Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would drop the federal government’s appeal of this week’s ruling on the Emergencies Act if elected, his office says.
The Federal Court ruled this week that Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was “unreasonable,” and the measures employed breached Canadians’ constitutional rights.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland stood by the government’s “necessary” decision to invoke the act and vowed to appeal the decision.
“We have discussed it with the prime minister, with cabinet colleagues, with senior federal government officials and experts,” Freeland said. “We respect, very much, Canada’s independent judiciary. However, we do not agree with this decision and, respectfully, we will be appealing it.”
Asked whether the Conservatives would drop the appeal if the Conservatives form government and it is still pending, a spokesperson for Poilievre said they would.
“Yes, Mr. Poilievre would respect the ruling of the court on this matter,” the spokesperson said.
The Trudeau government invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act in Feb. 2022 in response to the Freedom Convoy protest against vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions.
The law, which requires the presence of a national emergency emanating from “threats to the security of Canada,” is meant to be a last resort when all other law enforcement tools have been exhausted.
The Liberals used the Emergencies Act to declare protests unlawful, conscript tow truck drivers, and freeze bank accounts of anyone the government believed to be supporting the Freedom Convoy.
The emergency declaration was supposed in the House of Commons by the Liberals and New Democrats. Trudeau revoked the emergency before the Senate voted on it.
The government struck a public commission, as the Emergencies Act requires, which held hearings in the fall of 2022. The Public Order Emergency Commission, led by Ontario judge Paul Rouleau, ultimately justified the use of the Emergencies Act, although this finding was not binding in the way a judicial ruling is.
Justice Richard Mosley’s Federal Court decision found the measures to be extraordinary and violated Canadians’ right to freedom of expression and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
Poilievre trumpeted the decision when it was handed down, saying Trudeau “broke the highest law in the land with the Emergencies Act.”
“He caused the crisis by dividing people. Then he violated Charter rights to illegally suppress citizens. As PM, I will unite our country for freedom.”
