Trudeau's use of the Emergencies Act was ruled unconstitutional. What happens now?

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OTTAWA – In a landmark ruling, a Federal Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Liberal government unconstitutionally and unjustifiably invoked the Emergencies Act in response to ongoing Freedom Convoy blockades in early 2022.

Trudeau's use of the Emergencies Act was ruled unconstitutional. What happens now? Back to video

What did the Federal Court rule exactly?

On Feb. 14, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government announced it was invoking the exceptional powers of the Emergencies Act for the first time in response to ongoing, weeks-long Freedom Convoy blockades in Ottawa that thwarted police control.

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The Act, invoked for just over one week, was used to freeze some convoy participants’ bank accounts, compel tow truck companies to co-operate with local police clearing out blockades and mark parts of downtown Ottawa as a no-go zone. It was also meant to prevent protesters who had blockaded the US-Canada border in Ontario and Alberta from returning.

Civil liberty groups quickly opposed the measure in court. Now, nearly two years later, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley said they were mostly right: the Freedom Convoy did not meet the high threshold of a threat to national security necessary to invoke the law. The “harm” to Canada’s economy did not equate to a threat or the use of serious violence.

The government also breached certain (“peaceful”) Canadians’ Charter rights when blocking some bank accounts and banning them from downtown Ottawa.

What was the government’s response?

Within hours of the ruling’s publication, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland promised to appeal it. Is that based on a solid and meditated legal analysis by government lawyers? Probably not, says Leah West, national security law expert and assistant professor at Carleton University.

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