The Democracy Fund defends Coutts trucker accused of using truck as weapon

The Canadian Press / Jeff McIntosh

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During his testimony before the Public Order Emergency Commission on November 25, 2022, Prime Minister Trudeau asserted that there was "the weaponization of vehicles" and "cars ramming into police officers" at Coutts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau justifies invoking the Emergencies Act because of the "weaponization of vehicles", "cars ramming into police officers", "trucks used as potential weapons with their presence" and "the use of children as human shields deliberately." pic.twitter.com/qKL8OMDDLH

— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) November 25, 2022

According to a TDF press release:

It is critically important that James has a fair trial and that the record is set straight about alleged acts of violence which occurred in Coutts and Milk River. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about 'threats of serious violence' at the Public Order Emergency Commission, the first thing he mentioned was the 'weaponization of vehicles' and the first example he gave was 'cars ramming into police officers' at Coutts.

The commissioner subsequently found that the federal government was justified in using emergency powers against protesters, even though, in his own words, the evidence was not 'overwhelming.'

The blockade at Coutts was resolved prior to the federal invocation of the Emergencies Act (EA) on February 14, 2022.

There was no compelling reason to invoke the Emergencies Act a week ago. The blockades at Windsor and Coutts had been resolved using ordinary legal means.

Now that order has been restored in Ottawa, the extension of these extraordinary powers is obviously massive over reach.

— Jason Kenney 🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@jkenney) February 21, 2022

On Feb 5, we asked the fed gov for assistance with equipment and additional resources to deal with the situation at Coutts. We did not ask the fed gov to grant itself unprecedented powers to suspend civil liberties under the Emergencies Act. These are two very different matters.

— Ric McIver (@RicMcIver) February 21, 2022

James Sowery is represented by Olivia Manzer of Trach Law. His five-day trial is set to begin on March 20, 2023 in Lethbridge.