Civil liberties groups and some law professors say the invoking of the Emergencies Act by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to deal with ongoing mandate protests is on shaky ground and risks setting a dangerous precedent.
In a reaction to Trudeau’s announcement on Feb. 14, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) said the government “has not met the threshold necessary” to invoke the act, since the protests do not seriously threaten the ability of the government to “preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada” as stated in the act.
The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) says the act can only be invoked in “narrow circumstances” and that provincial police forces demonstrated they have adequate powers to enforce the law when they recently cleared the Ambassador Bridge protest in Windsor.
“The government has set a dangerous precedent for the right to free assembly and protest, declaring the protests occurring in Ottawa and elsewhere across the country to be unlawful without any further explanation.”
Trudeau justified invoking the Emergencies Act by saying the protests have not been peaceful.
“The blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety. Critical supply chains have been disrupted,” he said at a press conference on Feb. 14, referring to the demonstrations at some of the country’s borders.
Prior to Trudeau’s announcement, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which represents the organizers of the Freedom Convoy, said the protests in Ottawa have been peaceful and that it will immediately challenge the decision to invoke the act in court.
Cameron said the government “will have to demonstrate to a court how existing powers, both municipal and provincial laws, such as bylaws, are insufficient to deal with any issues.”
“We will continue to support peaceful protestors associated with the Freedom Convoy and persons who are arrested for non-violent acts of civil disobedience,” the TDF said in statement.
TDF is also offering free legal assistance to fight fines given to protesting truckers and their supporters.
“Treating it as a public order emergency that authorizes a latter-day War Measures Act will create an appalling precedent,” he said on Feb. 14.
“But being able to invoke the Act depends on criteria in sections 2 and 16-17 of the Act (which use by reference some definitions from the CSIS Act). I am disappointed the government has not yet put forward its evidence to support the claim that it meets those legal standards.”
Newman said if such evidence is not put forward promptly, it will “leave festering doubts” that the government is using the act legitimately.