Case information

Administrative law — Judicial review — Rule of law — Emergency measures — Governor in Council (GIC) declaring public order emergency and taking special temporary measures to address protests over public health response to COVID-19 pandemic — Participation in certain public assemblies prohibited, and financial accounts of designated persons frozen — Principles to be applied when courts review public order emergency proclamation — Whether temporary emergency measures unjustifiably limiting Charter rights — Whether GIC and Cabinet legally interchangeable for judicial review purposes — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 2, 8 — Emergencies Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 22 (4th Supp.), ss. 3, 16, 17, 19, 58 — Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-23, s. 2

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

In February 2022, the Emergencies Act was invoked for the first time, in response to protests concerning Canada’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participation in certain public assemblies was prohibited and banks were required to freeze the assets and accounts of designated persons.

A number of applications for judicial review were brought before the Federal Court to challenge the invocation of the Act. Certain judicial review applications were dismissed while others were granted in part. The Federal Court determined that the invocation of the Act was unreasonable, and that ss. 2(b) and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been infringed in a manner that was not justified under s. 1. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed all appeals and cross-appeals.