Image credit: The Canadian Press

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Court decision on Emergencies Act doesn’t validate ‘Freedom Convoy’

Jan 24, 2024 | 5:55 AM

QUITE THE BOMBSHELL yesterday with a Federal Court ruling that the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act against the so-called Freedom Convoy in Ottawa a couple of years ago was “not justified.”

Justice Richard Mosley stated there was no “national emergency” that justified using the Act.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and convoy supporters are thrilled.

They should understand that while the court decision invalidates the use of the Emergencies Act to end the gong show that was the convoy, it doesn’t validate the convoy itself and all the actions around it on Parliament Hill.

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Let’s turn our minds to February 2022, when transport trucks crowded into the streets in the downtown core of Ottawa and in front of Parliament Hill.

The treatment of the Terry Fox statue by convoy protesters appalled Canadians, as did their disrespect for the National War Memorial, with some urinating on it and others dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

There were reports of Nazi flags and Confederate flags and even MAGA flags making brief appearances during the park-in.

Nearby residents complained of protesters defecating on their lawns, and about the incessant horn honking that made their lives miserable.

Whatever the message was that the convoyers were trying to send, it become indecipherable. Some of it had to do with dislike of the Trudeau government, some with the pandemic. The best they could come up with was that they were defending “freedom.”

They vowed to stay “as long as it takes.” Finally, Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act.

Police moved against the protesters, dismantled their blockades and had their trucks towed away. It all played out in disturbing detail on TV across the country.

The federal government plans to appeal the court decision but whether or not the Emergencies Act was the right tool, the so-called “Freedom Convoy” was a publicity stunt that had to be brought to an end.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.