OTTAWA, ON: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that peaceful Freedom Convoy protestor Evan Blackman has filed an appeal with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice challenging a trial court ruling that refused to consider the freezing of his bank accounts under the Emergencies Act as grounds for a stay of proceedings in his criminal case.
Mr. Blackman was arrested during the February 18, 2022 police crackdown in downtown Ottawa, four days after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history. He was charged with mischief and obstructing police after standing with other protestors on Rideau Street during the peaceful demonstrations.
Despite being acquitted of all charges in his first trial in 2023 and being called a “peacemaker” by the original trial judge, the Ottawa Crown Attorney’s Office appealed, and a retrial was ordered. On November 21, 2025, the Ontario Court of Justice convicted Mr. Blackman of mischief and obstructing police. The Court also characterized the Freedom Convoy as a collective “occupation” of downtown Ottawa and found that Mr. Blackman was a party to what it described as mass mischief.
Mr. Blackman was sentenced to a conditional discharge with 12 months’ probation, 122 hours of community service, and a $200 victim fine surcharge.
The Court dismissed Mr. Blackman’s application for a stay of proceedings under section 24(1) of the Charter, which sought a remedy for the freezing of three of his personal bank accounts under the Emergency Economic Measures Order. The judge ruled that the freezing of Mr. Blackman’s accounts was legally unrelated to his arrest or prosecution, and concluded that he therefore lacked standing to seek a stay.
This ruling stands in contrast to a Federal Court decision finding that the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and violated Canadians’ Charter rights, including those targeted by the financial measures used against Freedom Convoy protestors.
Constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury said, “This case raises serious questions about how peaceful protest is treated in Canada and about the lasting consequences of the federal government’s unlawful use of the Emergencies Act.”
“The freezing of protestors’ bank accounts was part of a coordinated effort to suppress dissent, and courts ought to be willing to scrutinize that conduct,” he added.
A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.
