Constitutional freedom and civil liberties organizations expressed disagreement with the main conclusion of the Public Order Emergency Commission and said federal courts must rule on the legality of the Emergencies Act’s use against the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.
Commissioner Paul Rouleau on Feb. 17 released the final report of the inquiry into the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to clear convoy protests against COVID-19 mandates. Rouleau concluded that the government had met the “very high” threshold required to invoke the act.
Cara Zwiebel, director of the fundamental freedoms program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and co-counsel for the CCLA before the commission, noted that Roleau reached his decision with reluctance.
“We appreciate that the commissioner has found that the high threshold for invocation was met, but that he has done so with reluctance,” Zwibel said at a press conference on Feb. 17.
“The Commissioner noted that the factual basis underlying his conclusion was not overwhelming, and that reasonable and informed people could come to a different conclusion than the one he did. Our view remains that this threshold was not met.”
Zwibel pointed out the commission did not have the final word.
“Justice Rouleau acknowledged in his report that his task was not to assess the legality of the government’s decision to invoke the act. That is the job of the courts. And that is why we initiated and maintained our application for judicial review before the federal court. The court will assess the legality of the declaration and also consider the legality and constitutionality of the emergency measures that were put in place,” she said.
The Justice Centre maintains the government was too heavy-handed in its response to “the largest peaceful protest in Canadian history.”
“In response, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, deploying armed police, and using unprecedented power and violence to forcibly end an otherwise peaceful protest. The government also froze bank accounts of everyday Canadians who supported the protestors.”
The Democracy Fund (TDF), which also took part in the commission, said it’s disappointed with the commissioner’s finding, and will be studying the report in more detail in the coming days.
“While TDF agrees with the commissioner that a ’reasonable‘ and ’well-informed' person could disagree with his conclusion, we respectfully disagree that there were reasonable grounds to believe that threats to the security of Canada existed,” the organization said in a statement on Feb. 17.
At the CCLA press conference, Ewa Krajewska, partner at Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP, said the decision by the federal government to waive cabinet privilege was necessary for the commission’s work and public scrutiny.
“The commissioner recommends in his report that the government should be bound to produce all of the inputs to cabinet and the ministers that had relied upon to invoke the Emergencies Act. He recommends that the Emergencies Act should be amended in order to do this,” Krajewska said.
“We hope that the government will acquiesce to this recommendation and make this amendment.”
