(0:00 - 1:01) The fight for our rights and freedoms is far from over. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announced today that the Freedom Convoy suffered a major defeat, as an Ottawa court dismissed its appeal in a $290 million lawsuit stemming from the 2022 Trucker protests. The legal battle, initiated by downtown Ottawa residents and businesses, accused the convoy of inflicting weeks of noise, traffic chaos and economic disruption during its stand against vaccine mandates. Today's ruling upheld the original decision, rejecting the convoy's claim that their actions, rooted in freedoms of speech and assembly, outweighed local grievances. On January 29, 2022, thousands of truckers converged on Parliament Hill, sparked by a federal cross-border vaccine mandate announced that month. The demonstration, lasting three weeks, saw Trudeau invoke the Emergencies Act on February 14, later ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge last year. (1:02 - 1:37) Social media posts today decry the dismissal as a clampdown on dissent, with users citing the convoy's broader impact. It inspired global anti-mandate rallies and exposed government overreach, most notably the US truckers' convoy and farmers' protests in Holland. The court, however, focused narrowly on tangible harms, lost business revenue and resident complaints, over constitutional arguments and apparently ignored the fact that Ottawa police already confessed to causing any traffic flow disturbances by preventing truckers from moving and erecting unnecessary barricades. (1:38 - 1:56) Legal analysts warn this sets a precedent for future protests, potentially deterring public action against unpopular policies. The financial burden now falls on convoy organizers, with funds from their 2022 crowdfunding campaigns, once frozen by banks, long since depleted.