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TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian ruling has ruled that the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell weeks of protests by truckers and others angry over COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 is unreasonable and unconstitutional.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital, Ottawa, and laid siege to Parliament Hill, demonstrating against vaccine mandates for truckers and precautions and condemning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
The law allowed the government to claim certain spaces as prohibited zones. It also allowed police to freeze truckers’ private and business bank accounts and force breakdown companies to recall vehicles.
Members of the so-called Freedom Convoy also blocked border crossings between the U. S. and Canada in protest. Police arrested 11 other people in Coutts, Alta. , across Montana from Coutts, after finding a cache of firearms and ammunition.
In the decision released Tuesday, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley said the invocation of the Emergencies Act led to the infringement of constitutional rights.
“I conclude that there was no national emergency that justified the invocation of the Emergencies Act and that the resolution to do so was unreasonable,” Mosley wrote.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government would appeal. Freeland said invoking the law was a complicated resolution, but called the protests a serious risk to public safety, national security and Canada’s economic security.
“I don’t want to minimize the gravity of the actions we took. Neither do I want to minimize the gravity of the threats Canada faced,” Freeland said.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and several other U. S. teams argued in court that Ottawa had taken the emergency measures on any valid basis.
It has stated that the actions it has taken are specific, proportionate, time-bound and consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
A public commission headed by other experts had concluded that maximum emergency measures were appropriate.
The protests were aimed first and foremost at requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for cross-border truckers. They eventually encompassed anger over COVID-19 restrictions and disgust with Trudeau, reflecting the spread of misinformation in Canada and the simmering anger of populists and well-wishers.
The Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, encouraged convoys in France, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, and disrupted economic industry. For about a week, the busiest Canada-U. S. border crossing between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit was blocked. more than 25% of the industry between countries.