully. They cannot be used even to address a massive and disruptive demonstration if that could have been dealt with through regular policing and laws. The threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act is extremely high. The government must demonstrate that there is an emergency arising from threats to the security of Canada and that that emergency truly has a national scope. The Federal Court agreed that this threshold was not met.”
Here is a link to the full court decision:Â https://ccla.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=de85a14a3dcadd8e377462ff6&id=e50444d733&e=a6a6139fcd
The federal government says it does not agree with the decision and it will appeal.
