It is too late to make a difference, but it does set a precedent for the future. The federal government is appealing of course, not just because of the precedent but because the court ruling makes the Prime Minister and his Cabinet look bad.

On Tuesday the Federal court ruled that the Trudeau government’s use of the Emergencies Act to shut down the 2022 Freedom Convoy was not justified, and that the government had breached the constitution rights of Canadians in its use of the Act. This is a big deal, and not a big deal at the same time.

The government maintains the suspension of civil liberties was justified. Now a court disagrees. An inquiry, required by the Act, had already given the government a reluctant pass on its actions. But an inquiry doesn’t carry the same weight as losing a court case in Federal Court. Which is why the government announced an appeal before the ink was dry on the decision.

The government painted the Freedom Convoy, a movement protesting COVID-19 regulations, as practically the beginning of a national insurrection. There were claims that police had asked for the imposition of the Act. They hadn’t.

The occupation of downtown Ottawa by hundreds of truckers was illegal and inconvenient, but it wasn’t insurrection. Police underestimated the situation, then decided not to act. When the finally did, there was no violence. Charges, when laid, were minor.

The Prime Minister, in his invocation of the Emergencies Act, appears to have forgotten some of the basic principles of democracy. Freezing the bank accounts of protestors, people not convicted of any crime, was overkill. Furthermore, the court ruled, it was a violation of the rights of the truckers, their families and people who supported them.

Now the case goes to the Federal Court of Appeal, then, no matter the appeal result, to the Supreme Court of Canada. The government, embarrassed once more when called to account for its breaches of Canadians’ rights has no choice but to appeal. They have to keep this before the courts until after the next election so the Prime Minister has a reason to decline to comment. You heard it here first: “It is before the courts, and it would be inappropriate to talk about it;” or words to that effect.

At this point there is no redress for those who were harmed by the government’s unconstitutional actions. People who had never set foot in Ottawa found their bank accounts frozen. In the haste of the government’s actions, some with no ties to the Convoy found themselves in financial difficulties.

The Prime Minister likely doesn’t care. His government is unpopular. He himself is extremely unpopular. He keeps getting caught up in ethics scandals. Another setback is no big deal.

For Canadians though, this decision is important. The Emergencies Act had never been used before. It was intended as a last resort when the government was out of options to deal with an extreme situation. Justin Trudeau used it to solve a parking problem. The court says that was wrong.

Future governments have been served notice that invoking the Emergencies Act should not be done lightly. The court has ruled and all Canadians, whether they supported the Freedom Convoy or not, should be thankful.