Justice Richard Mosely released a decision this week calling the use of the Emergencies Act in the issue of the Freedom Convoy that besieged Ottawa, and border crossings in Windsor, and Coutts, Alberta unconstitutional.
There was one point during the crisis where I remember asking myself if I felt my rights had been violated. The answer was no, I didn’t feel they had been; and I agreed with the actions for the most part.
When the convoy came through Milton, I interviewed a few supporters on the bridge for a story, and walked away with a sense of aimlessness among the group. I could not put my finger on one specific reason why they were protesting, who the main organizers were, and where it started. That confusion to me spelled trouble, because of the potential for a mob mentality, and that benefits nobody. The convoy demands differed based on the day; they wanted to replace the government, no wait, they wanted to meet with Trudeau. The border restrictions were a cooperative effort to implement, and the same was required for lifting them.
From the benefit of hindsight, as well as a public inquiry, we know that confusion was mirrored in some ways by our institutions. Ottawa police, and city officials clearly didn’t know what they were dealing with, even having been given intelligence on the convoy before they arrived. When people started complaining about the noise, that’s when they should have stopped it. The safety of Ottawa residents should trump a visiting protest. If anything the judgement issued highlighted failures of the Ottawa Police in not acting sooner than they did, the Ontario government, in going missing until the last possible second.
It raises a lot of questions. In recent years police have faced pressure to be everything to everyone. How much has public perception come to bear on decision making? How much has fear of looking racist, or like a bully affected it? If police, and bylaw enforcement officers were doing their jobs, the act might not have been required in the first place.
Streets were blocked creating longer wait times for emergency services, people’s health, and businesses were suffering. There was a failure in policing. Canada-US trade accounts for approximately $2 billion/day in goods and services, with the Ambassador bridge seeing the highest traffic. It was going to affect the economy in Ontario severely, and quickly. If that isn’t a time to enact emergency legislation, then when would you do it?
It’s worth noting here that many days passed before its implementation where the questions where when it would be implemented, and why hadn’t the government done so yet. The fact they waited so long weighs in their favour. A government shouldn’t take rights away unless they had no other choice, and arguably it was then. It was former Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland there out in front of this. The Prime Minister seemed reluctant to do it, as well as now to take any blame for the court’s decision on the appeal. He is ultimately the government leader, and should be taking ownership of both enacting Emergencies Act legislation, and losing the appeal.
A government appeal is a win-win situation. They either win outright, or we get some more guidance on when, and how to apply the law. Both outcomes strengthen the legislation. Democracy is messy, full of necessary evils. That’s what the Emergencies Act comes down to.