Tag: freedom convoy

Book Excerpt: ‘The Democratic Politics of Fear’

Excerpt from “The Democratic Politics of Fear,” Chapter 7 in the newly expanded  book “Canada’s COVID: The Story of a Pandemic Moral Panic” (February 2023) by Barry Cooper and Marco Navarro-Génie. We consider the evidence for, and consequences of, government-induced fear leading to lack of trust. The outcome was not what the authorities intended. Their…


European Lawmaker Denounced by Trudeau and Poilievre After Meeting With Tory MPs

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre on Feb. 24 criticized a visiting European politician, both calling her views “hateful” and “vile.” “Consistently, we see Conservative parliamentarians and people who should know better associating themselves with folks responsible for a particularly vile level of rhetoric and hatred,” Trudeau said during a press…


Author of Emergencies Act Says Government Should Release Legal Opinion for Invocation

The former minister under Brian Mulroney who oversaw the process to replace the War Measures Act with the Emergencies Act in 1988 says the Trudeau government should release the legal opinion it used to justify invoking the act last winter. “I believe the government should release the legal opinion it relied on,” tweeted former defence…


Inquiry Report Says Misinformation and Disinformation Played Clear Role in Convoy Protests

Social media served as an “accelerant” for the spread of impactful “misinformation and disinformation” during last winter’s protests of COVID-19 restrictions, says the report of the inquiry into the invocation of the Emergencies Act released on Feb. 17. “I have no doubt that misinformation about COVID-19 influenced the views of some protesters and how they…


Trudeau Says Canada ‘Had a Better Pandemic’ Than Many Peer Countries

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada “had a better pandemic” than other western countries. “We had a better pandemic than many of our peer countries, with fewer deaths, with lower levels of economic disruption, with greater social cohesions than many other places,” said Trudeau at a press conference on Feb. 17, as first reported by…


Subdued One-Year Anniversary of the Invocation of Emergencies Act in Ottawa

The one-year anniversary of the Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to clear the Freedom Convoy protest saw a return of protesters to the nation’s capital, but in much smaller numbers than the thousands in Ottawa in 2022. Only about one dozen protesters came to Parliament Hill on Feb. 14, outnumbered by police and…


Co-organizer of Freedom Convoy Loses Bid to Move Trial Over Jury Bias Concerns

A Calgary trucker arrested as co-organizer of the Freedom Convoy sought to move his trial out of Ottawa, where he is worried potential jurors are more likely to have a bias against him. Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland has ruled against James Bauder’s bid. Ottawa residents are mainly “federal employees, federal contractors, lobbyists and lawmakers,” Bauder said…


City Auditor Criticizes Ottawa Police Over Handling of Freedom Convoy Protests

The City of Ottawa’s auditor general says police intelligence sharing with the city about last year’s Freedom Convoy was insufficient and affected the ability to plan for the protests. In reports released today, the auditor general also finds the Ottawa police did not properly engage with the city’s emergency management and traffic management offices. Auditor…


Use of Emergencies Act: Privacy Office Studying Banks Giving Protesters’ Info to CSIS and RCMP

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) is currently looking into three files pertaining to the Trudeau government invoking the Emergencies Act last winter, including the order telling financial institutions to send information on “designated persons” to security agencies. The Office provided this information in a Jan. 24 brief submitted to the Special Joint Committee…


Emergencies Act Commission Report to Be Submitted to Cabinet and the Public on the Same Day

The federal commission looking into the Liberal government’s decision to use the Emergencies Act is being granted an extension to deliver its report to the cabinet and the public at the same time this month. The Public Order Emergency Commission is investigating use of the act to end the Freedom Convoy protest, which paralyzed downtown…