JFK Assassination Forum
Off Topic => News - Off Topic - Weird & Wacky => Topic started by: Rick Plant on February 15, 2022, 01:24:06 AM
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Federal government invokes Emergencies Act for first time ever in response to protests, blockades
Act grants cabinet ability to take 'special temporary measures that may not be appropriate in normal times'
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canada's history to give the federal government temporary powers to handle ongoing blockades and protests against pandemic restrictions.
"It is now clear that there are serious challenges to law enforcement's ability to effectively enforce the law," Trudeau told a news conference Monday afternoon.
"It is no longer a lawful protest at a disagreement over government policy. It is now an illegal occupation. It's time for people to go home."
Trudeau said the measures will be geographically targeted and "reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address."
The unprecedented deployment of the Emergencies Act gives police more tools to restore order in places where public assemblies constitute illegal and dangerous activities, such as blockades and occupations, he said. Trudeau said the act also will enable the RCMP to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial offences where required.
"This is about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people's jobs and restoring confidence in our institutions," he said.
The government is also designating and securing critical areas such as border crossings and airports. Invoking the act will also allow the government to make sure that essential services — such as towing services to remove trucks — are rendered, said Trudeau.
Massive financial implications
The federal government is also going after financial support for illegal activity associated with the convoy protest.
Convoy organizers have raised millions of dollars. They raised money first through the GoFundMe crowdfunding site. When GoFundMe shut the fundraising campaign down, organizers pivoted to the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that under the Emergencies Act, crowdfunding platforms and the payment service providers they use must register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the national financial intelligence agency. They must also report large and suspicious transactions to FINTRAC.
"The illegal blockades have highlighted the fact that crowdfunding platforms, and some of the payment service providers they use, are not fully captured under the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act," she said.
"We are making these changes because we know that these platforms are being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy."
Canadian financial institutions can now temporarily cease providing financial services if the institution suspects an account is being used to further the illegal blockades and occupations, said Freeland.
"This order covers both personal and corporate accounts," she said.
Measures still subject to Charter of Rights
The Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in the 1980s, defines a national emergency as a temporary "urgent and critical situation" that "seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it."
The act gives special powers to respond to emergency scenarios affecting public welfare (natural disasters, disease outbreaks), public order (civil unrest), international emergencies or war emergencies.
It grants cabinet the ability to "take special temporary measures that may not be appropriate in normal times" to cope with an "urgent and critical situation" and the resulting fallout. It is still subject to the protections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Ottawa police have said they are outnumbered by crowds protesting vaccine mandates in the capital. Despite a provincial state of emergency, protesters ignored the threat of arrest and jail time and flocked to the city's centre over the weekend.
Demonstrators have erected tents, a stage, a large video screen and even a hot tub on various streets — including Wellington Street, which runs in front of the Parliament Buildings and the Prime Minister's Office.
Ottawa police said "safety concerns" — including "aggressive, illegal behaviour" by demonstrators — are to blame for the "limited police enforcement capabilities."
A blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., a key supply link between Canada and the U.S., was dispersed by police earlier Sunday, with 12 arrests.
"Occupying streets, harassing people, breaking the law. This is not a peaceful protest," said Trudeau, who added there are no plans to deploy the military.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-premiers-cabinet-1.6350734
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Canadian conservatives want nothing to do with the 'impotent rage' of anti-vax truckers: reporter
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Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have prompted the truckers protesting the vaccine mandates for their industry. Over 80 percent of the truckers are vaccinated, so the protesters are part of not just the minority, but the fringe of a minority. In Canada, however, these truckers are radically unpopular, even among conservatives.
Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, Canadian reporter Stephen Marsh explained that the conservative politicians dipped their toes in the debate, but quickly pulled out because Canadians are furious with the truckers clocking their streets and creating noise all through the night.
The emergency measures that the leaders are enforcing now came from a 1970 response to Quebec terrorism and hasn't been used since.
"It's extremely severe," Marsh explained. "The government is going to suspend people's accounts without court orders. You're going to be able to use the military, and it is a very dramatic moment where essentially the powers that be are saying the police and the ordinary course of democracy require backing up by the military. That's not something you ever want to see happen in your country."
Meanwhile, in the United States, far-right conservative anti-vaccine activists have been aghast that somehow the rights of these truckers are being violated. However, with the overwhelming majority of Canadians, it's their own rights that are being trampled by these truckers, like the right to get to work or the right to sleep without people laying on their car horns all night outside your window.
Marsh said that after speaking to the protesters, he learned that they have no real organizational structure or political program.
"It's just disruption for its own sake," he said. "I think it is nothing more than a temper tantrum. Their political goals is the end of all public health mandates and Canada. It's never going to happen. The resignation of Justin Trudeau. I saw a lot of impotent rage. And of course, it's become very clear, recently, that a lot of this is just political spillover from the United States and the toxicity of American discourses sort of taken a foothold in Canada. It's very ugly."
Trudeau may be the villain of the far-right in the U.S. but in Canada, Marsh said he'd be elected in a landslide.
"What's become very clear recently as just how foreign this is," he continued. "Less than 30 percent of the funding for this has come from Canadian sources. The border guards have been turning away truckers from the United States that are coming in. A huge amount — obviously the rhetoric is largely American. It really did get to a point where you are seeing foreign interference in Canadian domestic politics and crippling economies. But also destroying the lives of ordinary citizens in neighborhoods in Ottawa, who've been able to unable to put their children to sleep for two weeks. The Canadian people's tolerance is over. The patience has worn thin. It's over now."
He explained that a "very few" conservatives "flirted" with the idea of supporting the truckers in the way that Cruz, Hawley and Paul have. They have now all backed away from it.
"It is massively unpopular. Also, I think that is sort of unfair. I think Canadian conservatives have really kept their integrity and kept their decency and they do not want disorder for disorder's sake. Certainly, it is definitely true that -- Ted Cruz has way more insidious than any Canadian conservative politician, certainly, someone like Doug Ford in Ontario has taken very firm steps to disrupt the financial networks of this group. I think it would be fair to say that Canadian conservatives are opposed to this. In a broad sense. I think that's something that actually is very important for our country. Very important."
See the discussion below:
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These illegal blockades was Canada's version of our 1/6 insurrection where these fascist right wingers wanted to take down Canada's government. Phony preacher Artur Pawlowski was calling for violence and he has ties to anti American traitors like Micheal Flynn and Eric Trump. Not to mention the right wing media was promoting this as well as the instigators of 1/6 who helped to fund it. Hopefully the judge denies this terrorist bail.
Controversial Calgary preacher incited violence in Coutts, prosecutor alleges at bail hearing
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RCMP have laid charges under Alberta's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act against a controversial street preacher who is being blamed for extending the blockade at the Coutts border crossing.
Artur Pawlowski of Calgary was arrested Monday after he gave a speech last week at the Smugglers Saloon in Coutts, where protesters have been blocking travel to the United States on and off since Jan. 29.
Although the situation is ever-changing, as the bail hearing took place Wednesday afternoon, traffic in both directions was impeded as protesters continue to demand an end to vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers, as well as the lifting of other pandemic-related public health restrictions.
Pawlowski is charged with two criminal offences including mischief over $5,000 as well as interrupting the operation of essential infrastructure in a manner that renders it inoperative.
Since his arrest Monday, Pawlowski's supporters have raised $26,000 for his release and legal fees.
On Feb. 3, protesters made a deal to leave the border crossing and head to Edmonton.
That day, Pawlowski gave what prosecutor Steven Johnston called an "impassioned" 20-minute speech to protesters. He told them not to give up and said there were not enough RCMP officers to deal with the situation.
"Less than two hours after reaching a deal to end the blockade and take it to Edmonton, truckers changed their minds," said Johnston in arguing Pawlowski should be denied bail.
'An overt threat to violence'
A video of the speech posted online shows Pawlowski telling the crowd that "for freedom to be preserved, people must be willing to sacrifice their lives. This is our time."
"If this is our Alamo, then so be it," he said.
Johnston called Pawlowski's words an "overt threat to violence."
"After the speech, Mr. Pawlowski got into his BMW and drove to Calgary, leaving the protesters behind," said the prosecutor.
Bail decision next week
Details of Pawlowski's alleged crimes come from a bail hearing that took place in Lethbridge on Tuesday before provincial court Judge Erin Olsen, who reserved her decision after hearing submissions from Johnston and defence lawyers Chad Haggerty and Sarah Miller.
Protesters have been at the land border for 12 days with on-and-off blockades, making travel between the United States and Canada impossible at times.
The blockades have stranded travellers and cross-border truckers and cost millions of dollars in trade.
But Haggerty argued his client is not responsible for the blockades.
"At no time did [Pawlowski] tell them to block the roads, he told them to remain and protest," Haggerty in arguing for his client's release.
Maximum penalty is 6 months in jail, $10K fine
The RCMP has not yet responded to a request for information on whether Pawlowski is the first person to be charged under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act in connection with the Coutts protests.
The new legislation is controversial and has been criticized as unfairly targeting Indigenous people.
The legislation was introduced in Alberta in 2020 against the backdrop of protests involving the blockade of rail lines, commuter train routes and roadways in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' opposition to the construction of the Coastal Gas Link pipeline through their northern B.C. territory.
The act allows for penalties and jail time for anyone who blocks, damages or protests at "essential infrastructure."
If Pawlowski were to be convicted, he could face a fine of up to $10,000 plus six months in jail.
'Ink not yet dry' on previous police contact
Pawlowski has been in trouble with police throughout the pandemic, at times being arrested within days of his release on other charges.
"The ink was not yet dry," said Johnston of Pawlowski's arrest Tuesday after being charged with causing a disturbance at a Shoppers Drug Mart within the last several weeks.
Last month, Pawlowski and his brother were arrested after a protest outside the health minister's house in Calgary. They were charged with breaching a judge's order that restrained them from attending any illegal public gathering.
Last May, the brothers were charged with organizing an illegal in-person gathering, inciting or inviting others to attend an illegal gathering, as well as promoting and attending the gathering.
In October, a judge fined the brothers and put them on probation.
As part of their probation conditions, the judge ruled that if the pandemic-denying, anti-mask leaders continued to preach to their followers, they must also present the perspective of medical experts. The Court of Appeal of Alberta later temporarily blocked that order.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/pawlowski-arrest-coutts-rcmp-charges-bail-1.6345808
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Canadian MAGA pastor arrested as he returns home after spreading Covid lies in US
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Canadian MAGA pastor Artur Pawlowski was arrested on the tarmac of Calgary International Airport as he returned home after spreading lies about Covid-19 in the US over the course of four months.
The controversial conservative preacher was taken into custody on Monday afternoon. He was charged with contempt of court for an alleged violation that occurred on 5 June. His lawyer Sarah Miller told Global News that she didn’t have any information about the incident.
Mr Pawlowski was arrested in May along with his brother Dawid Pawlowski for organising, promoting, and attending an illegal gathering. They arranged church services that didn’t follow mask and social distancing rules. Both of them were found guilty of contempt in June after purposefully disregarding Covid-19 mandates.
Alberta Health Services asked during a sentencing hearing earlier in September that Mr Pawlowski be sent to prison for 21 days and that his brother be jailed for 10 days. The court was also asked to fine the controversial conservative pastor $2,000 and exact $15,000 in costs, Global News reported. A ruling from the court is expected on 13 October.
Mr Pawlowski made several appearances on Fox News and also spent time with Eric Trump, son of former President Donald Trump.
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Pastor Artur Pawlowski was arrested today at the airport in Calgary, after he returned from a 4 month tour of the US, where he was a darling of MAGA media. He spent every day in the US spreading lies and vaccine conspiracies on TV and speeches around the US. He has repeatedly violated court orders. Here he is two weeks ago with Eric Trump.
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Of course, he also made several appearances on Fox.
He also met with General Michael Flynn, Mr Trump’s first national security adviser.
“I am here before this court as a political prisoner of conscience,” Mr Pawlowski said in a statement during a sentencing hearing on 14 September.
