Feds don't know how many Canadians are still facing trial over Emergencies Act use

The Canadian Press / Justin Tang

"The RCMP is not in a position to answer this part of the question," read the response to an inquiry of the Public Safety Ministry by Alberta Conservative MP Arnold Viersen.

Viersen asked the department for details about the number of Canadians still dealing with the legal fallout of the Liberal government's illegal use of the wartime Emergencies Act in February 2022 to end the Freedom Convoy.

Actual legacy of former Attorney-General David Lametti:

- Invoked Emergencies Act, which Court found illegal
- Delayed appointing judges, leading to 125 criminal cases being tossed in Ontario in 2022, including violent offences
- Joked about sending in a tank to crush Convoy https://t.co/iLbSu3lYeU pic.twitter.com/IH4yC57l4k

— Ryan O'Connor (@rpoconnor) January 25, 2024

The use of the Emergencies Act was ruled unjustified and unconstitutional on appeal by Justice Richard Mosley in a challenge brought by several groups, including Canadian Frontline Nurses and the Canadian Constitution Foundation.

“I have concluded that the decision to issue the Proclamation does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness—justification, transparency, and intelligibility—and was not justified in relation to the relevant factual and legal constraints that were required to be considered,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley stated in his January decision.

Mosley noted that “there can be only one reasonable interpretation” of the Emergencies Act and CSIS Act and that “the legal constraints on the discretion of the GIC to declare a public order emergency were not satisfied."

Trudeau's Public Safety Minister explains why the Liberal govt used the Emergencies Act against peaceful protesters:

"While we all respect lawful protest, you can't then cross the Rubicon and engage in illegal conduct"

See the latest at https://t.co/cTm6cKHpsA pic.twitter.com/TNSe8NKSJE

— Efrain Flores Monsanto 🇨🇦🚛 (@realmonsanto) April 28, 2022

Included in the disclosure to Viersen was an admission of the number of Canadians and businesses that were reported to their banks and lenders for their support of the Freedom Convoy.

"As of February 23, 2022, RCMP action had culminated in the disclosure of 57 entities to financial institutions, which included individuals and owners or drivers of vehicles included in the events related to the invocation of the act."