Category: freedom convoy

Why OPP’s Upcoming Testimony at the Emergencies Act Inquiry Could Be Very Revealing

News Analysis In his opening statement at the public inquiry into the feds’ use of the Emergencies Act last week, the lawyer representing the Ontario Provincial Police said the OPP didn’t need an emergency declaration to clear the convoy protests.  Two of the highest-profile convoy protest sites were in the OPP’s jurisdiction: Ottawa, ground zero of…


Emergencies Act Inquiry: Ottawa Residents Say Protest and Police Stance Made Them Feel ‘Helpless’

Ottawa residents whose lives were disrupted for three weeks during the winter Freedom Convoy protest told the Public Order Emergency Commission on Friday they felt “helpless,” with one saying she’s experiencing long term effects. “The impact on my physical well being is quite extensive. I certainly during the experience had difficulty sleeping, I had an…


Emergency Act Inquiry Commissioner Pushes Back on Government Mandate Wanting Focus on Protesters

The commissioner presiding over the inquiry into the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act said on Thursday that the mandate received from Parliament would “drive” the commission’s work, rather than the one given by cabinet which focuses on protesters’ actions. “While this inquiry will deal with a wide range of issues, its focus will remain…


Emergencies Act Inquiry Commissioner Says Focus Is on Government Actions, Not Protesters

The commissioner presiding over the inquiry into the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act says the commission’s work will revolve around the mandate granted by Parliament, rather than the one given by cabinet which focuses on protesters’ actions. “While this inquiry will deal with a wide range of issues, its focus will remain squarely on…


Inquiry Into Government’s Use of Emergencies Act Starting Today in Ottawa

OTTAWA—The public inquiry investigating the federal government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act in February begins today in downtown Ottawa. Parties to the inquiry including Freedom Convoy organizers, the prime minister, seven federal ministers, police forces, and officials from all levels of government are expected to appear in the coming weeks. Commissioner Paul Rouleau and…


Freedom Convoy Organizer Concerned That Most Emergencies Act Inquiry Witnesses Are in Government

Freedom Convoy organizer Benjamin Dichter says he’s concerned that the majority of witnesses appearing before the upcoming public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act are in the government. “You have 65 witnesses of, it looks like, if I’m counting correctly, that [50] of the 65 work for the government. Right away,…


Civil Liberties Group to Challenge Constitutionality of Ottawa’s Use of Emergencies Act in Upcoming Hearing

A civil liberties group says the federal government has yet to prove that the legal threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act earlier this year to address the Freedom Convoy protests was met, which will be the group’s focus in an upcoming public hearing. The Public Order Emergency Commission is scheduled to begin the hearing on Oct….


No Evidence of Violence, Threats From Freedom Convoy: Internal Gov. Reports

There was no evidence of violence by Freedom Convoy organizers and supporters when they protested against federal COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in Ottawa earlier this year, according to security reports from an internal department of Public Safety Canada. In a security update dated Feb. 14—the day the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act—the public safety…


Public Safety Department Censored ‘Hundreds’ of Freedom Convoy Documents, Says Bloc MP

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s department censored “hundreds” of pages of documents related to security measures taken against the Freedom Convoy in February, according to Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Fortin. Public Safety provided the documents to the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency after being ordered to do so by the committee in May….


Public Safety Department Censored ‘Hundreds of Pages’ of Freedom Convoy Documents, Says Bloc MP

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s department censored “hundreds” of pages of documents related to security measures taken against the Freedom Convoy in February, according to Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Fortin. Public Safety provided the documents to the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency after being ordered to do so by the committee in May….