He claimed that Alberta Health Services and the “politicians have found a new way of penalising anyone that is opposing their unconstitutional medical tyranny. They hate the idea that they have been exposed for what they really are: liars, hypocrites and cheaters”.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/canada-pastor-arrested-artur-pawlowski-b1928490.html
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These anti American Qanon quacks took part in the 1/6 insurrection and are the same nuts that worship Criminal Donald. These Qanon anti vaxxers are keeping this pandemic going and also happen to be the same loons who go to Dallas waiting for JFK and JFK Jr. to arrive back from the dead. Canada has their own version of these types of religious white supremacist radicals with fake preacher Artur Pawlowski leading the way. All these right wing fascists have united to destroy democracy and the governments in Canada and the United States.
PASTOR’S MONTHS-LONG TOUR MERGED CANADIAN HATE AND AMERICAN QANON, FAR-RIGHT INFLUENCERS
From appearing alongside Steve Bannon to rubbing shoulders with QAnon podcasters, Artur Pawlowski has spent months in the United States on the right wing speaker’s circuit. Now, after another very public arrest, he’s back in the spotlight.
Upon returning to Canada from his tour of the United States, founder of Calgary’s Street Church Artur Pawlowski was arrested moments after stepping out of the private aircraft he used to cross the border.
The pastor’s return home marks the end of over three months in the US growing ever closer to prominent figures within the QAnon and larger COVID conspiracy movement.
An avid spreader of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs himself, Pawloski has been rubbing shoulders with those with a much larger audience that have only served to boost his profile. After a much-publicized arrest along what appears to be an Alberta collector road, as well as banshee-style yelling of “get out Nazis” at public health officials who entered his church to enforce public health measures earlier this year, Pawlowski drew the attention to the American Christian far-right.
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Video of the second arrest (which took place on an airport tarmac) immediately made Rebel News -- who had a correspondent on scene outside the airport -- as well as across far-right spaces on both sides of the border.
The arrest may not have come as a complete surprise to Pawlowski, who said the day before his departure that he would see his supporters tomorrow, “hopefully without shackles and handcuffs, but may God’s will be done.”
Calgary police confirmed the arrest to Global News.
“The charges are for officiating a church service and for not wearing a mask,” Pawlowski said in an emailed response to questions from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. The Calgary Police Service did not return requests for comment by time of publication, but according to the CBC, he was charged with disobeying a court order and failing to wear a mask.
Pawlowski and his brother Dawid Pawlowski were found guilty of contempt of court and breaking COVID restrictions, after being arrested for holding and promoting illegal gatherings in May. When the decision was handed down, however, the pastor was already touring the United States, appearing at events hosted by FEC United, an American religious group recently founded by Joe Oltmann and boasts its own militia.
United American Defence Force was responsible for the Patriot Muster Rally in October 2020. During this event, a private security guard hired to protect journalists shot and killed a rally participant who attacked him with pepper spray. Oltmann laid his disdain for the media bare, making unsubstantiated claims that members of “antifa” were in fact posing as journalists.
“We’ve been de-masking antifa members that are actually acting as journalists … So the next thing we’re doing because of that is that we are going to start demasking so people in the community know who they are… You want to know what it looks, like who want to take this country away.”
He followed up with a threat toward journalists who publish unfavourable coverage.
“We’re coming for you. I hope they’re watching. I hope all of them are watching, including the one who tried to sneak in here. If you’re part of the media and you write something bad about us, better take your byline off it.”
FEC United did not respond to previous requests for comment.
It is not clear if the previous cases were why Pawlowski was taken into custody. In a segment widely shared online of Steve Bannon’s online show “War Room,” the Executive Director of the Coalition to Defend America, Cindy Chafian, said that the charges were new and unrelated to previous cases.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
FEC United’s “Courageous Faith” tour managed to net Pawlowski a spot on Steve Bannon’s online show War Room, a meeting with SPLC-designated hate group MassResistance’s founder Arthur Schaper in Los Angeles, and a video featuring both Pawlowski and his son with former national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, Michael Flynn.
Flynn specifically has become a central figure in the QAnon movement, even headlining a Q conference in Dallas, Texas in May.
This would not be the last time Flynn and Pawlowski would find themselves in close proximity, as an event held days before the return flight to Canada would advertise both men among their speakers. The “Reawaken America” tour in Colorado Springs, CO, came forward with a menagerie of different speakers including Flynn, Pawlowski, FEC United’s Joe Oltman, and numerous others.
Organized by podcast host Clay Clark, “Reawakening America” is a rolling show of medical and COVID disinformation, just one of a few tours organized by Clark giving a platform to numerous far-right talking heads and questionable medical professionals. Flynn has appeared at many of the events and recently went on Clark’s show to claim that there was talk about putting vaccines into salad dressing -- surprisingly, this appears to not be true.
These are hardly the only fringe figures Pawlowski has come into contact with while in the United States. During another “Health & Safety” event organized by Clark in Tampa, Florida, he delivered a sermon to a crowd about how they were engaged in a new civil rights movement.
During this conference, as noted by Media Matters’ Alex Kaplan, Pawlowski responded to the signature QAnon phrase “where we go one we go all,” with a simple “amen.”
https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1413499890777399297
There is also a movie allegedly in the works based around Pawlowski’s life and struggles, according to a video posted on YouTube by the pastor. After attending an Arizona conference featuring Eric Trump, he posted a video of a meeting with Mike Smith, a former Hollywood stunt man and creator of the film “Out of Shadows,” which purports to be a documentary exposing the satanic pedophilia of the major film industry.
“I’ve never seen more lions in a Savannah, and you know I work in Africa, than in the [United States],” Pawlowski said, introducing Smith to his audience. He added that the director was cooking some more stuff for the glory of God this time, not for the glory of Hollywood or the devil.”
Pawlowski is best known as a hate preacher based out of Calgary, Alberta and runs the Cave of Adullam, also known as Street Church, a far-right, anti-2SLGBTQ+ religious space. Since 2005, Pawlowski has become known for holding loud outdoor events in which he feeds the houseless population while proselytizing his specific, and bigoted, brand of religion. In more recent years, he, along with his brother, have become fixtures in the far-right protest movement.
His hate is primarily directed at the 2SLGBTQ+ community, by holding protests and disrupting Pride events. When asked for comment about his views towards LGBTQ people, Pawlowski said that “regarding the homosexual sin, I love everyone regardless of their sin. Everyone has fallen short of the glory of God created him or her for a purpose. Just because I disagree with someone’s preferences or life choices does not mean that I wish them ill or I hate them.”
Despite these sentiments, in 2013 he blamed flooding in Alberta on the 2SLGBTQ+ community: “(God) is weeping for the perversions of homosexuality which includes the walking out the pride of their abominations in the streets of our cities.”
Pawlowski also organized a protest featuring anti-LGBTQ activist Bill Whatcott in 2017. In 2018 Pawlowski called Whatcott a “Christian freedom fighter” when he was charged with promoting hate at a Toronto Pride event.
On his website, Pawlowski wrote, “This was a Church vigil called ‘In Defence of Christianity’ Thouse [sic] homofascists and antifa-fascists just proved our point that there is a need to defend Christianity in this Godless and perverted nation!”
PressProgress reported that same year that Pawlowski’s website stated that homosexuals are “not ashamed to declare the name of their master (Satan) and in the same way not concerned with provoking greatly the wrath of the Living God.”
In 2019 Pawlowski vocally objected to a rainbow crosswalk in Calgary. According to CBC, "This is a lie from the pit of hell, perverted symbol that God has given to us.… They are using it to laugh at God, to shake their fingers at God saying, 'we don't care about your law, we don't care about you,’” Pawlowski said in a video on Facebook.
https://twitter.com/coandmorbid/status/1405991563495297024
Pawlowski also targets the Muslim community. Another 2013 post authored by Pawlowski states, “those Muslims and their message is un-Canadian."
https://www.antihate.ca/artur_pawlowski_canadian_hate_american_qanon_far-right_influencers
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Canada trucker protest - live: Convoy rolls back after historic Trudeau threat and donors exposed by hackers
The Canadian government has threatened to freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts
A “complex” and “multi-day” operation has begun to clear “freedom convoy” truckers from streets south of Canada’s parliament building following an agreement between city authorities and protest organisers.
MayorJim Watson confirmed on Monday night that “convoy leaders have started to act on their commitment to move several trucks from the residential district south of Wellington (Street)”, after more than two weeks of protests.
It comes after Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau declared a rare national public order emergency in a bid to end the trucker protest, which stretches into a third week.
The Emergencies Act allows his administration to freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts, suspend the insurance on their rigs and also tow away vehicles. Mr Trudeau has however ruled out using the military to restore order amid concerns from Canada’s Civil Liberties Association.
For over two weeks, thousands of protesters in trucks and other vehicles have clogged the streets of Ottawa and blocked various US-Canadian border crossings. The most important trade route — the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit — was reopened on Sunday.
Ottawa wakes up to Emergency Powers Act
Protesters who have been camping in front of the Canadian Parliament for more than two weeks still want prime minister Justin Trudeau to meet with them, reports say, after his administration invoked emergency powers to end the “freedom convoy”.
Ontario, a Canadian province which declared a state of emergency last week, backed the move. But premiers in Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan opposed the plan, with Quebec’s premier Francois Legault describing the development as risk of putting “oil on the fire.”
“It’s an extreme measure that isn’t necessary,” said protester Candice Chapel when asked about the news by Reuters on Monday. Her fellow protesters have meanwhile agreed to leave residential streets south of Canada’s parliament building, the mayor has said.
Hackers reveal 90,000 donors of ‘freedom convoy'
Hackers have released details of the more than 90,000 donations made to Canada’s “freedom convoy” protesters, who were removed from mainstream fundraising platform GoFundMe more than a week ago for violating the platform’s terms.
Supporters instead sent money to truckers through GiveSendGo, a website that has now been taken down after “hacktivists” from the group Anonymous exposed those who have been funding the Canadian protests against a Covid mandate.
Data seen by The Guardian and others on Monday shows that of majority of donations made on GiveSendGo were from the US – although more money was raised in Canada. The funds total more than $8m.
Donations were also allegedly made by individuals in countries including the UK, the Netherlands, Ireland – as well as those with .gov email addresses. That suggests some employees of the US government could have donated to Canada’s “freedom convoy”.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to end funding sources for the truckers after invoking the rarely used Emergencies Act on Monday, allowing his government to freeze bank accounts as well as tow away vehicles.
Ambassador condemns ‘civil liberties suspended’ claims
Canadian diplomat and ambassador to the United Nations Robert Keith Rae was among those defending prime minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act against anti-Covid mandate truckers.
Tweeting about the development on Monday night, Mr Rae criticised a New York Times headline suggesting Canada’s government had suspended civil liberties.
“Correction: An earlier tweet incorrectly suggested that Trudeau would temporarily suspend civil liberties,” the New York based outlet later wrote. “We deleted the incorrect tweet.”
Mr Trudeau has promised to end funding streams for the protesters and to boost policing in Ottawa after nearly three weeks of occupation of streets around the Canadian parliament. He added that the emergency powers would be used geographically and are time limited.
Truckers agree to leave residential areas, mayor says
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson says truckers will begin relocating from residential areas south of Wellington Street and the parliamentary precinct, more than two weeks after Canadian truckers blocked streets around Canada’s parliament.
Mayor Watson said “the convoy leaders have started to act on their commitment to move several trucks from the residential district south of Wellington,” and the operation would take a number of “days”.
It comes after reports on Sunday that mayor Watson had reached an agreement with protesters to relocate away from residential areas, which was initially rebuked by leaders of the so called “freedom convoy”.
Ottawa’s downtown is located south of the Wellington thoroughfare, and is home to both local businesses and residents.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has meanwhile granted the City of Ottawa's request “for an injunction with respect to the protest”, the mayor said. That will likely lead to further arrests.
ICYMI | Truckers are having ‘significant direct impacts on citizens’ lives, says Psaki
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the convoy of Canadian truckers that have occupied parts of Ottawa pose a significant economic risk.
Ms Psaki said president Joe Biden and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau spoke about the convoy of truckers that are protesting against Covid-19 vaccine mandates.
“The two leaders agreed that the actions of the individuals who are obstructing travel and commerce between our two countries are having significant impact on citizens’ lives and livelihoods,” she said.
'The president expressed his concern that United States companies and workers are experiencing serious effects including slowdowns in production, shortened work hours and plant closures’.
Biden says opposing mask mandates isn’t freedom
United States president Joe Biden dismissed the idea that refusing to take steps to inhibit the spread of Covid-19 was a matter of “personal freedom” in an interview airing Sunday with the Super Bowl.
