The Federal Court of Appeal will release its decision this Friday on whether the Federal Government broke the law by invoking the Emergencies Act against peaceful protestors during the 2022 Freedom Convoy and by freezing the victims' bank accounts.
After nearly four years, Canadians will finally see the court’s ruling on the Emergencies Act appeal.
That timeline alone must jump out at you and make you think. When government action directly impacts fundamental rights and freedoms, justice delayed is accountability denied.
Decisions of this magnitude should not take years to resolve. At the same time, the consequences are immediate, lasting, and deeply personal for the people affected, including peaceful protesters who were beaten, arrested, and jailed. At the same time, the government was able to quietly coast along without consequence.
And let’s not forget what happened in the meantime. Canada went through a federal election. Justin Trudeau exited quietly. And then a banker who had not lived in Canada for years was effectively parachuted into the leadership. All of that occurred before Canadians received a judicial answer to whether the most extreme use of state power in modern Canadian history was lawful.
Serious questions:
How can the public meaningfully hold government to account if our courts move at a glacial pace?
What does the rule of law mean when rights can be restricted quickly, but remedies arrive years later?
How is democratic accountability preserved when political consequences come and go before legal scrutiny is complete?
Courts do play a critical role in checking government power — but timeliness matters. When courts hold government to account, the public must be able to do the same, while decisions are still relevant and leaders are still answerable.
