Investigating the Canadian Federal Government's Justification of the Emergencies Act (EA) Utilization in the 2022 Freedom Convoy

Abstract

This study examines the 2022 Freedom Convoy Protest, and how the situation led to the Canadian Federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act (EA) to end the protests. Through multiple major studies and inquiries, the EA’s use has been disagreed upon since 2022. From this study, the government’s justification for the use of the EA is deconstructed, reviewed, and then argued to be less then substantial with regards to the invocation threshold of the EA. Furthermore, by using dialectic research methods, this study presents and contrasts the two sides of the larger debate on the Convoy; Pro, and Anti Emergency Act. Using dialectic presentation methods allows for a more nuanced opinion to be formed, of which, helps readers to engage more deeply with this work’s arguments. Also, through this methodology, the conclusion on the government’s justification being both unsubstantiated and possibly setting a potentially dangerous precedent is formed.