“If your exercising personal freedom puts someone else in jeopardy, their health in jeopardy, I don’t consider that being very, dealing with freedom,” Mr Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/canada-tuckers-convoy-protest-trudeau-live-b2015265.html
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Hot tubs, hapless police and a bridge too far for Canada’s Trudeau
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Frustration with the failure of Canadian police to lift blockades at the border and in the capital, along with scenes of protesters lounging in hot tubs near Parliament, ultimately drove Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to seek emergency powers, three sources said on Tuesday.
Trudeau on Monday invoked the little-used Emergencies Act, signaling the federal government was taking control of a situation local and provincial police have struggled to resolve as protests against pandemic restrictions dragged on.
Discussions on invoking the rarely used powers first began on Thursday as the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a key U.S.-Canada trade artery between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, entered its third day, two of the sources, who are familiar with the discussions, said.
"The Windsor police kind of let it happen," one of the sources said. All requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. Windsor police asked for more resources, which the province provided.
The bridge blockade led to the temporary shutdown of several car plants before police finally cleared it on Sunday after six days, and after a concerned call from U.S. President Joe Biden to Trudeau.
Meanwhile, protesters who had paralyzed parts of Ottawa since Jan. 28 were getting more entrenched, and there was growing concern about the presence of "nefarious elements" among the protesters. Police in Alberta later seized guns and ammunition from a group linked to a border protest.
"The prime minister was quite mad," said a government source, referring to a Thursday meeting of the federal Incident Response Group, made up of Trudeau's top advisers. "He said we need to get out in front of this."
"He was demanding solutions" at the meeting, a third source familiar with the matter said, adding Trudeau was saying: "Let's put everything on the table and say, what are the good ideas here?"
The third source said the government realized last week that "enforcement wasn't happening" after initially waiting to see how provincial authorities and local police responded.
"He also needed to know fully that ... we have given it enough time for it to work or not work, or partially work, and think about what more we need to do," the source said. "He didn't want to jump ahead of things that were happening."
Ottawa police initially said their objective was to de-escalate. Later they asked both the provincial and federal governments for more resources, saying they were outnumbered.
The addition of chaotic scenes from Ottawa on the weekend, including hundreds of residents turning out to block another convoy from joining the protesters, proved too much, two of the sources said.
Police stood by as protesters bathed in a hot tub and partied into the night directly in front of parliament and below the prime minister's office.
"This past weekend in Ottawa really drove some people over the edge, the hot tub, the stage, and ... the impotence of the police to do something about it," the source said.
Police chief Peter Sloly resigned on Tuesday amid criticism of his force's performance, city officials said on Tuesday.
The Ottawa protest involves some 360 trucks and vehicles, several hundred protesters, and a large cache of funds from donors in the United States and Canada.
"If you're asking for one factor, it was Ottawa ... the Ottawa situation is completely out of control. We just went through a third weekend of no enforcement," said the second source.
Concerns that protesters may re-occupy border crossings and disrupt crucial trade flows with the United States and affect publicly safety also factored into the decision, the sources said.
Another factor was the specter of violence when police in Alberta on Monday arrested 11 people and seized guns and ammunition.
"There are organized nefarious elements that are involved with these things," said the second source, citing the Alberta gun seizure.
"There's an element here that is ... trying to subvert the normal course of our democracy, which has to be protected, regardless of who's the government," the third source said.
"That's really the difference between this and other protests that we've seen."
https://news.yahoo.com/hot-tubs-hapless-police-bridge-050418485.html
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Police issue warning to protesters to leave Canada capital
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Canadian police on Wednesday warned demonstrators opposed to Covid rules who have clogging Ottawa streets for nearly three weeks to leave or face possible arrest, fines and seizures of their trucks.
Federal authorities, meanwhile, negotiated a peaceful end to the last of several recent blockades by protesters of border crossings between Canada and the United States.
"You must leave the area now," Ottawa police said in a notice distributed to truckers outside parliament.
Anyone blocking streets or assisting others in doing so will be arrested and face charges, the statement said.
Police also warned that anyone charged or convicted for taking part in the illegal demonstration may, in addition to criminal penalties, be barred from traveling to the United States.
As the notices were handed out, AFP journalists saw hundreds of trucks continuing to occupy streets in the parliamentary precinct, intermittently honking horns -- despite an extension Wednesday of a court order against the deafening noises, obtained by an area resident fed up with the disruptions.
"We're still a lot of trucks holding the line," trucker David Shaw, 65, told AFP. If arrested, he added: "I'll keep coming back."
Fellow Trucker Jan Grouin, 42, decried Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision earlier this week to impose a state of emergency, calling it "a little overreacting maybe to think that we are terrorists."
'Time for this to end'
Unable to dislodge the protesters, Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, which gives the government wide new powers to end their weeks-long protest over Covid restrictions. The move marked only the second time in Canadian history such emergency powers have been invoked in peacetime.
Trudeau told reporters on Wednesday that with police now getting help from various other law enforcement units, they should now "be able to begin their actions."
"It's time for this to end," he said, adding that it was up to "police to decide when and how."
On Tuesday, Ottawa's interim police Chief Steve Bell said a "turning point" has been reached.
"I believe we now have the resources and partners to bring a safe end to this occupation," he said.
Ball replaced chief Peter Sloly who abruptly resigned after facing intense criticism over his failure to dislodge the protesters.
The so-called "Freedom Convoy" started with truckers protesting against mandatory Covid vaccines to cross the US border, but its demands have since grown to include an end to all pandemic health rules and, for many, a wider anti-establishment agenda.
At its peak, the movement also included blockades of a half dozen border crossings -- including a key trade route across the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit.
Dozens of protesters were arrested and several vehicles seized during police operations at the border, and in Coutts, Alberta federal police charged four people with conspiracy to murder police officers. They were among 13 arrested with a cache of weapons that included rifles, handguns, body armor and ammunition.
On Wednesday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Paul Manaigre said the last blocked crossing -- between Manitoba and the US state of North Dakota -- would be open soon, after protesters agreed to leave.
"In a short time they'll be on their way," Manaigre told reporters. "The outcome is what we wanted. No one got hurt. We have a highway that's going to open, and trade can resume."
© 2022 AFP
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Canadian truck drivers distance themselves from 'Freedom Convoy' protests
In just a matter of weeks, Canadian truck drivers protesting coronavirus vaccine mandates became the unexpected darlings of the global right
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/16/canada-trucker-distancing-protests/
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Ottawa police issue new warning amid convoy blockade: ‘leave the area now’
People still participating in the so-called “Freedom Convoy” blockade of downtown Ottawa are being warned by police to “leave the area now” as questions heat up about when police will act to remove the demonstrators who have paralyzed the nation’s capital for 20 days.
The police warning came as Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino urged anyone thinking of coming to the city on the weekend not to do so, and said that “extremist” leaders are now on the ground in Ottawa.
“You must leave the area now. Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested. You must immediately cease further unlawful activity or you will face charges,” reads a notice issued by Ottawa police on Wednesday morning.
“The people of Ottawa are being denied the lawful use, enjoyment and operation of their property and you are causing businesses to close. That is mischief under the Criminal Code.”
Mendicino said during a press conference that Canadians need to resist the urge to look at the blockades as isolated incidents.
“We need to be clear-eyed about the seriousness of these incidents. Indeed, several of the individuals at Coutts have strong ties to a far-right, extreme organization with leaders who are in Ottawa,” he said.
“We’re talking about a group that is organized, agile, knowledgeable, and driven by an extremist ideology where might makes right. And this is completely contrary to our democratic values.”
Mendicino did not name any particular group or individual.
Also on Wednesday morning, an Ontario Superior Court justice in Ottawa granted a 60-day extension to the injunction issued last week which banned the use of air horns and train horns by the convoy.
That injunction had initially been granted for just 10-days and was set to expire.
Both the injunction extension and the new warning to convoy participants come after the federal government invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act on Monday amid intense frustration and anger among Ottawa residents over police handling of the convoy so far.
Peter Sloly resigned as chief of the Ottawa Police Service on Tuesday, and federal officials have for days offered increasingly clear rhetoric that the blockades are now “illegal,” and that police must end them.
Yet demonstrators have remained defiant in the face of the Emergencies Act, with hundreds still parked in blockades along residential streets of downtown Ottawa and vowing to remain.
Some appeared to be moving from parked locations around Wellington Street, in front of Parliament Hill, on Wednesday afternoon. But in other areas of the city, streets remained blocked with vehicles, with only small changes in the positions of the trucks over the course of recent days.
One of the busiest north-south routes in the core is Kent Street, which continued to be packed with parked vehicles all the way from Cooper Street to Wellington Street — a stretch of eight city blocks.
The convoy organizers originally said they wanted to force elected officials out and force an end to all public health measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, most of which are under provincial — not federal — jurisdiction.
Organizers later removed references to calls to remove elected officials from their websites, and have since claimed they never called for such action.
Some of the convoy organizers have ties to white nationalism and histories of racist rhetoric.
In the order invoking the Emergencies Act, the federal government explicitly warned about fears of “serious violence” from blockade participants motivated by political or ideological goals.
While the order did not use the word “terrorism,” that language mirrors the Criminal Code definition of terrorist activity, and convoy organizers removed a journalist from a press conference this week for asking whether they are aware of any firearms among participants.
Earlier in the week, RCMP arrested 13 people and seized more than a dozen long guns, hand guns, ammunition and body armour from what they described as a small organized group within the larger Coutts border blockade in Alberta.
“The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade,” RCMP said in a news release.
The police notice issued on Wednesday reiterated that any interference with critical infrastructure is prohibited, including interference with 400-series highways, railways, airports and border crossings. Those prohibitions also ban anyone from travelling to or from walkways, bridges or other highways.
“It also prohibits someone from seriously interfering with the safety, health or well-being of members of the public,” the notice added.
Under the terms of the Emergencies Act, police warned that people are also prohibited from coming to Ottawa in order to join the demonstration, and that police can seize any vehicles taking part in it.
“Anyone who commits these illegal actions could face fines or be required to appear in court,” the notice continued.
“Commercial vehicle drivers’ licences and private drivers’ licences can be suspended or revoked.”
Bringing children to the demonstrations is also prohibited, with a potential fine of $5,000 or up to five years in prison as a result. That provision of the new emergency powers came after Ottawa police said roughly 25 per cent of the vehicles in the blockades have children in them.
Child welfare authorities have been involved, police said, and on Wednesday the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa issued a warning to parents.
“The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO) is urging parents at the demonstration in Ottawa to make the necessary alternate care arrangements should they become unable to care for their children following potential police action,” said the society in a statement.
“CASO has a mandate to protect a child when their parent becomes unavailable to exercise their custodial rights over the child and the parent has not made adequate provision for the child’s care and custody,” the statement continued.
“If parents and children are separated following police efforts in ending the demonstration in the downtown core, CASO will work to reunite families as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa did not say whether there are any active investigations into the welfare of children whose parents have brought them to the blockade.
“I can only say that there have been ongoing reports regarding child welfare concerns, and that we consider all information received to determine the best response,” said a spokesperson.
Convoy is a 'stain on our city,' says councillor
With police handing out notices to convoy supporters, members of city council are thankful that some action is being taken.
“We don’t know the reasons anything wasn’t happening before, we were told it was because there wasn’t enough police officers on the ground, but now there’s no excuses,” said Theresa Kavanagh, city councilor for Bay Ward.
When asked about timelines, Kavanagh said she was hearing through the grapevine that police action towards convoy supporters could begin and conclude by the end of the week.
“It does have to happen quickly, I’ve heard they’re talking about that having it cleared out by the end of the week,” she said. “You can’t give out these notices without having a tactical plan.”
Kavanagh added that convoy’s occupation of Ottawa needs to end and that the longer it carries on, the worse it looks on the city and leaders.
“This has been a real stain on our city, on our nation that it was allowed to come in in the first place and settle — they’ve practically put down roots … I want it to be over,” she said.
While Kavanagh is hopeful that change is imminent, others are supporting interim Chief Steve Bell, who took over the reins of the force following former Chief Peter Sloly’s resignation on Tuesday.
“(I am) supportive of Chief Bell and know he has the support of the men and women of the OPS to get our city back. He is an action-oriented leader focused on results,” wrote Councillor Allan Hubley in an emailed statement to Global News.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday morning he would not be using force against the demonstrations and that any decisions about how to respond were in the hands of police.
