TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) — The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) announced its first legal win in a court case against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act (EA), exactly one year after the act’s invocation.
The CCLA’s victory came Tuesday when a judge ruled in favor of their application to allow evidence from the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) — which was convened to investigate the Trudeau government’s use of the EA through a monthlong series of hearings — into their own case against Trudeau’s federal government’s use of the widely disputed act.
“Despite the federal government contesting this move, a judge has now ruled in the CCLA’s favor, meaning select evidence from the commission will now be considered on judicial review,” said Director of Fundamental Freedoms for the CCLA Cara Zwibel in a press release yesterday.
“The government had tools other than the Emergencies Act,” continued Zwibel. “We are arguing in court that it did not meet the high legal threshold to invoke the act. There was a blockade in Ottawa that needed to be addressed, but the government did not need new tools to do so.”
Zwibel added that the Trudeau government “certainly” did “not need to infringe on the civil liberties of all Canadians to solve the problem.”
“This is a dark anniversary for civil liberties in Canada and will not be forgotten,” she lamented.
The Freedom Convoy – which sought to bring an end to all COVID-related mandates in Canada – was an unprecedented display of non-violent activism in the nation, and it only ended after Trudeau – who continually refused to meet with the protesters or send a delegation to them – invoked the never-before-used EA on February 14, 2022.
While Trudeau ultimately revoked the EA on February 23, 2022, the EA allowed for the unprecedented freezing of citizens’ bank accounts which led to immense backlash by civil rights groups and the public alike.
Under the EA, the government froze some $8 million from the bank accounts of 267 different people. along with roughly 170 bitcoin wallets.
As it stands, the full impact of the Trudeau government’s use of the EA is yet to be determined. The POEC will no later than next week release a full report with their findings and recommendations.