Canada and The Caribbean, Canada (Commonwealth Union) – The Freedom Convoy protests ch saw mainly truckers and their supporters from across Canada launch a large-scale protest in Ottawa outside Canadas parliament. Attempts made by the Canadian government to end the protests such as defunding their online funding sources were largely unsuccessful. This resulted in an emergencies act being brought in giving the Canadian government greater powers to crackdown on the protestors that brought the protests to an end.
The invocation of the emergencies act was condemned by civil liberties groups and rights groups with disturbing images of people violently being removed and police horses riding over protestors.
The Emergencies Act is a federal law in Canada that provides the government with the authority to declare a state of emergency in the event of a national emergency or crisis. The Act is designed to provide a framework for the government to take swift and effective action in response to emergencies, and to coordinate the efforts of all levels of government, as well as the private sector and individuals.
There is much debate from civil liberties groups and the government in regards to the invocation of the emergencies act where the Canadian government argued the measures were needed, civil liberties groups indicated that it was an extreme measure to crackdown on the protestors.
The Canadian Constitution Foundation recently brought in a Judicial review. This is a process by which the courts can review the actions and decisions of the executive and legislative branches of government to ensure they are consistent with the constitution and the law.
Sujit Choudhry, counsel for the Canadian Constitution Foundation, indicated that the government required further supporting information to make that finding in mid-February 2022.
“Cabinet’s determination that the protests and blockades were threats to the security of Canada was unreasonable, because it had insufficient evidence to reach that conclusion,” Choudhry said during the second day of a Federal Court review.