Bill Blair, the federal emergency preparedness minister, said the additional measures granted under the Emergencies Act are “targeted, temporary and proportionate to the threat that exist in our country.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/8624024/ottawa-convoy-blockade-police-action/
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Let's go Brandeau! Arrest them all. The truckers, farmers, pastors. Ceaușescu showed the way. The masses should allow their socialists masters to rule by divine right.
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This illegal convoy blockade is not "peaceful" and these right wing fascists are using "mandates" as a front for an insurrection in Canada. Weapons of this magnitude has no business being at a "peaceful protest" unless evil intent was involved. Glad these illegal weapons were confiscated or there could have been a deadly massacre. Thank you Prime Minister Trudeau for stopping this.
Canadian Mounties seize weapons cache, arrest 13 in Alberta Freedom Convoy blockade
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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday that they arrested 13 people and seized a cache of weapons and body armor from the "Freedom Convoy" protest blocking the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Coutts, Alberta. The RCMP said its weeklong investigation found that the 11 people arrested in the first sweep had "a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade." Two more people were arrested traveling to join the protest, one with two weapons in his car and the other after coming close to ramming one of the Mounties, police said.
One of the protest organizers, Marco Van Huigenbos, said after the arrests that "our objective was to be here peacefully" but "we were infiltrated by an extreme element." He said that "to keep that message going, we want to peacefully leave Coutts and return to our families," starting Tuesday morning.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told reporters on Monday that the seizure of guns and those who would wield them will allow the RCMP and provincial authorities to peacefully reopen the border crossing. "Now that the RCMP has successfully resolved this potential threat, they will proceed, I'm informed, with enforcement against others who are involved in the blockade."
Kenny and the premiers of Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan said they did not require the federal government's emergency powers invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday. But Doug Ford, the Conservative premier of Ontario, supported the unprecedented emergency declaration. Police cleared the Ambassador Bridge border blockade in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, but the nation's capital, Ottawa, is still in a tense standoff with protesters who have used big-rig trucks to clog up the financial district and residential neighborhoods for more than two weeks.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that Trudeau's government may very narrowly use its emergency powers to freeze the bank accounts and void the vehicle insurance of anyone involved in unlawful demonstrations. Tamara Lich, a leader of the Ottawa occupation, dismissed Trudeau's move. "There are no threats that will frighten us," she told The Associated Press. "We will hold the line."
Watch:
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Let's go Brandeau! Arrest them all. The truckers, farmers, pastors. Ceaușescu showed the way. The masses should allow their socialists masters to rule by divine right.
When they were reporting on the border crossing blockages, it seemed like an awful lot of trade crossing the border, considering Canada is some backwater socialist country that doesn't generate wealth for Canada and the US. Over one billion dollars per day, and it's the middle of winter.
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"On Monday, Cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public order. The consequences are real. The measures we put in place are being used, they are having an impact, and they will have a growing impact in the days to come.
Information is now being shared by law enforcement with Canada’s financial institutions. Financial service providers have already taken action based on that information.
We are making progress. Do not doubt our determination to act, to defend our economy, to defend our democratic institutions, and to restore peace, order, and good government." - @cafreeland Chrystia Freeland Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance
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"Freedom Convoy" organizer Tamara Lich has been arrested by Ottawa Police.
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Glad these thugs are finally being taken off the streets and put behind bars where they belong. There is no reason for thugs to come to these demonstrations armed with weapons or to block off highways, streets, and bridges with big rig trucks and tractors. That is terrorism and an illegal occupation of major Canadian cities.
Convoy protest organizers Tamara Lich, Chris Barber arrested in Ottawa
Two key organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, have been arrested in Ottawa, CBC News has learned.
Lich was arrested Thursday evening and Barber earlier in the day by Ottawa police. Both remain in police custody and are expected to be charged criminally, according to sources.
The two have been described as key leaders of the protest in Ottawa, which has now hit the three-week mark.
Their arrests were among several made Thursday. Barber was seen a few blocks from Parliament Hill in handcuffs between two police officers.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/tamara-lich-chris-barber-arrested-ottawa-1.6355960
Canadian police arrest 2 leaders of protesting truckers
Hundreds of truckers clogging Canada's capital stood their ground and defiantly blasted their horns Thursday, even as police arrested two protest leaders and threatened to break up the nearly three-week protest against the country's COVID-19 restrictions.
Busloads of police arrived near Ottawa's Parliament Hill, and workers put up extra fences around government buildings. Police also essentially began sealing off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the protesters.
"The action is imminent," said interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell. "We absolutely are committed to end this unlawful demonstration."
Police arrested organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber around Parliament Hill, but officers were not moving in force on the demonstrators. Police took Lich into custody late Thursday.
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Police continued negotiating with the protesters and trying to persuade them to go home, Bell said. "We want this demonstration to end peacefully," he said, but added: "If they do not peacefully leave, we have plans."
Many of the truckers in the self-styled Freedom Convoy appeared unmoved by days of warnings from police and the government that they were risking arrest and could see their rigs seized and bank accounts frozen.
"I'm prepared to sit on my ass and watch them hit me with pepper spray," said one of their leaders, Pat King. As for the trucks parked bumper-to-bumper, he said: "There's no tow trucks in Canada that will touch them."
King later told truckers to lock their doors.
Amid the rising tensions, truckers outside Parliament blared their horns in defiance of a court injunction against honking, issued for the benefit of neighborhood residents.
Ottawa represented the movement's last stronghold after weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., inflicted economic damage on both countries and created a political crisis for Trudeau.
The protests have shaken Canada's reputation for civility and rule-following and inspired similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
"It's high time that these illegal and dangerous activities stop," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in Parliament, not far from where the more than 300 trucks were parked.
"They are a threat to our economy and our relationship with trading partners," he said. "They are a threat to public safety."
Ottawa police began locking down a wide swath of the downtown area, allowing in only those who live or work there after they pass through one of more than 100 checkpoints, the interim chief said.
Police were especially worried about the children among the protesters. Bell said police were working with child-welfare agencies to determine how to safely remove the youngsters before authorities move in.
Early this week, the prime minister invoked Canada's Emergencies Act, empowering law enforcement authorities to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks, arrest the drivers, suspend their licenses and take other measures.
On Thursday, Trudeau and some of his top ministers took turns warning the protesters to leave, in an apparent move by the government to avert a clash, or at least show it had gone the extra mile to avoid one.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government began freezing truckers' accounts as threatened. "It is happening. I do have the numbers in front of me," she said.
Ottawa police likewise handed out leaflets for the second straight day demanding the truckers end the siege, and also helpfully placed notices on vehicles informing owners how and where to pick up their trucks if they are towed.
The occupation has infuriated many Ottawa residents.
"We've seen people intimidated, harassed and threatened. We've seen apartment buildings that have been chained up. We have seen fires set in the corridors. Residents are terrorized," said Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.
The protests by demonstrators in trucks, tractors and motor homes initially focused on Canada's vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country but soon morphed into a broader attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau's government.
The biggest, most damaging of the blockades at the border took place at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. Before authorities arrested dozens of protesters last weekend and lifted the siege, it disrupted the flow of auto parts between the two countries and forced the industry to curtail production.
The final blockade, in Manitoba, ended peacefully on Wednesday.
The movement has drawn support from right-wing extremists and veterans, some of them armed — one reason authorities have hesitated to move against them.
Fox News personalities and U.S. conservatives such as former President Donald Trump have egged on the protests. Trudeau complained on Thursday that "roughly half of the funding to the barricaders here is coming from the United States."
Some security experts said that dispersing the protest in Ottawa could be tricky and dangerous, with the potential for violence, and that a heavy-handed law enforcement response could be used as propaganda by antigovernment extremists.
Trucks were parked shoulder-to-shoulder downtown, some with tires removed to hamper towing.
"There is not really a playbook," said David Carter, a professor at Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice and a former police officer. "I know there are police chiefs in the U.S. looking at this and developing strategic plans and partnerships to manage a protest like this if it should occur in their cities."
The presence of children also complicated the planning. As a showdown seemed to draw near, Canadian Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said: "To those who have children with them, this is no place for children. Take them home immediately."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canadian-police-arrest-truck-protest-leaders-tamara-lich-chris-barber/
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"Freedom Convoy" organizer Tamara Lich has been arrested by Ottawa Police.
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She looks like a really dangerous terrorist. Perhaps a "neo-Nazi." Canada is apparently a hot bed of fascism. Who knew? Trudeau is acting like a Soviet era dictator in the final death throes of Communism. Let's go Brandeau! He rules by divine right. No ordinary Canadian has any right to question him. Straight to the gulag with them. And their little dogs too since he even threatened to take pets away from protestors like the wicked witch of the west
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She looks like a really dangerous terrorist. Perhaps a "neo-Nazi." Canada is apparently a hot bed of fascism. Who knew? Trudeau is acting like a Soviet era dictator in the final death throes of Communism. Let's go Brandeau! He rules by divine right. No ordinary Canadian has any right to question him. Straight to the gulag with them. And their little dogs too since he even threatened to take pets away from protestors like the wicked witch of the west
She organized illegal blockades and an illegal occupation of major Canadian cities. That's against the law. Her radical thug friends were plotting to kill police. Stand up for law and order. Back the blue.
Four ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters charged in plot to kill Canadian cops
https://nypost.com/2022/02/16/freedom-convoy-protesters-charged-in-plot-to-kill-cops/
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WATCH LIVE: Police start to clear out 'Freedom Convoy' protesters in Canada's capital
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Canadian police have begun a massive operation to clear the trucker-led protests against Covid health rules clogging the capital for three weeks, with several arrests made.
Hundreds of heavily armed officers gathered in the early morning on the edges of downtown for the start of what officials say will likely be a multi-day clearance process.
Overnight two protest leaders were arrested and charged with mischief and counseling others to break the law.
"Some protesters are surrendering and are being arrested," Ottawa police tweeted.
They warned protesters that "you will face severe penalties if you do not cease further unlawful activity and remove your vehicle and/or property immediately."
The so-called "Freedom Convoy" started with truckers protesting against mandatory Covid vaccines to cross the US border, but its demands have grown to include an end to all pandemic health rules and, for many, a wider anti-establishment agenda.
At its peak, the movement also included blockades of a half-dozen US-Canada border crossings including a key trade route across the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan -- all of which have been lifted.
One of the arrested protest organizers, Tamara Lich, was heard telling truckers as she was being led away by police late Thursday to "hold the line."
Parliament closed
Lawmakers cancelled a parliamentary session on Friday, with Speaker of the House Anthony Rota citing "exceptional circumstances" and an "ever-changing" situation in the streets outside the seat of Canada's democracy.
Government workers and MPs were asked to stay away, while anyone already in the parliamentary precinct -- where the truckers have dug in -- were urged to shelter indoors.
On Thursday police had given protesters a final warning to leave, as barricades went up to restrict access to the downtown protest zone.
Criticized for failing to act decisively to end the protests, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week invoked the Emergencies Act, which gives the government sweeping powers to deal with a major crisis.
It's only the second time such powers have been invoked in peacetime.
Lawmakers, who are split over the move with only a small leftist party backing Trudeau's minority Liberal government, were debating its use when parliament was shut down.
Trudeau has said the act was not being used to call in the military against the protesters, and denied restricting freedom of expression.
The objective was simply to "deal with the current threat and to get the situation fully under control," he said Thursday. "Illegal blockades and occupations are not peaceful protests... They have to stop."
Police this week arrested dozens of protesters at border crossings, including four people charged with conspiracy to murder police officers at a checkpoint between Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana.
They also seized dozens of vehicles, as well as a cache of weapons that included rifles, handguns, body armor and ammunition.
Authorities also froze the bank accounts of protesters and chocked off crowdfunding and cryptocurrency transactions supporting the protesters.
Watch live video, courtesy of CBC News, in link below:
https://www.rawstory.com/watch-live-2656724317/
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The Canadian Trucking Alliance applauds the Government of Canada's use of the Emergencies Act to end illegal blockades as does any sane individual. The CTA is against these illegal blockades by right wing fascists.
