Trudeau's use of Emergencies Act challenged

'Legal standard not met': Two court challenges filed over Trudeau's use of Emergencies Act | National Post - Bryan Passifiume:

February 17, 2022 - "Two separate legal challenges were filed on Thursday against the federal Liberal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act by civil rights organizations accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of setting a dangerous precedent by invoking the act for reasons they say fall far short of the necessary legal thresholds. 'The government emergency declaration is unprecedented and seriously infringes the charter rights of Canadians,' said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) in a Thursday afternoon press conference. The government brought in an extreme measure that should be reserved for national emergencies, a legal standard that has not been met.' Emergency powers, she said, cannot and must not be normalized in Canadian society.

"Joining the CCLA in challenging the government was the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF). 'The federal government has invoked the Emergencies Act as a matter of political convenience,' said CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn in a press release announcing the foundation’s legal challenge. 'This is illegal and violates the rule of law, and that’s why we are challenging the government in court.'

"The prime minister invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday, insisting it was necessary to bring an end to protests, initially provoked by the federal government imposing vaccine mandates on cross-border truckers, that have snarled downtown Ottawa and interfered with Canada–U.S. border crossings. Freedom Convoy supporters have parked an array of transport trucks, heavy equipment and passenger vehicles ... throughout the Ottawa city centre ... followed by convoy-affiliated blockades at several Canadian border crossings ... most notably a days-long blockade at the Ambassador Bridge, a vital trade link between Canada and the United States.

"Protesters in downtown Ottawa awoke Thursday morning to find crews erecting fencing around Parliament Hill and throughout downtown — part of efforts, interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell said, to establish a secure zone.... Police began arresting some protestors after 5 p.m., including Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber, who was handcuffed and led away surrounded by police while crowds shouted their disapproval.... Nearly 100 police-manned checkpoints will control access into the secure zone, barring those with no lawful purpose from entering the area."
Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/legal-challenge-against-emergencies-act-planned-by-constitutional-rights-group

CCF announces legal challenge to Trudeau’s invocation of federal Emergencies Act | Canadian Constitution Foundation:

February 17, 2022- "'Prime Minister Trudeau has set a dangerous precedent by invoking the never before used federal Emergencies Act to address the current situation. The high threshold for declaring a public order emergency in the Emergencies Act has not been met. The Act has been invoked to address a failure to use existing legal tools under the Criminal Code, which were used effectively on the Ambassador Bridge' ... said CCF Litigation Director, Christine Van Geyn. The Emergencies Act ... defines a national emergency ... [and] also requires that the federal government demonstrate that this situation cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada.

"'Emergency legislation should not be normalized. The threshold for using the Emergencies Act is extremely high and has not been met. The decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, which has never been used or interpreted by the courts, is unprecedented. If Parliament authorizes the proclamation of the public order emergency, the courts will be the last defence for the rule of law', continued Van Geyn. 'This isn’t about the convoy versus the city. This is about the rule of law.' 

"The CCF is represented by lawyers Sujit Choudhry and Janani Shanmuganathan. Members of the public ... interested in supporting the case can make a tax deductible charitable donation at theccf.ca/emergenciesact/."
Read more: https://theccf.ca/legal-challenge-emergencies-act/

CCLA Will Fight Invocation of Emergencies Act in Court | Canadian Civil Liberties Association (press release): 

February 17, 2022 - " The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) announced today that it will pursue litigation to challenge the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act. 'We have retained Ewa Krajewska of Henein Hutchison LLP to take the federal government to court. We have said all along that the federal government did not meet the high burden necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act,' said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Executive Director of the CCLA.... 'Governments already have the lawful authority to address difficult situations and do so all the time. This use of the Emergencies Act is unnecessary, unjustifiable and unconstitutional. Our society needs peaceful assembly – a critical democratic tool – even though not every person agrees with the content of every movement'....

"'We do not want to minimize the impacts of the protests that are occurring across the country. But, while some of the blockades have been immensely disruptive, it is unclear that the ongoing protests "endanger the lives, health or safety of Canadians" so as to rise to the threshold of a national emergency under the law,' said Abby Deshman, Director of Criminal Justice for the CCLA. 'The emergency orders that the government has tabled are not targeted. They are not limited to specific protests, or specific geographic locations. They are expansive emergency orders that have already come into effect and apply equally across the entire country. And they place unprecedented restrictions on every single Canadian’s constitutional rights. The current emergency orders place significant limits on peaceful assembly across the entire country. They require financial institutions to turn over personal financial information to CSIS and the RCMP, and to freeze the bank accounts and cut off financial services provided to anyone who has attended, or who has provided assistance to those participating in, a prohibited assembly – all without judicial oversight.'"
Read more: https://ccla.org/press-release/ccla-will-fight-invocation-of-emergencies-act-in-court-2/