OTTAWA: The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is appearing in court April 3-5 in the judicial review of the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act. This judicial review by a court is separate from and not bound by the findings of the Public Order Emergency Commission. And unlike that public inquiry, the court will make a formal legal finding on the question of whether using the Act was justified.
“The Trudeau government’s use of this extraordinary law may be the most severe example of overreach and violations of civil liberties that was seen during the pandemic,” said CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn . “The use of this powerful law was unauthorized because the legal threshold to use the law was not met. The Emergencies Act contains a last resort clause: it can only be used when there is a national emergency and there are no other laws at the federal, provincial and/or municipal levels which can address the situation. Parliament cannot use the Emergencies Act as a tool of convenience, as it did in this case.”
The federal court will be hearing the judicial review on April 3, 4 and 5 at the downtown Ottawa location. Members of the public can observe the hearing online by registering with the federal court here.
“Canada’s past teaches us that emergency powers should never be used except as a last resort, and indeed, being a power of last resort is built into the language and threshold of the Act. Review through the courts is now the last remaining guardrail of accountability,” concluded Van Geyn.
Members of the public interested in supporting the CCF’s legal challenge in federal court to the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act can make a tax deductible charitable donation on the CCF’s website: https://theccf.ca/donate/
