Federal government's decision to invoke Emergencies Act against convoy protests was unreasonable, court rules
Federal government's decision to invoke Emergencies Act against convoy protests was unreasonable, court rules
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Do you guys agree with this ruling?
Personally I don't, but the protest wouldn't / shouldn't have blown out of proportion if the local authorities wouldn't have let it degenerate to this point in the first place.
Absolutely not. If the judge can explain to me how the federal government could have taken care of this otherwise. The municipal and provincial governments were absolutely not doing anything about it.
I think people are missing one important point which is that if this judge was at the table during the freedumb protest, he would've approved the use of it. This is all in hindsight now, but at the time, he would've agreed. Also - the use of it in Ottawa and Windsor he agrees with, just not for the entirety of Canada.
Isn't this also missing the point? Is what a judge thought before the case was heard relevant? Surely a court case involves presenting facts from both sides and arguing the case and not prejudging the case as if they were there before the start and before the case was heard. I think technically the judge would have to recuse himself.
As I understand it it was still only a police response and the army was not called in. Why couldn't the municipalities just call in the police of their own accord?
They did. The Ottawa Police Service was in the city and involved from the beginning. For whatever reason, they were unable or unwilling to clear the siege for 3 weeks. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario and the one who would call in the Ontario Provincial Police, was MIA and not taking care of his responsibility. The only way the federal government could directly take control of those organizations, as well as bring in assistance from other provinces such as SQ from Quebec, is via the Emergency Act. Which they did, and ended the situation in a day or two when local authorities refused to deal with it for over three weeks.
It's also worth bearing in mind that concurrently with the siege in Ottawa, there were two border blockades set up, one on the Ambassador bridge and one near Coutts, Alberta. They were part of the same event and the Emergency Act was used to clear that up as well.
The ruling ignores the extenuating circumstances and, in this age where even the rule of law bends seemingly for political gains, reeeally smells suspect.
Sounds like the judge hardly agrees with his own ruling-
Reasonable and informed people could reach a different conclusion than the one I have arrived at.
What is the legal definition of "unreasonable"?