In 2024, a federal court ruled that then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's imposition of the Emergencies Act in response to the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests was unjustified.
Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to end protests against Covid vaccine mandates on cross-border truckers who had gridlocked streets in downtown Ottawa for almost a month.
The act gave the federal government the power to compel tow truck companies to cooperate with local law enforcement by freezing the bank accounts of some protestors.
Dr. Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College, says he and many others are “very happy” a court upheld their freedoms.
“And that the government can't simply act in its will,” he added.
Recalling the crackdown under Trudeau, McVety points out not only were the protesting truckers punished but the Canadian government tracked down people who donated to their protest and punished those people, too.
“They call it the Emergencies Act. It was really the Stalin Act,” he said. “I am pleasantly surprised that they did the right thing."
Despite the legal win, the victory is “hollow” because the people who were wronged haven’t been reimbursed and the people who wronged him haven’t been punished, McVety added.
