When the State Breaks the Law
Government Overreach, False Emergencies, and the Christian Response
The Federal Court of Appeal has now confirmed what many Canadians already knew in their bones: the federal government illegally invoked emergency powers against peaceful citizens during the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022.
The ruling affirms that the threshold required to invoke the Emergencies Act was not met, and that existing laws were more than sufficient to deal with the situation in Ottawa. In other words, this was not an emergency. It was an overreach.
The decision, welcomed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, confirms that the federal government acted outside the bounds of its lawful authority when it froze bank accounts, criminalized peaceful assembly, and treated dissent as a national threat.
That matters, not just politically, but biblically.
Power That Forgets Its Limits
Scripture has never been naïve about government. From Pharaoh to Nebuchadnezzar to Caesar, the Bible consistently treats civil authority as real, necessary, and dangerous when untethered from restraint.
Romans 13 tells us that governing authorities are “God’s servants for your good.” But that same Scripture assumes limits. Authority is delegated, not divine. It is accountable, not absolute.
When the state declares an “emergency” in the absence of one, it is no longer protecting order. It is manufacturing justification.
The Emergencies Act was designed for insurrection, invasion, or the collapse of civil order. It was never intended to be a blunt instrument for silencing protest or enforcing political conformity. The court has now said plainly what should have been obvious from the start: the law was broken by those tasked with upholding it.
This is what government overreach looks like in real time. Not tanks in the streets, but legal language stretched until it snaps. Not tyranny announced, but tyranny justified.
The Illusion of Accountability
One of the bitter realities Canadians must face is that legal vindication does not guarantee moral accountability.
The court ruling restores truth to the public record. It does not automatically restore jobs, reputations, frozen assets, or years lost in courtrooms. Nor does it guarantee consequences for those who authorized or defended the illegal use of emergency powers.
Historically, this is the norm. Governments rarely punish themselves. Power almost never volunteers repentance.
Scripture prepares us for this. Ecclesiastes observes that injustice often goes unanswered “because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily.” The absence of accountability is not proof of innocence. It is proof of fallen systems run by fallen men.
That reality should sober Christians. We must not confuse court victories with cultural repentance, or legal clarity with institutional humility.
Peaceful Protest Is Not a Sin
A quiet but corrosive lie emerged during the Freedom Convoy: that obedience to government means silence in the face of injustice.
That is not a biblical position.
The prophets confronted kings. The apostles defied councils. The early church was accused of “turning the world upside down” precisely because they refused to obey unjust commands.
Peaceful protest, lawful assembly, and public dissent are not acts of rebellion. They are acts of conscience. When the state punishes them, it is not defending order; it is revealing insecurity. No one can look me in the face (surely) and tell me that Justin Trudeau wasn’t insecure. His self-image of being a great leader of the free world was being torn down before the eyes of the world, and he didn’t like it.
Christians must reject the false dichotomy that pits submission against truth. Submission to authority never meant submission to lies.
What This Teaches the Church
The court ruling should not make the church complacent. It should make her clearer. Let me explain the ways;
First, it reminds us that rights and freedoms, even when legally protected, are fragile. They exist only as long as a people are willing to defend them.
Second, it exposes how quickly fear can be weaponized to justify extraordinary powers. Emergencies, whether medical, environmental, or ideological, have become the modern sacrament of control. The church cannot be blind to this. In fact, we forgot one of the pillars of our faith, namely that mankind is born in sin, and without the work of the Holy Spirit, we are evil. Too much trust was given to the government by the church during COVID.
Third, it confronts the church with a question: will we speak when power exceeds its bounds, or will we remain silent to preserve comfort? For those churches who acted in blind faith towards an over-reaching government (some whom also took unnecessary shots at those churches who were actively calling out government over-reach) should take a hard look at themselves and repent where necessary.
Neutrality is not safety. Silence is not wisdom. When the state steps beyond its God-given role, the church must say so, calmly, clearly, and without apology.
How Christians Move Forward
So what now?
Not rage. Not despair. And certainly not blind trust that “the system worked.”
Christians move forward by telling the truth, even when it is inconvenient. By defending lawful dissent, even when we disagree with the protesters. By insisting that emergency powers remain exceptional, not political tools of convenience.
We pray for rulers, but we do not sanctify them. We respect authority, but we do not excuse lawlessness when it wears a suit and speaks in press conferences.
Most of all, we remember that no court, no charter, and no parliament is the final guardian of freedom. That role belongs to God alone. Psalm 146 warns us not to put our trust in princes. The Freedom Convoy ruling is a reminder of why. Governments forget their limits. Courts sometimes remember them. But only the Lord reigns without corruption.
A Necessary Reminder
The Federal Court of Appeal decision is an important moment, not because it changes the past, but because it names it. The Emergencies Act was used illegally. Peaceful citizens were punished unjustly. Power exceeded its lawful bounds.
That truth now stands on the public record.
The question is whether we will remember it the next time fear is used as a lever, dissent is labelled dangerous, and emergency powers are offered as the solution. For Christians, the path forward is clear: fear God, speak truth, love justice, and refuse to confuse authority with righteousness. Because when the state breaks the law, it is not just a political problem, but a moral one.
One of the best Biblically based Christian perspectives I have seen on this issue. It articulates the proper relationship between those of faith and authority, and Who we should be looking to as the true authority in all things.
I remember reading at the time in the newspaper, that Biden was pressuring Trudeau to do something as it was disrupting trade over the Ambassador bridge between Windsor and Detroit. The government should not have frozen bank accounts, or arrest people, they stepped over the line and I’m glad the courts ruled the way they did. There’s so much during this period that was dead wrong. The propaganda and lies was/is anti democratic and trampled on the rights of the population. The mandates for these dangerous shots never tested on humans before is a very concerning and needs to be addressed.