Category: freedom convoy

Opponents of Freedom Convoy Made Violent Threat Against Police, Ran Disinformation Campaign: Internal Email

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said on Jan. 26 that it was being targeted by a “disinformation campaign” by detractors of the Freedom Convoy and also threatened with violence, an internal email reveals. Then-OPS chief Peter Sloly wrote to his team that there was information from his organization’s corporate communications and the Ottawa Police Association…


GoFundMe Denies Seizing Funds Raised for Freedom Convoy

Crowdfunding company GoFundMe has denied seizing donors’ money after it shut down the fundraising account for the trucker’s protest in Ottawa, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. A letter from lawyers sent to the Public Order Emergency Commission inquiry said rumours that GoFundMe failed to promptly refund contributions were a misunderstanding. “All donors are expected to see…


No Need for Emergencies Act, Says Senior OPP Officer Involved in Planning Freedom Convoy Removal

A senior officer from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) involved in planning the takedown of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa last winter says that invoking the Emergencies Act was not necessary to clear the protest. “We had some help with [the provincial declaration of emergency] and the Emergencies Act, but in my humble opinion, we…


Parliamentary Committee Votes Against Disclosing Unredacted Documents on Feds’ Actions Against Freedom Convoy

A special joint parliamentary committee has voted to block the release of uncensored documents that detail the federal government’s rationale for invoking the Emergencies Act against the Freedom Convoy. Sponsored by Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Fortin, the motion that federal agencies “be required to provide the committee with unredacted versions of those documents” was defeated…


Trust ‘Lost’ the Moment Ottawa Police Seized Fuel From Freedom Convoy: OPP Senior Officer

A senior officer with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says that after Ottawa police seized fuel from a convoy protest site during February’s demonstration and arrested several people, the trust the convoy organizers had with the police liaison teams was damaged and further negotiations were hindered. Testifying on Oct. 20 at the public inquiry into the…


Inquiry Hears Tense Exchange Over Request for Officers During ‘Freedom Convoy’

The lawyer for Ottawa’s former police chief says the number of officers needed to clear the “Freedom Convoy” wasn’t “pulled out of a hat,” despite concerns expressed by a senior Ontario Provincial Police officer. Supt. Craig Abrams told the public inquiry into the Trudeau government’s use of the Emergencies Act that he was in a…


City Had Tow Trucks Lined-Up Before Invocation of Emergencies Act, Says Ottawa Police Dep. Chief

The Liberal government has claimed a number of times that it was necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act to compel towing companies to remove the heavy trucks from downtown Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy protest, but the city’s police deputy chief said on Thursday that tow trucks were on their way before the invocation. “You…


CSIS and RCMP Didn’t See Freedom Convoy as National Security Threat, Says OPP Intelligence Chief

Whereas the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) intelligence arm assessed at one point that the Freedom Convoy of last winter had the potential to become a “national security threat,” the OPP Intelligence chief Supt. Pat Morris says CSIS and the RCMP did not see it meeting that threshold. “I spoke about that with colleagues from the…


Watson Told Trudeau Convoy Protesters Were ‘Nasty’ and Un-Canadian: Phone Call

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a phone call that the Freedom Convoy protesters were “nasty people” that don’t represent the country, saying they remind him of the Republican Party, documents presented at the inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act show. His comments were shown at the inquiry on…


Ottawa Councillor Says City Didn’t Pursue Injunction to Clear Convoy to Avoid Being Embarrassed by Court’s Rejection

The City of Ottawa considered seeking a court order to help dislodge trucks and protesters that had settled in its downtown core last winter, but refrained from doing so in part because it thought a defeat in court would cause harm to its reputation. This was part of the testimony of Ottawa councillor and former…