Federal Court’s Emergencies Act ruling will ‘affirm’ claims in proposed class-action lawsuit, lawyer says

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“The bigger point is that everyone is conceding that there was unlawful mischief.”

Published Jan 25, 2024  •  Last updated 46 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Lines of trucks on a downtown Ottawa street during the convoy protest in early 2022. A proposed class-action lawsuit is progressing with several lengthy motions and is still awaiting certification as a class action, lawyer Paul Champ says. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

This week’s Federal Court ruling that the Emergencies Act was “unreasonable and unjustified” won’t harm a pending civil lawsuit against participants of the 2022 convoy protest in Ottawa, according to the lawyer who launched the proposed $300-million class action.

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Paul Champ, the Ottawa human rights lawyer who filed the civil lawsuit on behalf of downtown residents and businesses, said the recent federal court ruling would actually “affirm” some of the claims by the plaintiffs.

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Federal Court Justice Richard Mosely said in Tuesday’s ruling he could not support a conclusion that the 2022 convoy created “a critical, urgent and temporary situation” that was national in scope and could not be dealt with effectively under any other Canadian law.

Although the harm being caused to Canada’s economy, trade and commerce was very real and concerning, the judge wrote, it did not constitute threats or the use of serious violence to persons or property.

Paul Champ is the lawyer who launched the proposed $300-million class action on behalf of downtown Ottawa residents and businesses over the 2022 convoy protest. Photo by Postmedia

The ruling, Champ said Thursday, “will not harm the civil suit in any way because our claim is about what the trucks were doing in Ottawa: occupying and causing harm to downtown Ottawa. This federal court ruling is about whether the federal government over-reached in the way they brought that protest to an end.

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“That aspect doesn’t harm us at all, and, if anything, this Federal Court judgment affirms what we’ve been saying: that the truck protests were not a legitimate form of protest … There was an unacceptable breakdown in public order,” Champ said.

The Federal Court ruling is far from a slam-dunk for the civil case, but Champ said it equated to one more judge who had reviewed the case and come to the conclusion that Ottawa residents and businesses were negatively impacted by the convoy protest.

“That’s what we’ve been saying, and the Federal Court in a couple of different passages says that the lives of residents and workers and businesses were impacted by the truckers. Clearly, the court was saying that’s not acceptable,” Champ said.

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“We can’t just rely on this and say, ‘Well, that’s it, we win,’ but this is yet another judge who reviewed the matter — as has Justice Paul Rouleau (during the Public Order Emergency Commission), along with two other judges in preliminary motions on our civil claim — to make findings that the truck protesters unreasonably interfered with the lives of residents in Ottawa.

“So, to that extent, it just affirms yet again (there are merits to the civil case), and we’ll keep moving it forward,” Champ said.

Champ said the judgments that would carry more weight in relation to the civil lawsuit would come in convoy-related criminal cases progressing through the court system.

“Some of these cases have resolved with criminal convictions, some of the participants have pleaded guilty that what was happening in downtown Ottawa amounted to mischief,” Champ said.

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In the closely-watched trial of accused convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, Champ said, the defence teams have already conceded there were “elements of mischief” in the convoy.

In their ongoing criminal trial, defence teams for Lich and Barber said there were likely elements of mischief within the convoy as a whole, though they have denied their clients’ involvement in any criminal mischief and have denied they counselled others to commit mischief.

“The bigger point is that everyone is conceding that there was unlawful mischief,” Champ said.

“In the Criminal Code, mischief is a broad crime where people are causing significant disruption and disorder … We have convoy participants being convicted of mischief, organizers conceding there was mischief downtown, we have Justice Rouleau in the Public Order Emergency Commission who said it was ‘unacceptable’ what was happening downtown. And here’s another Federal Court judge (with a similar finding).”

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When someone has been convicted of a criminal offence, Champ said, that person can’t contest the issue in a civil action.

“So, anyone who is convicted of mischief will have difficulty defending the civil claim,” Champ said. “We can’t rely on the Federal Court ruling, but with criminal convictions we can. And we will.”

The proposed class action seeks compensation for “private and public nuisance,” alleging Ottawa residents suffered due to diesel fumes and the blaring of vehicle horns, while businesses and employees lost income during the three-week protest.

The suit seeks $60 million in general damages “for pain and suffering and psychological distress,” special damages of $70 million for business losses and $150 million for lost wages in addition to other punitive damages. Claims made by the plaintiffs have not yet been tested in court.

Champ said the lawsuit was progressing with several lengthy motions and was still awaiting certification as a class action

ahelmer@postmedia.com

With files from Postmedia staff.

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