Trudeau's use of Emergencies Act against Freedom Convoy deemed ILLEGAL by Canada's Federal Court of Appeal

Cazart! It took nearly four years -- things never happen quickly in the Great No-longer-white North -- but the truth has come out! Canada's Liberal government has lost its appeal against a ruling by the Federal Court that found the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the despised Prime Minister Trudeau during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests was unreasonable. Honk honk honk!

The decision of the Federal Court of Appeal -- second highest to the Supreme Court of Canada -- follows a ruling by the Federal Court in 2024 that the invocation of the act in response to the protests was unreasonable, unjustified, and violated Charter rights. 

In the 178-page decision, released on Friday, Chief Justice de Montigny said he was dismissing all the appeals against the lower court’s decision. "We are therefore of the view (like the Federal Court) that, on the basis of the record, Cabinet could not reasonably come to the conclusion that existing provincial capacity and authority could not effectively address the situation,” he wrote. 

"We are of the view that Cabinet did not have reasonable grounds to believe that a national emergency existed, taking into account the wording of the Act, its constitutional underpinning and the record that was before it at the time the decision was made,” he continued. 

Following the lower court's decision, then deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland (see WWW passim) vowed her government would appeal the ruling. Her boss, Blackie McBlackface, invoked the Act on St. Valentine's Day of 2022, to end the protests by freedom-loving truckers that had gridlocked Ottawa’s downtown streets for almost a month. The act gave the feds the power to compel tow truck companies to co-operate with local police to clear blockades, mark parts of the downtown core as no-go zones and freeze the bank accounts of some protestors. 

Canadian civil liberties organizations, including the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), argued the federal government went beyond its powers. Christine Van Geyn, litigation director at the CCF, said they were thrilled with Friday’s decision, which represents a "complete repudiation" of Shiny Pony's position on the invocation of the act. 

"This is an affirmation from the court that these are fundamental freedoms that Canadians have that were violated by the freezing of bank accounts, by the invocation of this act, by the by the banning of assemblies," said Ms Van Geyn. "We’re thrilled with the decision, and we think the court got this right."

The CCLA said they were pleased with the court’s decision and the reasons given by the Federal Court of Appeal. "You’ll recall that in order to invoke the the Emergencies Act, the Cabinet must be satisfied of two things; that there are threats to the security of Canada, and that the existing laws of Canada are insufficient to deal with those threats so that the emergency is a national emergency," said Ewa Krajewska. "Neither of these legal thresholds were met in this case."

Both organizations said they will be prepared to go to the Supreme Court of Canada, should the federal government decide to take the case to the highest court. A minion of the Public Safety Minister [sic] said the federal government now led by Marx Carnage (who was in China sucking up to the Commies when the decision was released) is reviewing the ruling and assessing next steps.

Walt has questions about those "next steps".

Will the people who supported the truckers financially and were "debanked" in consequence get their savings (confiscated by the Liberals) refunded?

Will the truckers whose vehicles -- the tools by which they earn a living -- get their were seized get them back? 

Will the alleged leaders of the protest, demonized as criminals by lickspittle Ontario criminal courts, have their convictions overturned or at least receive pardons?

And how about a sincere apology to all victims of the tyranny of "liberal democracy"? Walt reckons chances of that happening are slim and none. Lifetime pct .989.

VIDEO: Freedom Convoy inquiry: testimony the liberal legacy media don't want Canadians to hear

I'm back, with thanks to all who have sent their good wishes. The result of the procedure was good and it looks as if I'll be able to continue ranting for some time yet.

I know our American readers will be waiting for me to say something about the mid-terms, and I will. But the Rouleau Commission hearings continuing in Ottawa this week are important not just to Canadian readers but for all concerned with protecting the freedoms of speech, assembly, and peaceful protest.

This week the Commission is hearing evidence from the Freedom Convoy organizers, the people Canuck Prime Minister Just In Trudeau called "a tiny minority with unacceptable views." Agent 3, who has been watching the live stream, writes:

Have you had a chance to see any of the Rouleau Commission hearings? If you're just seeing clips on the news, you're missing a lot of fun, because the lickspittle media are cherry-picking the clips that make the truckers look bad and make the feds look justified in invoking the Emergencies Act. But I've been watching them live, streaming online, and it's like a Saturday Night Live sketch. 