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The real threat to the peace is on the streets now. Cracking the heads of peaceful citizens and trampling women on horseback like something from the Russian revolution. Even the Canadian clergy is disgusted with Trudeau. He is finished.
TO: the Prime Minister and Federal Government,
We are writing to you as representative pastors of Christian congregations from across the nation and as law-abiding citizens who respect the God-defined role of civil government and uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the highest law of our land, which recognizes the supremacy of God over all human legislation.
For the past two years, we have sought to respectfully and peaceably make known to all levels of government our profound concern about the indefinite suspension of civil liberties, coercive mandates and perpetual state interference in the life, freedom and worship of the church – freedoms guaranteed by both our inherited Common Law tradition and Charter. We have also prayed earnestly for our governing authorities, met with them, written letters and petitions, peacefully gathered for protest with other concerned citizens and in some cases filed lawsuits. We have used every lawful means at our disposal to be heard and taken seriously. Yet at every turn, we have been largely ignored, brushed aside, insulted and even told we in no way represent Canadians.
In recent weeks, the hugely popular truckers convoy containing many Christians (including pastors), has captured the imagination not only of this nation but other nations around the world, laying bare that what we have expressed and argued for months is indeed representative of the concerns of millions of ordinary Canadians who value peace, personal responsibility and liberty. The Ottawa protest has presented your government with a wonderful opportunity to meet with and speak to ordinary Canadians lawfully and peaceably requiring the restoration of their constitutional rights. However, in response to their singing, praying, dancing, candy floss, bouncy castles, speeches about the constitution and outpourings of patriotic love for the country, your government has not only refused to meet with these citizens to hear their concerns, you have insulted, denigrated and lied about them, further dividing a hurting and broken nation.
As ambassadors of Christ, whilst we respect your office as a public servant and honour the limited role of civil authority as a ministry of public justice, we do not hesitate to fulfill our responsibility as servants of the living God by unapologetically reminding you that Jesus Christ is Lord and King and the ruler of the kings of the earth. He sets up kings and pulls down the mighty from their thrones and none can stay his hand. In the words of the same scriptures engraved on the Peace Tower in Ottawa and written into our very national Coat of Arms:
Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Ps. 2: 10-12)
Mr. Trudeau, with great respect, you are neither the king nor the ruler of Canada. Both you and your colleagues are public servants sent for a short time to Parliament at our behest as citizens to govern under God in terms of the Canadian Charter and to seek a harmony of public legal interest. You do not grant people rights and responsibilities that are theirs as God’s image-bearers and a free people. Since you do not grant them, you have no authority to remove them.
Your government does not grant people the right to their bodily integrity, the right to work or earn a living, the right to decide for their children or to be with their families or dying loved ones, the right to gather to worship and obey God, the right to travel in their own land or enter and leave. Civil government exists to protect these pre-political and fundamental freedoms, not bestow and remove them as if it can function in the place of God.
As such, we as Christian pastors condemn in the strongest possible terms your unprecedented invoking of the Emergency Powers Act (1988) with the intent of bringing unaccountable state power to bear on peaceful citizens – "men women and children" – who have been stripped of their fundamental freedoms for two years and who have in many cases lost everything as a result of your government's mandates. There is no national emergency and to invoke one to crush peaceful political dissent is a totalitarian act of repression displaying weakness not strength. These tyrannical actions are exposing this government and people to the judgment of God, and we are deeply concerned that you do not appreciate the significance of God’s wrath upon a rebellious and lawless nation.
We implore you to step back from the brink, restore the constitutional freedoms of the people, respect the God-given rights of our citizenry and above all to humble yourself and take a knee before Christ the King lest you perish in the way. We urge you to repent of the sins of pride, rebellion against God, and bearing false witness. You have not displayed a brotherly care and love for these honest hard-working people who have tried to peacefully bring their very serious concerns to your attention.
Our hope and prayer for you and your government is that you will lift the emergency measures, end these lawless mandates, and enact justice for a people who elected you to that purpose.
For He shall have dominion from sea to sea (Ps. 72:8).
Pro Rege,
Rev. Dr. Joseph Boot
Rev. Dr. Michael Thiessen
Rev. Dr. Aaron Rock
Rev. Jacob Reaume
Rev. Nate Wright
Plus the undersigned
Rev. Benjamin Hicks
Rev. Riley Toews
Rev. Chris Cousine
Rev. Joshua Enns
Rev. Alex Kloosterman
Rev. Dan Anderson
Rev. Scott Jacobsen
Rev. Steve Bainbridge
Rev. Trevor Stephens
Rev. Will Schuurman
Rev. Marty Elson
Rev. Greg Armstrong
Rev. Steve Richardson
Rev. Marcello Fracassi
Rev. Mark Reimer
Rev. Rene Pomerleau
Rev. Randy Frey
Rev. Tony Costa
Rev. Charles Van Hoffen
Rev. Eric Honsberger
Rev. Tyler Ellis
Rev. Tim Stephens
Rev.Andrew DeBartolo
Rev. Tim Tysoe
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The people of Canada have spoken and they want these illegal blockades to end and for these right wing fascists to go home. Canadians overwhelmingly support the Emergencies Act to end this illegal right wing funded occupation. Faux Propaganda and the right wing loons ranting against the crackdown are in the clear minority and they are just screaming inisde their own echo chamber to the sheep. The radical right does not believe in law and order. They support civil unrest, anarchy, and chaos to overthrow the government.
Two-thirds support Trudeau's use of Emergencies Act against protesters: poll
Two-thirds of Canadians support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to help handle the protests across the country, according to a new survey.
The Maru Public Opinion poll shows majority support for the measure in every province across the country with more than 70 per cent of those in B.C., Atlantic Canada and Quebec strongly in favour of the move while 65 per cent of those in Ontario approve. Those most likely to oppose invoking the Act can be found in Alberta (49 per cent) and Saskatchewan (43 per cent) where premiers of both those provinces have voiced their displeasure with the move.
The poll also finds 82 per cent of Canadians believe the situation in Ottawa has gone on for too long with 71 per cent calling it an international embarrassment for Canada.
Six in 10 Canadians say it’s time to clear out the protesters even if it means some people may get hurt, or worse, with half of those surveyed saying they support how the police have handled the situation with protesters.
The survey revealed 56 per cent believe premiers have caved into the protesters demands by easing public health measures and mandates even though many provincial leaders say they were doing so because the time had come to lower COVID restrictions. Almost seven in 10 Canadians say regardless of political stripe, politicians who have contributed to or supported these protests should be voted out of office.
The survey was conducted between February 14 and 15, 2022 using a random selection of 1,518 adults who are Maru Voice Canada panelists and is accurate +/- 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/02/17/trudeau-emergencies-act-poll/
Two-thirds of Canadians support military force to end Ottawa protests: poll
A new poll finds more than two-thirds of Canadians would support the use of military force to help clear out Ottawa protesters, while support for the truckers has fallen to 20 per cent – both for what they are protesting and how they are going about it.
The latest survey by Maru Public Opinion finds 64 per cent approve using the Armed Forces to clear out trucks with heavy tows while 53 per cent support the use of force by Ottawa police to remove truckers, their families and others who refuse to leave. This includes the use of tear gas and other methods, with the understanding that such measures could result in injury.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been asked on several occasions about bringing in the military to assist with the Ottawa protests. While he claims everything is on the table, he says he is “concerned about violence” and that every precaution is being taken to keep people safe.
Democracy Threatened
Two-thirds of Canadians believe Canada’s democracy is being threatened by the protesters while 67 per cent of those asked believe the truckers are being heavily funded by foreign interests. Six in 10 equate the current protests to the same mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol back on January 6, 2021.
Forty-six per cent blame the truckers for inciting and escalating the protests over the past two weeks.
As for what punishment the protesters should face, two thirds say anyone aiding and abetting them should face fines and prison terms while six in 10 would like to see the truckers face fines and jail terms of up to two years. Similar majorities would also like to see them forfeit their vehicles, commercial and personal licenses for up to two years. Only one in three Canadians believes they should be left alone, that it is their right to protest as they are currently doing.
The poll was conducted Feb. 9 and 10, 2022 among a random selection of 1,506 Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada panelists and is accurate within +/- 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/02/12/two-thirds-of-canadians-support-military-force-to-end-ottawa-protests-poll/
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These right wing insurrections are being pushed by the crazy religious Qanon lunatics. They are a danger to democracy and people's lives.
That 'freedom convoy' in Ottawa? It's inspired by an Old Testament account of divine massacre
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/freedom-convoy.jpg?id=29300073&width=767&height=433)
When a church announces what’s called a Jericho March (or a Jericho Walk), you might picture congregants praying, walking around a building, trumpets blasting and an odd gospel song here and there.
You might forget, however, what comes next.
From Joshua 6:20-21:
When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
Jericho Marches are organized by a group by the same name. They were created by a coalition of Christian nationalists in the US. They are co-led by a Catholic think-tank writer (Arina Grossu of the Family Research Council) and an evangelical businessman (Rob Weaver).
The Jericho Marches rose to prominence recently. Supporters have been marching around the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa for around 20 days. They are, for Americans, a gothic reminder of what had been brewing in the lead up to the J6 sacking and looting of the US Capitol.
The same toxic brew
Jericho March, the group, is one of the religious groups, movements and ideologies that were at play in the insurrection. The Uncivil Religion project has uncovered a bevy of beliefs. The Jericho Marches, however, were the principal symbol of J6 and the Christian nationalism at its heart, not only in DC but at state capitols around the country.
Christian nationalism is a religious idea that transcends borders. It attracts a lot of support from like-minded insurrectionists abroad.
Last year, when journalist Emma Green wrote “A Christian Insurrection” for The Atlantic, it was subtitled it, “Many of those who mobbed the Capitol on Wednesday claimed to be enacting God’s will.”
The CBC Investigates piece on the Ottawa convoy this week is titled, “For many inside the Freedom Convoy, faith fuels the resistance.”
The links are very clear between groupings. And now, organizing in small groups and marching around Parliament, is a new Jericho March.
Spiritual warfare
Filmed versions of Jericho Marches reveal a large group in the snow, bearing primarily Canadian flags and singing hymns, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, and then blowing shofars before they began marching.
The hymns and prayers were occasionally punctuated by people yelling “Freedom!” and trucks honking. One woman spoke in tongues before engaging in rhetoric I’ve seen in spiritual warfare sermons.
They prayed for healing from vaccines and for summoning the “Lord of Heaven’s armies.” As the National Review reported, the Jericho March goes every day, once around Parliament, and seven full laps on Thursdays, carrying horns and trumpets. And they hope eventually more will show up, to the tune of thousands and thousands.
Benita Pedersen, an organizer from Alberta, was interviewed by a sympathetic Christian YouTube channel about what they are doing.
Pedersen said she felt a “call on her heart” to do this. She had been given a steer horn by a local farmer. She knew she had to bring it to Ottawa and to do a Jericho March. She’s using that as a shofar.
She said that the “freedom movement” was “100 percent hand in hand with Jesus.” They go together beautifully, she said, and nonbelieving supporters should think about Jesus and about how it goes together.
Divine massacre
But, of course, this isn’t her first time.
She led an anti-vaxx rally outside of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton in September, received 10 Public Health Act tickets for organizing various anti-public health rallies in northern Alberta last year and revived her Twitter account, dormant since 2016, specifically in order to promote anti-public health events she organized and ran.
The story of Jericho is nothing to worry about.
It’s only about divine massacre.
Walls come crumbling down
They know what they are doing. One participant on TikTok recounted the biblical story before backpedaling that this was “not about crumbling walls or infrastructure,” but about softening hearts.
Previous Jericho Marches were not as benign. A year ago, in Edmonton, a Jericho March against pandemic restrictions was condemned by the conservative premier and questioned by anti-hate groups for their intention to march with tiki torches. It was joined by hate groups.
One of the organizers asked “what happened when they marched around seven times on the last day? The walls came crumbling down. Spiritually speaking, we need those corrupt walls that have been built up by the politicians to come smashing and crumbling down.”
“The Great Reset”
Back to Ottawa: Christian nationalist symbols are visible in the mob that has been marching and occupying space around Parliament for about 20 days, though in smaller numbers than in American rallies. It’s part of the broader effort to bring global attention to the “convoy.”
CBC has reported on the prayer circles and speeches and signs in the crowd. Christine Mitchell has written about the Christian nationalist imagery of 2 Chronicles in the crowd. More worrisome, though, is how much international presence, interference and support there is.
