Chief Justice Richard Wagner has denied a request to recuse himself from the Emergencies Act case, saying his 2022 comments about the Freedom Convoy protests have nothing to do with the issues on appeal: nationalpost.com/news/politics/…. Since 2022, Canada’s top judge has publicly denounced the peaceful Freedom Convoy protest as “anarchy,” as “taking other citizens hostage,” as Canadians “taking the law into their own hands,” as a protest fuelled by a “certain ignorance” and “bad understanding” of Canadian law. He publicly stated that these “forceful attacks” against the justice system and democratic institutions should be strongly condemned. In spite of these obviously biased comments, Chief Justice Wagner believes there is no legal reason for him to step aside from the case. His staff states: “there is no actual or reasonable apprehension of bias that would require his recusal under the applicable legal test.”
