A group of Canadians targeted by the unconstitutional invocation of the Emergencies Act have filed a statement of claim in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the federal government, police, and banks.
Loberg Ector LLP, a Calgary law firm representing 19 individuals and one corporation, has filed a statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice seeking millions of dollars in damages against a range of actors, including Justin Trudeau and several members of his cabinet, Canadian financial institutions, the Ottawa Police Service and RCMP, as well as the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.
The plaintiffs are each seeking $2.2 million in damages plus legal fees and a declaration that their Charter rights to freedom of expression and protection against unlawful search and seizure were violated.
Justice Richard Mosley of the Federal Court ruled earlier this year that the invocation of the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and unconstitutional, prompting several civil lawsuits from people affected by the use of the extreme law.
The statement of claim describes the invocation of the Emergencies Act against the participants in the Freedom Convoy as “one of the largest and most egregious collective breaches of Charter rights in Canadian history.”
“The scope of the unlawful searches and seizures was astonishingly broad, disproportionate, ill-conceived, and contrary to the core constitutional values of all Canadians in our free and democratic society,” the claim goes on to say.
Trudeau is named personally in the lawsuit, as are Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, former ministers Marco Mendicino and David Lametti, as well as Trudeau’s then-national security and intelligence adviser, Jody Thomas.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ottawa Police are named, as are former RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki and the acting Ottawa Police commissioner Steve Bell at the time of the Emergencies Act’s use.
The lawsuit also singles out Canada’s big five banks, as well as several small regional banks and credit unions.
Besides financial damages, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration from the Ontario Superior Court that the defendants acted unlawfully by declaring a public order emergency against the Freedom Convoy and that they acted unlawfully when they ordered the seizure of bank accounts.
Plaintiffs are seeking $1,000,000 in punitive damages for “the malicious, reprehensible, and high-handed misconduct of the Defendants,” along with $500,000 in general and special damages for the breach of contract and the seizure of bank accounts.
The statement of claim seeks a further $500,000 in damages for the breach of Charter rights, plus $200,000 in damages for “injurious defamation” and “assault and battery”.
“This action provides an important opportunity for this Court to vindicate the Charter rights of the Plaintiffs and in so doing promote the important constitutional and legal principles which ought to be safeguarded,” the statement reads.
The statement to the court goes on to read, “(T)his action further provides an important opportunity for this Court to deter future governments from improperly enacting draconian measures without justification for political means by providing an award of compensable damages to the Plaintiffs.”