Fox News, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino influence groups around the world that spread Facebook propaganda. All of these have directed attention to Canada and fundraised for the occupation of the city.
Franklin Graham, a J6 defender, posted a supporting Instagram video, tagged with “I’d like you to meet who Prime Minister @JustinPJTrudeau called the ‘fringe minority.’ Tell me what you think of this video.” It featured the Jericho March, among others, and it was set to “Amazing Grace,” which was sung loudly by the mob on January 6.
The Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a noted QAnon-adjacent radical traditionalist Catholic, gave a talk that linked the convoy expressly to “a worldwide chorus that wants to oppose the establishment of the New World Order on the rubble of nation-states through the Great Reset desired by the World Economic Forum and by the United Nations under the name of ‘Agenda 2030.’” Viganò added:
"We know many heads of state have participated in Klaus Schwab's School for Young Leaders — the so-called Global Leaders for Tomorrow — beginning with Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron, Jacinta Ardern and Boris Johnson and, before that, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and Tony Blair.”
We should worry
“The Great Reset” is an explicitly anti-public health conspiracy theory. Viganò has promoted it relentlessly. It is also used by anti-vaxx, anti-mask and other anti-mandate groups as their way of drumming up support internationally and bringing in more conspiracy theorists.
Viganò’s message focused on Christian nationalism from a Catholic perspective. It was also permeated with QAnon tropes:
“But, even more, dear Canadian brothers, it is necessary to understand that this dystopia serves to establish the dictatorship of the New World Order and totally erase every trace of Our Lord Jesus Christ from society, from history and from the traditions of peoples.”
The elements of spiritual warfare – repeatedly deployed by Christian nationalist groups before in service of Trump and elsewhere – on the borderline of where it crosses over into physical violence, the Jericho Marchs, the violent commentary supporting it, the prayer, the shofars, the echoes of J6 expressed from abroad and divorced from the actual Canadian context – these are a symptom of a broader problem.
Illiberalism is growing. The variant around Trump – conspiracy-laden, seditionist, Christian nationalism – is getting strong by the minute.
Last year, it was in Washington.
This year, Ottawa.
Next year? We should worry.
https://www.rawstory.com/that-freedom-convoy-in-ottawa-it-s-inspired-by-an-old-testament-account-of-divine-massacre/
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These right wing insurrections are being pushed by the crazy religious Qanon lunatics. They are a danger to democracy and people's lives.
That 'freedom convoy' in Ottawa? It's inspired by an Old Testament account of divine massacre
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/freedom-convoy.jpg?id=29300073&width=767&height=433)
When a church announces what’s called a Jericho March (or a Jericho Walk), you might picture congregants praying, walking around a building, trumpets blasting and an odd gospel song here and there.
You might forget, however, what comes next.
From Joshua 6:20-21:
When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
Jericho Marches are organized by a group by the same name. They were created by a coalition of Christian nationalists in the US. They are co-led by a Catholic think-tank writer (Arina Grossu of the Family Research Council) and an evangelical businessman (Rob Weaver).
The Jericho Marches rose to prominence recently. Supporters have been marching around the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa for around 20 days. They are, for Americans, a gothic reminder of what had been brewing in the lead up to the J6 sacking and looting of the US Capitol.
The same toxic brew
Jericho March, the group, is one of the religious groups, movements and ideologies that were at play in the insurrection. The Uncivil Religion project has uncovered a bevy of beliefs. The Jericho Marches, however, were the principal symbol of J6 and the Christian nationalism at its heart, not only in DC but at state capitols around the country.
Christian nationalism is a religious idea that transcends borders. It attracts a lot of support from like-minded insurrectionists abroad.
Last year, when journalist Emma Green wrote “A Christian Insurrection” for The Atlantic, it was subtitled it, “Many of those who mobbed the Capitol on Wednesday claimed to be enacting God’s will.”
The CBC Investigates piece on the Ottawa convoy this week is titled, “For many inside the Freedom Convoy, faith fuels the resistance.”
The links are very clear between groupings. And now, organizing in small groups and marching around Parliament, is a new Jericho March.
Spiritual warfare
Filmed versions of Jericho Marches reveal a large group in the snow, bearing primarily Canadian flags and singing hymns, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, and then blowing shofars before they began marching.
The hymns and prayers were occasionally punctuated by people yelling “Freedom!” and trucks honking. One woman spoke in tongues before engaging in rhetoric I’ve seen in spiritual warfare sermons.
They prayed for healing from vaccines and for summoning the “Lord of Heaven’s armies.” As the National Review reported, the Jericho March goes every day, once around Parliament, and seven full laps on Thursdays, carrying horns and trumpets. And they hope eventually more will show up, to the tune of thousands and thousands.
Benita Pedersen, an organizer from Alberta, was interviewed by a sympathetic Christian YouTube channel about what they are doing.
Pedersen said she felt a “call on her heart” to do this. She had been given a steer horn by a local farmer. She knew she had to bring it to Ottawa and to do a Jericho March. She’s using that as a shofar.
She said that the “freedom movement” was “100 percent hand in hand with Jesus.” They go together beautifully, she said, and nonbelieving supporters should think about Jesus and about how it goes together.
Divine massacre
But, of course, this isn’t her first time.
She led an anti-vaxx rally outside of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton in September, received 10 Public Health Act tickets for organizing various anti-public health rallies in northern Alberta last year and revived her Twitter account, dormant since 2016, specifically in order to promote anti-public health events she organized and ran.
The story of Jericho is nothing to worry about.
It’s only about divine massacre.
Walls come crumbling down
They know what they are doing. One participant on TikTok recounted the biblical story before backpedaling that this was “not about crumbling walls or infrastructure,” but about softening hearts.
Previous Jericho Marches were not as benign. A year ago, in Edmonton, a Jericho March against pandemic restrictions was condemned by the conservative premier and questioned by anti-hate groups for their intention to march with tiki torches. It was joined by hate groups.
One of the organizers asked “what happened when they marched around seven times on the last day? The walls came crumbling down. Spiritually speaking, we need those corrupt walls that have been built up by the politicians to come smashing and crumbling down.”
“The Great Reset”
Back to Ottawa: Christian nationalist symbols are visible in the mob that has been marching and occupying space around Parliament for about 20 days, though in smaller numbers than in American rallies. It’s part of the broader effort to bring global attention to the “convoy.”
CBC has reported on the prayer circles and speeches and signs in the crowd. Christine Mitchell has written about the Christian nationalist imagery of 2 Chronicles in the crowd. More worrisome, though, is how much international presence, interference and support there is.
Fox News, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino influence groups around the world that spread Facebook propaganda. All of these have directed attention to Canada and fundraised for the occupation of the city.
Franklin Graham, a J6 defender, posted a supporting Instagram video, tagged with “I’d like you to meet who Prime Minister @JustinPJTrudeau called the ‘fringe minority.’ Tell me what you think of this video.” It featured the Jericho March, among others, and it was set to “Amazing Grace,” which was sung loudly by the mob on January 6.
The Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a noted QAnon-adjacent radical traditionalist Catholic, gave a talk that linked the convoy expressly to “a worldwide chorus that wants to oppose the establishment of the New World Order on the rubble of nation-states through the Great Reset desired by the World Economic Forum and by the United Nations under the name of ‘Agenda 2030.’” Viganò added:
"We know many heads of state have participated in Klaus Schwab's School for Young Leaders — the so-called Global Leaders for Tomorrow — beginning with Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron, Jacinta Ardern and Boris Johnson and, before that, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and Tony Blair.”
We should worry
“The Great Reset” is an explicitly anti-public health conspiracy theory. Viganò has promoted it relentlessly. It is also used by anti-vaxx, anti-mask and other anti-mandate groups as their way of drumming up support internationally and bringing in more conspiracy theorists.
Viganò’s message focused on Christian nationalism from a Catholic perspective. It was also permeated with QAnon tropes:
“But, even more, dear Canadian brothers, it is necessary to understand that this dystopia serves to establish the dictatorship of the New World Order and totally erase every trace of Our Lord Jesus Christ from society, from history and from the traditions of peoples.”
The elements of spiritual warfare – repeatedly deployed by Christian nationalist groups before in service of Trump and elsewhere – on the borderline of where it crosses over into physical violence, the Jericho Marchs, the violent commentary supporting it, the prayer, the shofars, the echoes of J6 expressed from abroad and divorced from the actual Canadian context – these are a symptom of a broader problem.
Illiberalism is growing. The variant around Trump – conspiracy-laden, seditionist, Christian nationalism – is getting strong by the minute.
Last year, it was in Washington.
This year, Ottawa.
Next year? We should worry.
https://www.rawstory.com/that-freedom-convoy-in-ottawa-it-s-inspired-by-an-old-testament-account-of-divine-massacre/
I have never seen anyone with your fetish for locking people up. It's creepy. I can't believe that you are for real. Can you perhaps enlighten us on your background? Former Stasi? Here is what is actually happening. The police are trampling unarmed women like the Tsar's Cossacks. At least they are not shooting them yet, like the US Capitol police.
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I have never seen anyone with your fetish for locking people up. It's creepy. I can't believe that you are for real. Can you perhaps enlighten us on your background? Former Stasi? Here is what is actually happening. The police are trampling unarmed women like the Tsar's Cossacks. At least they are not shooting them yet, like the US Capitol police.
You think it's "creepy" to have law and order and to prevent violence and civil unrest?
These fascists are bringing this all on themselves. They were ordered to end this illegal occupation of Ottawa and to go home. But they simply refuse to follow orders and the law. They still want to illegally occupy a major city causing chaos, violence, and disorder. Others are illegally blocking roads with big rig trucks and tractors taking away freedom from Canadian citizens and preventing international trade. That is illegal. So, as a result they are being removed and arrested as they should be. That's how the law works. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has every right to protect Canadians and to end a violent insurrection.
The overwhelming majority of Canadians support police removing these right wing fascists from their streets. In fact, the latest major poll coming out of Canada shows the majority of Canadians want them to be removed by force if need be. The government and police are doing what the people want. All this right wing propaganda you and your side are pushing has fallen on deaf ears. Canada overwhelmingly supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and mask/vaccine mandates. These fascist insurrectionists are in the clear minority and there is nothing they can do that will change Canada's mask and vaccine mandates.
Two-thirds of Canadians support military force to end Ottawa protests: poll
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/02/12/two-thirds-of-canadians-support-military-force-to-end-ottawa-protests-poll/
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You think it's "creepy" to have law and order and to prevent violence and civil unrest?
These fascists are bringing this all on themselves. They were ordered to end this illegal occupation of Ottawa and to go home. But they simply refuse to follow orders and the law. They still want to illegally occupy a major city causing chaos, violence, and disorder. Others are illegally blocking roads with big rig trucks and tractors taking away freedom from Canadian citizens and preventing international trade. That is illegal. So, as a result they are being removed and arrested as they should be. That's how the law works. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has every right to protect Canadians and to end a violent insurrection.
The overwhelming majority of Canadians support police removing these right wing fascists from their streets. In fact, the latest major poll coming out of Canada shows the majority of Canadians want them to be removed by force if need be. The government and police are doing what the people want. All this right wing propaganda you and your side are pushing has fallen on deaf ears. Canada overwhelmingly supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and mask/vaccine mandates. These fascist insurrectionists are in the clear minority and there is nothing they can do that will change Canada's mask and vaccine mandates.
Two-thirds of Canadians support military force to end Ottawa protests: poll
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/02/12/two-thirds-of-canadians-support-military-force-to-end-ottawa-protests-poll/
To suggest these ordinary citizens are "fascists" solely on the basis of the fact that you disagree with their political view demonstrates how far out that you really are. Do you actually think all these people in Canada (of all places) are "fascists" including pastors? LOL. What is truly creepy is to come to a JFK forum day after day for years cutting and pasting news articles to the tune of thousands of posts. It is downright bizarre.
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More outright lies and fake news from Faux. The FCC should revoke their broadcasting license.
Fox News staffer made up story about Canadian protester getting trampled — and duped Ted Cruz: report
Fox News contributor Sara Carter has retracted an "entirely fictitious" story about a Canadian "freedom convoy" protester getting trampled by a police horse, the Daily Beast reported Saturday.
