(LifeSiteNews) — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith along with other prominent politicians praised the Canadian federal court for ruling that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s use of the Emergencies Act (EA) to quash the truckers’ Freedom Convoy in 2022 was unconstitutional, calling the decision a win for people’s constitutional rights that were “infringed’ on by the federal government in a “dangerous” way by the use of the EA.
“Today is another example of the Federal Court ruling against the Federal Government’s unconstitutional practices. Whether it’s today’s court decision or their defeat on plastics or the Impact Assessment Act, it is clear the Trudeau Liberal Government simply does not understand or respect the Constitution of Canada,” Smith wrote in a statement Tuesday.
“Since day one, Alberta has been clear that the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act during the COVID-19 pandemic violated the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Albertans and gave the federal government the ability to seize property without due process of law.”
Smith noted how the court’s decision “reaffirms that regulations under the Act violated Charter rights to freedom of expression and that the Orders infringed upon the rights of Albertans, and Canadians, to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.”
On Tuesday, Canada’s Federal Court announced that the use of the EA by the Trudeau government in early 2022 to shut down Freedom Convoy, which was calling for an end to COVID mandates, was a direct violation of the nation’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and thus was “not justified.”
The January 23 decision by Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley saw the judge write, “Having found that the infringements of Charter sections 2(b) and 8 were not minimally impairing, I find that they were not justified under section 1.”
“I have concluded that the decision to issue the Proclamation does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness – justification, transparency, and intelligibility – and was not justified in relation to the relevant factual and legal constraints that were required to be taken into consideration,” he added.
The legal victory follows a lengthy court battle that was launched by the Canadian Constitution Foundation and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association along with many applicants, including some provincial governments such as Alberta that all argued the use of the EA was a violation of rights.
People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier, who opposed COVID mandates and lockdowns from the beginning, welcomed the news that Trudeau’s use of the EA was ruled as not “justified.”
“Finally, a judge understands that his job is to uphold the Constitution and protect our fundamental rights, and not to rubber stamp every tyrannical measures by the government,” Bernie posted Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter).
“We were right to contest this absolutely horrendous, violent, abusive, and unnecessary recourse to the Emergencies Act by Trudeau as a response to the Freedom Convoy. Now I’m looking forward to the Supreme Court accepting to hear our travel ban case and similarly concluding that it was unjustified and violated our fundamental rights.”
The court ruling was also praised by the former Conservative Party interim leader Candice Bergen Harris. She fought COVID mandates early on after taking over the party in 2022 when Erin O’Toole was forced out for not speaking out against COVID dictates.
“I recall vividly & with pride when our @CPC_HQ Caucus made the collective decision to oppose the Emergencies Act being used against peace loving Canadians protesting Liberal overreach,” Bergen posted Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter).
“We decided in that moment that we wanted to be on the right side of history. And that we are.”
In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Trudeau’s government enacted the EA on February 14, 2022.
During the clear-out of protesters after the EA was put in place, one protester, an elderly lady, was trampled by a police horse, and one conservative female reporter was beaten by police and shot with a tear gas canister.
Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23.
On February 14, 2022, the day the EA was invoked, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland mandated certain bank accounts be frozen under the EA. In total, close to $8 million in funds from 267 people were locked. Additionally, 170 bitcoin wallets were frozen.
The freezing of bank accounts by Freeland without a court order was an unprecedented action in Canadian history and was only allowed through the Liberal government’s invocation of the never-before-used EA.
The EA controversially allowed the government to freeze the bank accounts of protesters, conscript tow truck drivers, and arrest people for participating in assemblies the government deemed illegal.
An investigation into the use of the EA, as per Canadian law, was launched by Trudeau. However, it was headed by Liberal-friendly Judge Paul Rouleau, who led the Public Order Emergency Commission. This commission was stuck to investigate the Liberal government’s unprecedented use of the EA against the anti-mandate Freedom Convoy protest. Unsurprisingly, the commission exonerated Trudeau’s use of the EA.
Smith blasts news that Trudeau gov will appeal today’s decision
The Trudeau government on Tuesday said it will appeal the federal court’s decision.
“We are disappointed that the federal government has indicated they will be appealing the decision,” Smith said. “The unnecessary use of the Emergencies Act set a dark and dangerous precedent, and if the federal government will not acknowledge that fact, Alberta will continue to champion the Charter rights of Albertans and all Canadians.”
Smith promised that Alberta stands “prepared to intervene in the Federal appeal should the Trudeau government move ahead.”
Alberta political commentator and former People’s Party of Canada candidate Paul Mitchell said the appeal is proof that the Trudeau government does not care for the rule of law.
“Seizing bank accounts, crushing legitimate dissent against Ottawa’s tyranny and suspending Constitutional freedoms was illegal,” he posted Tuesday on X.
“The Trudeau Liberals don’t see it this way, and will appeal today’s federal court decision, so they can trample our rights again and again. Pathetic.”
In January 2023, it was revealed that after Trudeau officials ordered the freezing of Freedom Convoy supporters’ bank accounts, disclosed emails show that government officials wanted to keep the “heat off” financial institutions so they would stay happy and continue to comply with government dictates.
Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have been involved in a lengthy trial after being charged and taken to court by the federal government for leading the protests. The trial has not yet concluded and has been put on hold with its resumption date uncertain. It is also not yet clear how the recent court ruling will affect the trial.
LifeSiteNews has been covering the trial extensively.