On Jan. 23, 2022, in response to a mandate that truck drivers crossing the US-Canada border must receive a COVID-19 vaccine, truckers staged a massive protest, traveling across Canada to assemble in the nation’s capital. Dubbed the Freedom Convoy, the event grew, drawing thousands and resulted in road closures, as well as global support. The demonstration lasted days, angering Trudeau and government officials, who on Feb. 6 declared a state of emergency. The following day, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly told the city council he needed an influx of nearly 2,000 officers to “turn up the heat” on the protestors. On Feb. 11, Ontario declared a state of emergency in response to the convoy protests. On Feb. 14, a day before the police chief resigned, Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time since it was drafted in 1988, giving the government far more power to respond to the protest, including banning gatherings in some locations, stopping crowdfunding that supported the demonstrators, and freezing the bank and credit card accounts of protestors. Justice Richard Mosley ruled that the standard needed to justify use of the Emergencies Act had not been met, writing, “While the Court recognized that the occupation of downtown Ottawa and the blockades of the ports of entry were matters of serious concern calling for government and police action, the threshold of national emergency required by the Act was not met.” He further explained that police were able to handle the situation by applying existing laws in the criminal code and other legislation. Mosley stated that the powers usurped by Trudeau violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The government order was “overbroad” in its application to people who wished to protest but were not engaging in activities that led to civil unrest. He also said the order infringed on the demonstrators’ rights by “permitting unreasonable search and seizure of the financial information of designated persons and the freezing of their bank and credit card accounts.” The legal action was brought by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Constitution Foundation. Trudeau’s opponents quickly reacted to the ruling on social media. “Judge rules 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,” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who met with protestors and is running for Prime Minister, wrote on social media platform X. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the government's actions, saying, “We acted to secure and protect Canada and to secure and protect the national interests. It was not an easy time, these were not easy decisions.”A Canadian court has ruled against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government’s handling of trucker protests, calling the government’s actions “illegal and dangerous.”