“Reports are the woman trampled by a Canadian horse patrol just died at the hospital ... #Trudeau #FreedomConvoyCanada,” Carter tweeted on Friday.
Carter has 1.3 million Twitter followers, and her post was amplified by conservatives including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Fox Nation hosts Diamond and Silk. But on Saturday morning, Carter — who claims to be an "award-winning correspondent" and is frequently called upon by host Sean Hannity — admitted the story was false.
“The Reports I was given earlier yesterday from sources on the ground that someone may have died at a hospital during the trampling was wrong,” Carter tweeted, adding that “someone was taken to a hospital with a heart condition - not due to trampling. I want to clarify this again and apologize for any confusion.”
Carter subsequently deleted her original tweet — but only after being contacted by the Daily Beast on Saturday evening. And not until after Cruz deleted his retweet – in which he had written above Carter's original post, "This...is...horrific."
"I deleted my retweet about a Canadian protestor being trampled to death because the journalist who first reported it now says it was in error," Cruz wrote on Saturday afternoon. "I remain deeply concerned about the abuse—seizing money & employing violence against peaceful protesters—that we’re seeing in Canada."
https://www.rawstory.com/ted-cruz-2656730975/
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To suggest these ordinary citizens are "fascists" solely on the basis of the fact that you disagree with their political view demonstrates how far out that you really are. Do you actually think all these people in Canada (of all places) are "fascists" including pastors? LOL.
Itac reported that supporters of the convoy have “advocated civil war”, called for violence against prime minister Justin Trudeau, and said the protest should be “used as Canada’s ‘January 6’”, in a reference to the storming of the US Capitol.
Itac also drew attention to a constellation of other demonstrations across the country, including in Quebec City where “the QAnon flag was observed, and the extremist group La Meute stated that approximately 100 members participated in the protest.” La Meute, or The Pack is one of the most visible and influential far-right, anti-Islam organizations in Quebec. It also claimed to have sent supporters to the Ottawa protests, the report said.
To suggest these ordinary citizens are "fascists" solely on the basis of the fact that you disagree with their political view demonstrates how far out that you really are. Do you actually think all these people in Canada (of all places) are "fascists" including pastors? LOL. What is truly creepy is to come to a JFK forum day after day for years cutting and pasting news articles to the tune of thousands of posts. It is downright bizarre.
Canada was warned before protests that violent extremists infiltrated convoy
Exclusive: intelligence assessments warned in late January that it was ‘likely’ extremists were involved in protests
Days before the so-called Freedom Convoy reached Ottawa, starting a weeks-long occupation of Canada’s capital and triggering a string of copy-cat blockades, the federal government was warned that violent extremist groups were deeply involved in the protest movement.
Intelligence assessments – prepared by Canada’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (Itac) and seen by the Guardian – warned in late January that it was “likely” that extremists were involved and said that the scale of the protests could yet pose a “trigger point and opportunity for potential lone actor attackers to conduct a terrorism attack”.
The assessments offer the first real glimpse into how federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have assessed the threat of Canada’s anti-vaccine and conspiracy theory movement.
“We knew these people were coming,” said a federal government source, who indicated that the Security Intelligence Service Canada – Canada’s main intelligence service, of which Itac is a part – had flagged the involvement of extremist groups and individuals in official briefings.
The intelligence reports also show that clear warnings were sent to Ottawa police ahead of the convoy’s arrival in the capital. The city’s police has become the focus of a fierce debate over whether they should have done more to prepare for, or prevent, the occupation.
Itac reported that supporters of the convoy have “advocated civil war”, called for violence against prime minister Justin Trudeau, and said the protest should be “used as Canada’s ‘January 6’”, in a reference to the storming of the US Capitol.
An early report, dated 27 January, Itac concluded that “a coordinated, complex terrorist attack or planned storming Parliament or other federal locations is unlikely”.
But it concludes that the potential for violence remained very real.
“While the organizers have declared that this is an act of peaceful protest, some ideologically motivated violent extremism followers in Canada have seized upon this rally to advocate for their own ideological objectives,” the January document reads. “Extremists and other individuals supporting Covid-19 conspiracy theories and violent anti-authority/anti-government views have expressed intent to participate in the convoy and to attend the accompanying protest in Ottawa.”
The assessment warns that protesters, and possible extremists, “could use rudimentary capabilities, such as trucks, cargo and fuel, to cause disruptions to infrastructure”.
Presciently, the report warned that the 31 January return of Parliament “could motivate a dedicated group of protesters to prolong their protest in Ottawa”.
Included in the report is a meme, which was shared widely in the early days of the convoy, which shows a map with a circle surrounding Ottawa and reads “permanent gridlock zone until freedom restored”.
As the occupation dragged into its second week, Itac issued another report on 8 February.
“All events remained relatively peaceful, with limited low-level conflict,” it reads. “However, violent online rhetoric and the physical presence of ideological extremists at some gatherings remain a factor of concern.”
The report makes particular mention of the QAnon figure Romana Didulo, the self-styled “Queen of Canada”, who has instructed her followers to kill healthcare workers and politicians. She and some of her followers appeared in Ottawa for the occupation, waving flags representing her supposed kingdom.
Itac also drew attention to a constellation of other demonstrations across the country, including in Quebec City where “the QAnon flag was observed, and the extremist group La Meute stated that approximately 100 members participated in the protest.” La Meute, or The Pack is one of the most visible and influential far-right, anti-Islam organizations in Quebec. It also claimed to have sent supporters to the Ottawa protests, the report said.
In the second report, Itac continued to assess the likelihood of a January 6-style insurrection as unlikely, but began warning that “the most likely ideologically motivated violent extremism-related scenario involves an individual or small group using readily available weapons and resources such as knives, firearms, homemade explosives and vehicles in public areas against soft targets, including opposition groups or members of the general public.”
Earlier this week at a blockade at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta, police arrested four men and charged them with conspiring to kill police officers and civilians.
On Wednesday, the public safety minister, Marco Medicino confirmed that some of those arrested had ties to some extremist elements in Ottawa. Some of the men arrested are believed to belong to a loose-knit group known as Diagolon.
Itac reports are largely based on open source intelligence, meaning information already available in the public domain, and law enforcement sources – the centre does not actively monitor individuals or conduct its own investigations.
The purpose of Itac is to provide various levels of local law enforcement with reliable information on emerging threats, said Stephanie Carvin, a former intelligence analyst with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service who now teaches at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.
“They seem to recognize the nature of the event, and who’s coming to the event,” she said. But, the analysts appear to have missed some of the extreme elements of the leadership of the convoy, Carvin said. “It was a movement led by extremists to begin with, and we should not be surprised they turned to extremist tactics.”
Itac’s warning that only a dogmatic few would brave the Ottawa cold for parliament’s return on 31 January proved to be a significant underestimation. Yet, even that warning wasn’t heeded. The deputy chief of the Ottawa police service said in early February that they planned for “a potentially weekend-long demonstration”, and were caught off guard when the convoy parked in front of Parliament.
“Was the problem that he didn’t have the information?” Carvin said. “Or was the problem that they just don’t take white supremacy seriously?”
Carvin said intelligence agencies had been briefing the Canadian government as far back as late December on the possible threat posed by the convoy.
“[The protest leaders] were exceptionally clear on what they wanted to do, and how they were going to go about doing it,” she said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/17/ottawa-protests-anti-terror-agency-warned-violent-extremists
5G and QAnon: how conspiracy theorists steered Canada’s anti-vaccine trucker protest
Ottawa’s occupation was a result of unrivaled coordination between anti-vax and anti-government organizations
Thousands of demonstrators have successfully occupied Canada’s frigid capital for days, and say they plan on staying as long as it takes to thwart the country’s vaccine requirements.
The brazen occupation of Ottawa came as a result of unprecedented coordination between various anti-vaccine and anti-government organizations and activists, and has been seized on by similar groups around the world.
It may herald the revenge of the anti-vaxxers.
The so-called “freedom convoy” – which departed for Ottawa on 23 January – was the brainchild of James Bauder, an admitted conspiracy theorist who has endorsed the QAnon movement and called Covid-19 “the biggest political scam in history”. Bauder’s group, Canada Unity, contends that vaccine mandates and passports are illegal under Canada’s constitution, the Nuremberg Code and a host of other international conventions.
Bauder has long been a fringe figure, but his movement caught a gulf stream of support after the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announced last year that truckers crossing the US-Canada border would need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The supposed plight of the truckers proved to be a compelling public relations angle and attracted an array of fellow travelers.
Until now, a litany of organizations had protested Canada’s strict public health measures, but largely in isolation. One such group, Hold Fast Canada, had organized pickets of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s headquarters, where they claimed that concentration camps had already been introduced in the country.
Another group, Action4Canada, launched legal challenges to mask and vaccine mandates. In one 400-page court filing, they allege that the “false pronouncement of a Covid-19 ‘pandemic’” was carried out, at least in part, by Bill Gates and a “New World (Economic) Order” to facilitate the injection of 5G-enabled microchips into the population.
Both groups are listed as “participating groups” on the Canada Unity website, and sent vehicles and personnel to join the convoy.
Other organizers joined Bauder, including Chris Barber, a Saskatchewan trucker who was fined $14,000 in October for violating provincial public health measures; Tamara Lich, an activist for a fringe political party advocating that western Canada should become an independent state; Benjamin Dichter, who has warned of the “growing Islamization of Canada”; and Pat King, an anti-government agitator who has repeatedly called for Trudeau to be arrested.
Since they have arrived in Ottawa, the extreme elements of the protest have been visible: neo-Nazi and Confederate flags were seen flying, QAnon logos were emblazoned on trucks and signs and stickers were pasted to telephone poles around the occupied area bear Trudeau’s face, reading: “Wanted for crimes against humanity.”
The official line from Bauder and his co-organizers, however, has remained focused; in a Facebook live broadcast, Bauder instructed his supporters to “stop talking about the vaccine” and instead stick to message of “freedom”.
Such strict message control has attracted mainstream support. Numerous members of the Conservative party, Canada’s official opposition, have come out to meet the protesters. Elon Musk and Donald Trump have both endorsed the convoy. Fox broadcasters Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson have provided glowing updates on the continuing occupation.
Bauder vowed the convoy would camp out in Ottawa until their demands are met, insisting to his followers that a “memorandum of understanding” would force the government’s hand, possibly even triggering fresh elections, if enough people sign.
A Canada Unity organizer went further, saying it would require the Senate to “go after the prime minister” for “corruption” and “fascism”. There is no legal basis for those claims.
King has laid out a more direct plan of action to the occupiers: “What we want to focus on is our politicians, their houses, their locations,” he said in a January Facebook stream. If political pressure doesn’t work, King said, blocking major supply chains “will be later on”.
Soon after, the head of security for parliament issued an extraordinary warning to members of parliament to avoid the protest entirely, for their own safety.
The occupiers have deliberately made life difficult for anyone in Ottawa’s downtown core. Trucks have been laying on their air horns throughout the day, often well into the early morning hours. An Ottawa court granted an injunction on Monday afternoon, ordering that the honking must cease.
In the shadow of parliament, a flatbed truck was converted into a stage – functioning as a speaker’s corner during the day, where far-right politicians and occupiers took the microphone to decry Trudeau and Covid vaccines. At night, the stage functions as a DJ booth for raucous dance parties.
Technology has made the occupation even easier: drivers share information on routes and the best ways to evade police barricades via the walkie-talkie app Zello. Organizers in other cities use the secure messaging app Telegram to share information, coordinate messaging and plan solidarity protests.
The occupiers now have the resources to stay for an extended period of time: they have raised more than C$6m (US$4.7m) through various crowdfunding platforms, in cash and bitcoin, despite having been booted from GoFundMe’s platform after raising over C$10m.
The Ottawa occupation is proof that a few thousand determined protesters can overwhelm police and shut down major cities with enough vehicles and coordination. Solidarity convoys have shut down the busy Coutts border crossing between Alberta and Montana, strained police resources in Toronto and Quebec City, and activists as far away as Helsinki, Canberra, London and Brussels have taken note. On the convoy channels, protesters warn this is just the beginning.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/08/canada-ottawa-trucker-protest-extremist-qanon-neo-nazi
Canada’s public safety minister draws direct tie between Coutts, Ottawa protests
Canada’s public safety minister suggested Thursday at least one of the protesters arrested at an Alberta blockade on weapons changes had spent “some time” at the Ottawa protests.