E.g., the characterization of Diagolon as a dangerous right-wing conspiracy. It was actually a joke started by a couple of guys in Alberta, and the feds took it seriously. The crowd in the hearing hall actually laughed out loud, and Rouleau threatened to clear the room, as he has done several times now. Pretty soon what was supposed to be an open hearing is going to be closed. Already they've decided that the CSIS [the Canuck equivalent of the CIA. Ed.] spies can testify in camera, so we won't be able to see their incompetence.

Ed. has searched the Net and has come up with hours of video. Links will appear below. Here's one clip -- not one seen on the legacy TV network newscasts, featuring Tamara Lich, the little lady from Saskatchewan who was arrested, denied bail twice by Liberal judges and finally released on appeal, and is still under house arrest awaiting trial. I found her testimony very calm and rational, and yet moving. 

 

I should have put "organizers" in quote marks. A thread common to the testimony of Ms Lich, James Bauder, Benjamin Dichter, Tom Marazzo, Chris Barber and the controversial Pat King, is that none of them knew more than two or three of the others and had divers motives for being involved in the Freedom Convoy.

There were a number of different groups and sub-groups, and no unifying command structure. No-one knew for sure what the others were doing or trying to do, the prime example of the disconnect being the so-called "Memorandum of Understanding" authored by James Bauder, which some of the leaders never saw and others regarded as "fake news".

Tamara Lich agreed with previous testimony that there were "power struggles" between groups involved in the Freedom Convoy, and felt like some were just looking for an opportunity for self-promotion, while others were more interested in getting their hands on some of the millions of dollars raised through GoFundMe and other sources. That was a problem for her as she was tasked with handling a lot of the money.

She said there were tensions between herself and Pat King, whom she described as “very controversial.” She confirmed she had a tense conversation with King about his involvement and that she’d both told him he should not come to Ottawa and to “check his ego” after he claimed he’d organized the convoy alone./

Ms Leach characterized the Ottawa protest as a "love fest" and said she had seen no evidence of the harassment and intimidation alleged by local residents, businesses and police.  about harassment and intimidation. "I can’t say I ever witnessed any of that."

She described herself as "concerned" about Mr King’s controversial rhetoric. Some months before the Ottawa demonstration, he said in a video circulating on social media that Prime Minister Trudeau might "catch a bullet". He also spoke of a the Great Replacement conspiracy to reduce people of Anglo-Saxon descent to a minority. Said Ms Lich, "I was getting messages and phone calls from a lot of people that were concerned that he was involved."

Another convoy organizer, Benjamin Dichter, a former Conservative candidate who Ms Lich described as "a friend", testified that he was frustrated by the decision-making, or lack thereof. He complained about a deal that some convoy members struck with the City of Ottawa to move vehicles out of residential areas and onto Wellington Street, in front of Parliament Hill. 

Mr Dichter said the deal was a bad idea and the people pushing it weren’t aligned with the protesters broader goals. "I think they were focused on ending the protests and getting everybody out of the city as quickly as possible," he said. Dichter. And he accused Keith Wilson, a lawyer who had represented the convoy, as being "Pat King in a suit."

The commission also heard from James Bauder, a self-described "tirbal person" [like Pauxcahontas? Ed.], who came to Jesus not long ago and felt that God had led him to organize not just this convoy but a "Beat Hug" convoy which had staged a protest in Ottawa some months previous.

Mr Bauder was the publisher of the controversial "Memorandum of Understanding", which he wrote himself in spite of being unfamiliar with legal terminology, Canada's government structures or Constitution. The MoU called for the Senate and the Governor General to work with a "citizens' commission" which would take over from the government. 

His proposal would have suspended all Covid-19 mandates and refunded any fines people had paid for breaching the Covid rules. Several other organizers testified that they didn't want anything to do with the memorandum. Mr Bauder said he stood by the document, but ultimately no one was willing to sign on. "It means nothing because nobody signed it. nobody entered into it."

The hearings continue this morning with cross-examination of Tamara Lich. If you want to see the drama [or farce? Ed.] play out, try the National Post website. So far they're the only one of Canuckistan's mainstream media to stream the hearings in real time. But be warned. You may find yourself behind a paywall.

Ed. has found a couple of full-length (hours and hours!) videos of previous sessions, viz.:

Click here to see the testimony of former Canadian Army Captain Tom Marazzo and Pat King. And here to see James Bauder, Tamara Lich,  and Benjamin Dichter testify.