Categories: World

Court hands Trudeau embarrassing loss over Freedom Convoy crackdown: ‘Not justified’

close Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for January 24

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

Join Fox News for access to this content Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account! Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided.

A Canadian federal court judge has ruled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act to crack down on the famous 2022 Freedom Convoy was “not justified” and a violation of rights.

“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,” Federal Court Judge Richard Mosley said in his decision. 

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the government’s actions, claiming they had invoked the act as an “option of the last resort.” 

“We acted to secure and protect Canada and to secure and protect the national interests,” Freeland told reporters following the ruling, adding that “these were not easy decisions.” 

CANADA’S TRUDEAU SAYS SHOTS FIRED AS MONTREAL JEWISH SCHOOLS, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY BRAWL ARE ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

The government has already announced its plan to appeal the ruling.

“Invoking the Emergencies Act is something that should be done very rarely, if ever,” Paul Champ, a lawyer representing Ottawa residents and businesses in the class-action lawsuit against the government, told reporters. 

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau addresses supporters at a fundraiser on Aug. 26, 2023, in Edmonton, Canada. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“The Freedom Convoy trucks occupying the streets of downtown Ottawa, the way they made the lives of Ottawa residents and businesses and workers miserable – the court clearly conveys that,” he added.

CANADA WILL LIMIT FOREIGN COLLEGE STUDENTS FOR 2 YEARS TO EASE HOUSING, HEALTHCARE COSTS

The protest in January 2022 initially targeted vaccine mandates enforced against cross-border truckers moving between the U.S. and Canada but soon grew into a broader anti-mandates demonstration. 

Truckers and pedestrians occupied the downtown Ottawa area and Parliament Hill, leading to concerns of exacerbating the supply chain crisis plaguing the economy at the time. 

Police line up opposite protesters on Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Feb. 18, 2022. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act – the first use of the act since it passed in 1988 – as a means of allowing a powerful police crackdown on the protests and the forced removal of the vehicles blocking the streets. The act also allowed the Canadian government to freeze the bank accounts of those suspected of orchestrating and participating in the protests.

The act allows a public order emergency but only in response to “an emergency that arises from threats to the security of Canada that are so serious as to be a national emergency,” according to CBC. Mosley argued the use of the act did not meet these requirements. 

WILDFIRE CONSPIRACY THEORIST WHO BLAMED GOVERNMENT FOR FIRES FOUND GUILTY OF STARTING 14

Mosley’s ruling runs counter a 2023 federal inquiry into the use of the act, which found the government had proven that while the invocation might prove “drastic,” it was not “dictatorial,” according to the BBC. 

A Freedom Convoy demonstrator holds a “Hold The Line” sign while dancing in Ottawa, Canada. (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)

“Lawful protest descended into lawlessness, culminating in a national emergency,” Justice Paul Rouleau, who led the inquiry, said in his report. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trudeau insisted in November 2022 that he felt “absolutely, absolutely serene and confident” he made the right choice invoking the Emergencies Act. 

Documents revealed during the inquiry found that U.S. officials had pressured the Canadian government to shut down the protests and remove the blockades so cross-border trade could resume. Freeland, in an email to her staff on Feb. 10, 2022, had stressed that American officials were “very, very, very worried.” 

Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news. 

Share

Recent Posts

Calls for US to do more as antisemitic acts skyrocket in Europe: ‘enormously painful’

close Video Mark Levin asks 'where the hell is the outcry' from U.S. leaders against…

10 minutes ago

Maryland man found guilty of killing girlfriend, unborn baby in county’s first-ever conviction of its kind

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for November 23 Fox News Flash top headlines…

19 minutes ago

California man allegedly stabbed multiple people; was arrested, released week prior

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for November 23 Fox News Flash top headlines…

3 hours ago

San Francisco minors, as young as 12, caught allegedly shoplifting over $84K of merchandise: police

close Video San Fran minors as young as 12 arrested over alleged retail crime involving…

3 hours ago

Man in India regains consciousness before his cremation on funeral pyre: reports

close Video Dozens of Christian graves toppled and vandalized in historic Jerusalem cemetery Israel Police…

5 hours ago

Trump administration takes shape: President-elect completes top 15 Cabinet picks

President-elect Trump has rounded out his picks for the top 15 positions within his Cabinet,…

5 hours ago