Three years after the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa, one peaceful protester, Evan Blackman, faces a retrial on charges of mischief and obstruction.

This retrial stems from his arrest on February 18, 2022, during police enforcements under the Emergencies Act (EA).

With the support of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), Mr. Blackman was initially acquitted of all charges in October 2023. The judge at the time even noted his role as a “peacemaker”, based on video evidence, holding back fellow protesters and kneeling before police. The Crown appealed this ruling, leading to his retrial.

Central to Mr. Blackman’s case are violations of his Charter of Rights and Freedoms, particularly Section 2(b) (freedom of expression and peaceful assembly), Section 7 (life, liberty, and security of the person), and Section 8 (protection against unreasonable search and seizure). While being detained, TD Bank froze three of his personal accounts under the EA’s Emergency Economic Measures Order, without conviction or due process, denying him access to his funds for over a week – a difficult situation for any business owner.

JCCF lawyer Chris Fleury called this an “extreme overreach” by police and the federal government, arguing it punished peaceful dissent and stifled his ability to mount a defense. If convicted at retrial, Blackman’s legal team plans a apply for a stay of proceedings to remedy these infringements.

The freezing of Evan Blackman’s bank accounts represents a severe violation of his Charter rights and undermines the fundamental principles of financial privacy and due process. The precedent set by this unchecked governmental overreach means that any Canadian citizen could face similar arbitrary financial sanctions for exercising their right to peaceful protest, posing a chilling threat to democratic freedoms.

Evan’s court dates were August 14th and 21st, although no updates have been issued so far. Prior to the first date, the judge compelled TD Bank and RCMP to produce records regarding the freezing of Mr. Blackman’s accounts, in an effort to reveal how and why accounts were targeted.

We continue to stand in support of Evan in his fight to uphold his Charter rights. We hope this judge will see the same ‘peacekeeper’ efforts and acknowledge the significance of the freezing of his accounts without justification.

To review our previous post on this matter, click here 

To read more on this case you can access all of the News Releases from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms by clicking here