Participants in the Freedom Convoy currently occupying Ottawa are exercising their freedom of belief, expression, association, and assembly — all rights guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 6 of that Charter also specifically guarantees “mobility rights” — the right of every citizen “to enter, remain in, and leave Canada” and the right to move and gain a livelihood.

If the federal government wants to limit the exercise of these rights, according to Sections 1 and 24(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982, it must be able, if challenged, to demonstrate before a court of competent jurisdiction that the law imposing the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in a free and democratic society. This the Trudeau government has failed to do, and thus it is the members of that government not the truckers and their friends who are failing to comply with the rule of law.

— Preston Manning was the founder of the Reform Party of Canada, served as leader of the official Opposition in Parliament and is a founder of the Canada Strong and Free Network.”