A decide’s ruling that the federal Liberals had been unjustified in utilizing emergency regulation to quell a weeks-long protest in Ottawa has left the administrator of a downtown church feeling the court docket disregarded infringements of her rights.
In a call launched Tuesday, Federal Courtroom Justice Richard Mosley mentioned the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act in February 2022 was unreasonable and led to violation of the constitutional proper of free expression.
Vivian Leir, the long-time administrator of a Presbyterian church close to Parliament Hill, says she was dismayed by the ruling after what she skilled in the course of the three-week protest in downtown Ottawa.
The protest, initially seen as an illustration towards COVID-19 well being restrictions, attracted folks with quite a lot of grievances towards Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal authorities.
Blaring truck horns, diesel fumes and makeshift encampments prompted many companies to briefly shut their doorways and aggravated downtown residents.
Leir says the court docket ruling has performed nothing to vary her perception that the federal government was justified in invoking the emergency powers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 24, 2024.
The Canadian Press
