Category: freedom convoy

Trudeau Defends Declaring Emergency as Bergen Says Justification Is ‘Falling Apart’

With recent revelations that neither the RCMP nor the Ottawa police requested that the federal government invoke the Emergencies Act, Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen said the Liberals’ argument for invoking the order is “very quickly falling apart.” Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino have repeatedly said the act was…


Trudeau Defends Invoking Emergencies Act as Bergen Says Justification Is ‘Falling Apart’

With recent revelations that neither the RCMP nor the Ottawa police requested that the federal government invoke the Emergencies Act, Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen said the Liberals’ argument for invoking the order is “very quickly falling apart.” Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino have repeatedly said the act was…


Ottawa Police Chief Says He Didn’t Request Emergencies Act

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) did not request that the federal government invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa this winter, its interim chief told a House committee on May 17. “We were involved in conversations with our partners and with the political ministries; we didn’t make a direct…


Special Forces Surveillance Plane Flew Over Freedom Convoy Against Directive: Report

A cutting-edge surveillance plane used by Canadian special forces flew over the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa despite a military directive against such overflights. The Canadian military issued a directive on Jan. 27 saying its vehicles and personnel should avoid the downtown Ottawa protest and the Royal Canadian Air Force shouldn’t fly over it, reported…


Bias in Media Tilting the Political Field in Canada, Says Interim Tory Leader Bergen

Bias in the coverage of some media is tilting the political playing field in Canada and constitutes the “hardest thing” to contend with in political life, says Conservative Party interim leader Candice Bergen. “I’ve been doing this job now for 14 years and I can tell you the hardest thing that I deal with on…


RCMP Commissioner Contradicts Feds’ Claim Law Enforcement Advised Using Emergencies Act

The RCMP told a parliamentary committee on May 10 that it did not advise on or request the invocation of the Emergencies Act in February, and was also not aware of any other policing body that did so. Among the justifications cited by the Liberal government for invoking the emergency measures, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau…


RCMP Says Emergencies Act Was Not Needed to Clear Border Blockades

The RCMP commissioner says that no powers granted by the invoking of the Emergencies Act were used to clear the border blockades in February. “In RCMP jurisdiction, we successfully used a measured approach and existing legislation to resolve border blockades,” Commissioner Brenda Lucki told the special joint committee of parliamentarians reviewing the declaration of emergency…


To Win Public Confidence in Emergencies Act Inquiry, Transparency is Vital, Says the Law’s Creator

Former defence minister Perrin Beatty, who drafted the Emergencies Act in the 1980s to replace the controversial War Measures Act, says transparency is crucial in the government’s inquiry into the invocation of emergency powers earlier this year. The inquiry may be able to make its conclusions without interfering with cabinet confidence, but it will be…


Poilievre and Charest Spar Over Trucker Convoy Protest During Leadership Debate

Conservative Party leadership candidates took the stage on May 5 in their first debate, where MP Pierre Poilievre said his initial support for the Freedom Convoy truckers in February remains unchanged despite what has transpired since. When asked by the moderator if his support for the truckers in the convoy protest is a liability, as…


Special Forces Surveillance Plane Over Ottawa During Freedom Convoy Was ‘Training Exercise,’ Government Says

A surveillance plane operated by Canadian special forces flew circles over Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy protest, but the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Prime Minister say it was part of a training mission unrelated to the demonstrations. The U.S.-registered 350ER King Air, outfitted with a technology suite to intercept communications and capture…