The Federal Court in Canada judgement on calling a Public Order Emergency under the Emergencies Act and the enactment of special measures in order to deal with protests. The Court considered the decision and concluded the Proclamation was unreasonable and illegal (*ultra vires")
Proclamations, Case of [1610] EWHC KB J22
the law of England is divided into three parts, common law, statute law, and custom; but the King's proclamation is none of them:
also malum aut est malum in se, aut prohibitum, that which is against common law is malum in se, malum prohibitum is such an offence as is prohibited by Act of Parliament, and not by proclamation.
Also it was resolved, that the King hath no prerogative, but that which the law of the land allows him.
But the King for prevention of offences may by proclamation admonish his subjects that they keep the laws, and do not offend them; upon punishment to be inflicted by the law, etc.
Wilson also clarified that the Freedom Convoy protest was not illegal at any point, even though Prime Minister Trudeau called it illegal, and big media went along with it.
In fact, an Ontario supreme court judge sided with the convoy. When an injunction against honking horns was declared, the court also stated that “provided the terms of this Order are complied with, the defendents and other persons remain at liberty to engage in a peaceful, lawful and safe protest.”
Reality on the ground was often not being reported. While Ottawa police often announced they had made a number of arrests during the Freedom Convoy protests, they never mentioned that many incidents were called in by truckers after people slit their tires or cut gas lines, Wilson said. Police also negotiated with truckers as to which streets they would be allowed to block during the protest. When things heated up, the police blocked off Laurier Avenue to prevent east-west traffic flow even though there was not one truck or protest vehicle on that street.
The attorney general’s reason for freezing bank accounts was based on an affidavit by a police officer who based his testimony on what he read in the news, Wilson said, adding that courts don’t rely on third-party hearsay. “It’s that ridiculous. We ran into this problem of circularity all the time, of media saying something, police then saying, well the news is saying it, then the media saying, well the police said it.”