Judge lifts N.S.'s gathering limits injunction, but legal challenge continues
Canadian Civil Liberties Association says injunction was unconstitutional, wants 'its day in court'
The Nova Scotia injunction against public gatherings that was imposed at the height of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has been lifted.
A lawyer for the provincial attorney general was in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax Tuesday morning to argue that the injunction was no longer necessary, because conditions have improved dramatically.
The injunction was granted at the request of the province on May 14, the day before a large anti-mask rally was planned for the slopes of Citadel Hill in Halifax. It allowed police to arrest and detain individuals breaking gathering limits.
The province got the injunction on an ex parte basis, meaning no one who might have opposed the measure was present in the courtroom.
Two weeks after the injunction was granted, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) was given intervenor status to argue that the injunction breached the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A hearing was set for June 30 to argue the issue.
Hearing status
During Tuesday's hearing, the lawyer for the attorney general, Duane Eddy, tried to argue the hearing was no longer necessary.
"The matter is moot and the June 30th hearing is no longer necessary and should be removed from the docket and the related filing deadlines be set aside," Eddy told the court.
Benjamin Perryman, the lawyer for the CCLA, disagreed.
"There has been no opportunity to test the province's evidence," Perryman told the court. "The CCLA's position is that the injunction order has been illegal, unconstitutional and not evidence-based. As a party, it's asking for its day in court."
Justice Gail Gatchalian agreed there was no ongoing justification for continuing the injunction.
But she refused to consider the province's request to cancel the June 30 hearing.
"I'm not making any comment with respect to the June 30th hearing, which is before another judge of this court," the judge said. "I'm not prepared to do anything with respect to that hearing."
At this point, the hearing is still scheduled to go ahead before Justice Timothy Gabriel, who indicated when he set the hearing that it involves some of the most important issues a court must deal with because it concerns fundamental rights.