Brief
Government argues Supreme Court is second‑guessing past Emergencies Act decision
Lawyers for Ottawa say the courts applied hindsight to a decision made during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Ottawa – The federal government has submitted a brief to the Supreme Court of Canada contending that lower‑court rulings on the 2022 use of the Emergencies Act were based on "second‑guessing with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight," the Canadian Press reported.
The submission, filed ahead of the Supreme Court’s scheduled decision on whether to grant leave to appeal, argues that the courts erred when they concluded the government lacked legal justification to invoke the Emergencies Act four years ago to end the Freedom Convoy protests that shut down downtown Ottawa and key border crossings.
During the three‑week protest in January‑February 2022, demonstrators—including truck drivers—blocked streets around Parliament Hill and major border points such as Windsor, Ontario, and Coutts, Alberta. The government invoked the Emergencies Act on 14 February 2022, granting temporary powers to regulate assemblies, designate secure places, direct banks to freeze assets and ban support for protest participants. It was the first use of the law since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988.
In a 15 February 2022 letter to provincial premiers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the nation faced a "national emergency arising from threats to Canada’s security." The Public Order Emergency Commission later concluded in early 2023 that the government had met the high legal standards required for the Act’s use.
Government lawyers now argue that the lower courts ignored the contemporaneous evidence of a genuine emergency and instead applied a hindsight standard that was not appropriate for judicial review of emergency powers. The Supreme Court is slated to rule on Thursday whether it will hear the appeal.
Key facts
- The government says lower courts used hindsight to rule the Emergencies Act was unjustified in 2022. (winnipegfreepress.com)
- The Emergencies Act was invoked on 14 February 2022 during the Freedom Convoy protests. (winnipegfreepress.com)
- The Supreme Court will decide Thursday whether to grant leave to appeal the lower‑court rulings. (winnipegfreepress.com)
Sources
- [1] winnipegfreepress.com — originally reported as “Lower courts' reasoning 'neuters' Emergencies Act, government tells Supreme Court”
