Emergencies Act Invocation Deemed Unreasonable and Unconstitutional

Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Landmark Ruling

In a unanimous decision released today, the Federal Court of Appeal (2026 FCA 6) has upheld the 2024 Federal Court ruling by Justice Richard Mosley, confirming that the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act in February 2022 — to address the Freedom Convoy protests — was unreasonable, ultra vires (beyond legal authority), and infringed key provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The three-judge panel, writing per curiam (as "the Court"), dismissed all government appeals, reinforcing strict limits on extraordinary emergency powers. This marks a significant judicial check on executive overreach, particularly in the context of protests rooted in opposition to COVID-era policies like vaccine mandates and restrictions.

The Core Finding: No Reasonable Grounds for Invocation

The court concluded that Cabinet lacked reasonable grounds to believe a "national emergency" or "threat to the security of Canada" existed under the Act's narrow definitions (drawing from national security legislation like the CSIS Act). Ordinary laws and provincial/police authorities were sufficient to handle the situation.

Key quotes from the decision capture the essence: "The decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and ultra vires."

"The government did not demonstrate that it had reasonable grounds to believe that a threat to national security or a national emergency existed within the meaning of the Act, or that existing laws were unable to resolve the situation."

"As disturbing and disruptive as the blockades and the 'Freedom Convoy' protests in Ottawa could be, they fell well short of a threat to national security."

"First of all, there was no evidence that the lives, health or safety of the people living in Ottawa were endangered (as annoying, stressful and concerning as the protests were)."The ruling stresses Parliament's deliberate design of the Emergencies Act — post-War Measures Act — with, "narrowly defined terms to constrain the executive’s use of its extraordinary powers, that amount to a temporary amendment of the Constitution in times of national emergency."

Charter Violations: Freedom of Expression and Privacy

The court affirmed that temporary measures under the Act violated Charter rights in ways not justified under section 1 (reasonable limits).

Section 2(b) – Freedom of Expression

The Regulations criminalized mere attendance or participation in protests, even for peaceful individuals not involved in violence or breaches of the peace. This overbroad approach chilled political dissent tied to COVID policy opposition.

"The Regulations thus criminalized mere attendance at the protest by anyone, whether or not they participated in the violent conduct or otherwise breached the peace."

Section 8 – Protection Against Unreasonable Search or Seizure

The Economic Order allowed banks to freeze accounts based on imprecise information (e.g., news or social media reports), without clear criteria, individualized assessment, or judicial oversight. This was deemed arbitrary and overbroad. 

There was a "lack of rigour" in identifying targets, rendering the seizures unreasonable.

These infringements were not minimally impairing or proportionate — less restrictive options existed under regular laws.

Broader Implications

While focused solely on the 2022 public order emergency (not broader COVID public health measures under other statutes), the decision implicitly critiques escalation to extreme powers amid policy dissent. It serves as a precedent: emergencies must meet high, objective thresholds, with transparency, justification, and Charter respect.

As one advocate noted, "Legal thresholds do not bend... even in times of crisis, no government is above the law."

The government may seek Supreme Court leave to appeal, but today's ruling stands as a victory for rule of law and fundamental freedoms.

Managing Editor & Author: Mack McColl | Research & Draft Assistance: Grok (built by xAI) Published on McCollMagazine.com - Independent Journalism since 2012

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Key Stats:

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There is a quiet truth humming beneath every moment of your life, and it isn’t mystical, moral, or metaphorical. It’s structural. It’s the thing you’ve been using without knowing its name. It’s the thing shaping your reactions, your relationships, your memories, the meaning of your existence.

It’s valence — the invisible architecture of your personal individual existence.

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VOTE MA, no matter who he represents (?)

 

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Seafood Section of McColl Magazine

B.C.’s Salmon Farmers Call for Reconsideration of Discovery Islands Decision: Feb. 23, 2021 - Based on the findings of an independent economic analysis released today, B.C.’s salmon farming community is calling on the federal government to set aside its decision to force the closure of farms in the Discovery Islands area and engage a new process.

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NEWS RELEASE -- We, the Tlowitsis Nation, write this declaration as a firm statement of our rights and jurisdiction over our Territory. As the rightful title holders of this land, we have the authority to govern and manage all resources within it, including our trees, water, minerals and other natural resources. This authority is grounded in our Indigenous legal orders, and affirmed by Canadian constitutional and international law, and we will defend it fiercely.

We have the right and responsibility to decide how our lands and resources are managed, and how the resulting benefits contribute to the well-being of our People. Non-rights holders have been given platforms to publicly interfere in our affairs. Media outlets and government are engaging with individuals and groups who hold no legal authority in our Territory, publishing misinformation, and disregarding Indigenous governance laws and protocols.

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Calgary, AB -- While Trump's second term reaches the eleventh month, the U.S.-Canada relationship isn't strained. It's muddied, messy, costly, and an exercise in economic sabotage and national soul-searching, on both sides, but Canada is finding it the most painful. Ottawa's halls of power used to echo climate threats, now it's tariff threats that have already cost billions, but the real rot festers from within: a federal government fumbling through political quagmire, a growing sense of Western alienation to surpass that of Quebec, and a sentiment metastasizing into outright separatism. (Metastasizing. Really spreading fast, usually medical vernacular. Grok needs to be more circumspect.)

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Shhhh Keep this quiet. 

I wasn't sure I heard it correctly. It almost snuck past me. My good friend, Grok xAI, who tries hard to get it right, answered my query about Quebec's new laws coming to ban public prayer in the province. 

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Location

Modern Tunis, Tunisia: a perfect natural harbor on the north-African coast, halfway between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Levant. By 500 BCE it controlled the entire central Mediterranean trade routes and had turned the western sea into a Carthaginian lake.