It’s amazing how people don’t even understand this fundamental point. This is literally the key to our legal and political system; yet, idiots are arguing as if primary law takes a back seat to secondary laws.
Well yeah... any law would have to fall within the "reasonable and justified" clause in the Constitution. And laws that wouldn't normally be reasonable in normal times certainly could be considered reasonable during a pandemic. Things like limiting groups to 10 people, not allowing stores to open, not allowing churches to have people in them, etc. would not be allowed in normal circumstances, but are likely reasonable restrictions in a pandemic.
Clearly Trudeau and the protestors were breaking Ontario law... they could challenge it in court and possibly win, if the Ontario emergency powers were deemed unconstitutional.
Personally, I think he was a bit damned if he does, damned if he doesn't in this situation.
I also don't think protestors should be let go while a guy in Calgary was fined in the thousands for having a soccer camp for some kids in a park. But there was no way cops were going to break up these protest. They'd be seen as racists, not protecting public health.
It makes the entire public health response to COVID a bit of a lark when it seems that if you have a good cause, then you can break the restrictions. If you don't, you get fined.