OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Liberals have admitted to spending over $3 million to defend their use of the Emergencies Act to end the 2022 Freedom Convoy.
During a September 15 session in the House of Commons, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General Patricia Lattanzio revealed that the Liberal government has spent a total of $3,645,000 on various legal battles related to the Liberals’ use of the Emergencies Act (EA) to end the 2022 Freedom Convoy.
“With regard to legal services and the Department of Justice: what are the total legal costs incurred by the government?” Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Andrew Lawton had questioned.
Legal cases funded by Canadian taxpayers to defend the Emergencies Act included Canadian Frontline Nurses and Kristen Nagle v. Attorney General of Canada, Canadian Civil Liberties Association v. Attorney General of Canada, Canadian Constitution Foundation v. Attorney General of Canada, and Jeremiah Jost, Edward Cornell, Vincent Gircys and Harold Ristau v. Governor in Council, Attorney General of Canada, and Minister of Public Safety.
The total amount was based on information from the Department of Justice systems as of June 6.
In February 2022, thousands of Canadians gathered in snowy downtown Ottawa to demand the return of freedoms lost through COVID mandates, including an end to vaccine requirements.
As the movement quickly grew into a national call for freedom, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacted the EA to give Liberals increased powers to disperse the protesters under the claim that the protest was violent.
However, far from being violent, videos of the protest against COVID regulations and vaccine mandates show Canadians from across the country gathering outside Parliament engaged in dancing, street hockey, and other family-friendly activities.
In fact, the only acts of violence caught on video were carried out against the protesters after the Trudeau government directed police to end the protest. One such video showed an elderly women being trampled by a police horse.
The measures under the EA included freezing the bank accounts of Canadians who donated to the protest and use of police horses to force protesters out of Ottawa. Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23 after the protesters had been cleared out. At the time, seven of Canada’s 10 provinces opposed Trudeau’s use of the EA.
In 2024, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau was “not justified” in invoking the Emergencies Act. In February 2025, Liberals appealed the ruling in the Federal Court of Appeal. The court has not yet reached a decision regarding the appeal.
Meanwhile, Freedom Convoy protesters continue their own court battles over fines and imprisonment for their participation in the protest. Freedom Convoy co-leader Tamara Lich is awaiting sentencing after years of legal battles and could face a seven-year jail sentence.
In August, Freedom Convoy protester Evan Blackman returned to court to defend his presence at the 2022 protest and challenge the freezing of his bank accounts.