The federal government has suggested there is coordination between the convoys that have blockaded international border crossings and those that have paralyzed downtown Ottawa in recent weeks.
Speaking to Global News Thursday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino cited “public reports” to suggest at least one protester at the Coutts blockade was also present in Ottawa’s occupation.
“We are starting to see more and more public reports that show that those individuals who were a part of the Coutts illegal blockade also had spent some time in Ottawa,” Mendicino said in an interview.
“That’s in the public domain. Again, as to anything else that police and intelligence may be doing, those functions will be exercised independently of the government.”
In documents released late Wednesday evening, the government suggested the ongoing protests have become a magnet of “anti-government and anti-authority, anti-vaccination, conspiracy theory and white supremacist groups throughout Canada and other Western countries.”
The government also suggested that ex-police and ex-military members were providing security and logistics support for the blockade.
On Thursday, Canadian journalist Justin Ling, writing in the Guardian newspaper, reported that internal government documents suggested it was “likely” the convoy protests had been infiltrated by far-right extremist groups.
It was the first firm indication that Canadian intelligence agencies had been aware of extremist elements co-opting legitimate protests.
A Feb. 8 assessment by the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre — which includes the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) — reviewed by Global News states “the convergence of legitimate protest with ideological extremism both online and in cities across the country presents a possible trigger point and opportunity for potential lone actor attackers to conduct a terrorism attack.”
The integrated terrorism unit assessed that the likelihood of a coordinated attack against Parliament, legislatures and government buildings remained small, but that “ideological-motivated violent extremism” actors could use “readily-available” weapons like knives, firearms, or vehicles against “soft” targets like counter-protesters.
Asked if he believes the allegedly coordinated behaviour from extremist groups at blockades across the country rises to the level of domestic terrorism, Mendicino said the government is concerned about the “tactics, the timing and the targets” of the protests
.“If you take a look at where the illegal blockades are interrupting trade and travel, they’re all at major ports of entry, so that’s concerning,” Mendicino said.
“When you overlay the rhetoric that is now rampant and being attributed to some of the organizers of the illegal blockades … it certainly seems very ideologically-motivated and extreme.”
It’s important to note that the alleged extremists who have latched onto the convoy protests have not been subtle or secretive when it comes to their beliefs and objectives.
Stephanie Carvin, a former CSIS analyst who now teaches at Carleton University, said that while law enforcement has been successful in clearing out blockades at international borders, their language suggests the threat is increasing rather than abating.
“Everything in this (government) document is pointing to an increasing threat,” Carvin said in an interview.
“I think what they’re saying is that … this is not a movement that is slowing down, this is a movement that is in some ways gaining speed.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/8628623/canadas-public-safety-minister-coutts-ottawa-protests/
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It's about dividing us so people like Steve Bannon and Fox can get more power: Rick Wilson on Canadian trucker protest
In a conversation about the Canadian trucker protest, Republican strategist Rick Wilson explained that this fight is really nothing more than an opportunity to ignite the right and fight back against institutions and experts under the guise that the "elites" shouldn't be trusted.
Speaking to MSNBC on Sunday, Wilson said that attempting to bring those in power means that people like Steve Bannon can weasel his way into power.
"I think what you're seeing here is the performative nature of what used to be conservativism," he told host Yasmin Vossoughian. "Now it is just the objection to power, the objection to expertise, the objection to anyone they call the elites. What you're seeing in a thing like this is essentially they're always looking for any wedge between working people and norms and institutions in the modern era. They want the disruption. They want the chaos. Their idea is not about vaccination. It's about destroying the infrastructure politically and socially that keeps people like Steve Bannon and the folks at Fox News from assuming more power. They believe in chaos. They believe in disorder."
It harkens back to Mark 3:25, "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." The U.S. adopted it during World War II or posters saying, "United we stand. Divided we fall." Wilson says that the far-right can't win because they're such a small minority. If they divide people, however, they can rise to power.
Vossoughian noted that 85 percent of the Canadian truckers are fully vaccinated and that those truckers who were in Ottawa protesting were very few. There were more anti-vaccine supporters from the U.S. and Canada who joined the protest than actual truckers themselves.
She then ran a clip of "The Daily Show's," Jordan Klepper who captured the Canadian truckers revealing that they're being influenced by QAnon conspiracy theories, like the return of JFK Jr.
"If it wasn't so dangerous, it would be laughably funny and we could joke about it, but I agree completely with Rick," said Matthew Dowd. "I would actually -- I think all of this is a seamless thing, including adding to Fox News' stand on Ukraine and Russia. I think it's all part of the exact same pattern, which there is a segment of society, and Fox News seems to be infiltrating it. It's not just America and us lending our worst ideas to our foreign -- our northern neighbor, but it's happening in other countries in the world. And this is the danger: The danger is that there is a group of people that no longer believe in the 'we.' They no longer believe in the common good. They no longer believe in the first, you know, seven words of the Constitution of the United States of America, which is 'We the people of the United States."
See the full discussion below:
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Canadian police secure downtown Ottawa as truckers’ protest ends
Three-week occupation over Covid precautions and Trudeau government ends with 76 vehicles towed and 191 arrests
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3ebd8b92abc2929a53d92632c93b6d8db35c0877/0_232_6720_4032/master/6720.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=6bed23a5b18c6d277c4f411cae397ac9)
Canadian police on Sunday secured the downtown core of Ottawa with fencing, as city workers cleaned up trash and snow plows cleared streets after two days of tense standoffs and 191 arrests ended a three-week occupation.
Demonstrators used hundreds of trucks and vehicles to block the city center since 28 January, prompting the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to invoke rarely used emergency powers.
The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border Covid-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers but the blockade turned into a demonstration against Trudeau.
Seventy-six vehicles had been towed, police said on Sunday, as stragglers packed up a logistics depot that the so-called “Freedom Convoy” had set up in a parking lot to supply protesters camped several kilometers away in front of parliament. Police handed out flyers, warning them to leave or risk arrest and a fine.
“We were running support for the convoy and the people in the downtown core – food, fuel, basic necessities,” said Winton Marchant, a retired firefighter from Windsor, Ontario. “This was the base camp and we are cleaning up.“
On Saturday, police used pepper spray and stun grenades on protesters, clearing most of the area in front of parliament. Other demonstrators abandoned positions in downtown during the night.
Those arrested face 389 different criminal charges including obstructing police, disobeying a court order, assault, mischief, possessing a weapon and assaulting a police officer, Ottawa’s interim police chief, Steve Bell, told reporters.
“We’re not done with this operation yet,” Bell said, adding that over the “next several days” police will determine “how we maintain a presence and make sure that nobody returns to occupy our streets again”.
For the first time in weeks, there was only snow and silence downtown. Trucks blaring horns were gone. One resident said he felt relief.
“We seem to have gotten over the hump,” Tim Abray told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC). But Abray said political division will not go away so easily.
Protesters who were filmed by police and have left the city will be held to account, Bell said.
“We will actively look to identify you and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges,” he said, adding: “This investigation will go on for months to come.”
During the past two days of protests in Ottawa and British Columbia, where a group temporarily shut down a border crossing south of Vancouver on Saturday, TV reporters were harassed, insulted, threatened and pushed.
The Canadian industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said on Twitter such treatment of journalists was “profoundly disturbing”.
One criminal investigation into treatment of a member of the media was ongoing, Bell said, adding: “The media has been subjected to slurs, to abuse.”
Trudeau invoked emergency powers to give his government wider authority to stop the protests, including powers to freeze the bank accounts of those suspected of supporting the blockades.
So far, 206 bank and corporate accounts have been frozen and one financial institution blocked a “payment processor” account holding C$3.8m ($2.98m), police said, adding that they were still collecting information on companies and people.
Parliament continued debate the emergency powers, with a required vote and expected passage due on Monday. The powers were fundamental in coordinating police to break up the Ottawa protest, Bell said.
The emergency preparedness minister, Bill Blair, suggested that the extraordinary powers may not be needed much longer.
“We’re tracking it hourly,” he told the CBC. “They will only be in place as long as they are needed to get the job done.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/20/canadian-police-ottawa-truckers-protest
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Protest convoy had 'worst display of Nazi propaganda in this country,' anti-hate advocate says
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This garbage was reported everywhere on right wing tv and social media as if the Canadian police trampled someone to death with their horse. There was never any evidence and even the family was denying it. Turns out it was fake news like usual, but there will be plenty more made up “news” today for them to spread to the brainless gullible sheep.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FL-OfdrX0AUaKeF?format=jpg&name=medium)
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More outright lies and fake news from Faux. The FCC should revoke their broadcasting license.
Fox News staffer made up story about Canadian protester getting trampled — and duped Ted Cruz: report
Fox News contributor Sara Carter has retracted an "entirely fictitious" story about a Canadian "freedom convoy" protester getting trampled by a police horse, the Daily Beast reported Saturday.
“Reports are the woman trampled by a Canadian horse patrol just died at the hospital ... #Trudeau #FreedomConvoyCanada,” Carter tweeted on Friday.
Carter has 1.3 million Twitter followers, and her post was amplified by conservatives including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Fox Nation hosts Diamond and Silk. But on Saturday morning, Carter — who claims to be an "award-winning correspondent" and is frequently called upon by host Sean Hannity — admitted the story was false.
“The Reports I was given earlier yesterday from sources on the ground that someone may have died at a hospital during the trampling was wrong,” Carter tweeted, adding that “someone was taken to a hospital with a heart condition - not due to trampling. I want to clarify this again and apologize for any confusion.”
Carter subsequently deleted her original tweet — but only after being contacted by the Daily Beast on Saturday evening. And not until after Cruz deleted his retweet – in which he had written above Carter's original post, "This...is...horrific."
"I deleted my retweet about a Canadian protestor being trampled to death because the journalist who first reported it now says it was in error," Cruz wrote on Saturday afternoon. "I remain deeply concerned about the abuse—seizing money & employing violence against peaceful protesters—that we’re seeing in Canada."
https://www.rawstory.com/ted-cruz-2656730975/
Maybe take a look at the video posted above and below where several people were trampled by police horses. They were clearly seriously injured. Trying to suggest this is an entirely false story simply because no one died is an example of your dishonesty. Anyone can watch the video to confirm and see an elderly woman trampled.
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Blockades over, but Trudeau says emergency powers needed
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday emergency powers are still needed despite police ending border blockades and the occupation of the nation’s capital by truckers and others angry over Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions.
“The situation is still fragile, the state of emergency is still there,” Trudeau said.
Lawmakers in Parliament will vote Monday night whether to allow police to continue to use emergency powers. Opposition New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said his party will support it, ensuring Trudeau should have enough votes.
Trudeau noted there are some truckers that are just outside Ottawa that may be planning further blockades and his public safety minister noted there was an effort to block a border crossing in British Columbia on the weekend.
The emergencies act allows authorities to declare certain areas as no go zones. It also allows police to freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts and compels tow truck companies to tow away vehicles.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said those who had their bank accounts frozen were “influencers in the illegal protest in Ottawa, and owners and/or drivers of vehicles who did not want to leave the area.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said anyone affected has an easy way to have their accounts unfrozen: “Stop being a part of the blockade,” she said.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said allowing police to designate Ottawa’s downtown a no-go zone has been particularly effective. About 100 police checkpoints remain.
“We saw calm, peace and quiet,” Mendicino said.
Singh, the opposition New Democratic leader, said they know there are protesters waiting in the surrounding areas of Ottawa and in the capital itself. “They need to be cleared out,” Singh said.
Singh also noted there have been convoys that have been intercepted.
“This is an attack on our democracy. This is a group of folks who are very clearly connected to the extreme right wing,” Singh said. “The organizers clearly have a goal in mind to undermine democracy. That’s something we can’t allow to continue.”
The trucker protests grew until it closed a handful of Canada-U.S. border posts and shut down key parts of the capital city for more than three weeks.
But all border blockades have now ended and the streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet. Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by police in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers’ horns has gone silent. A large police presence remains in Ottawa and some areas are fenced off.
The protests, which were first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers but also encompassed fury over the range of COVID-19 restrictions and hatred of Trudeau, reflected the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger.
The self-styled Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted trade, causing economic damage on both sides of the border. Hundreds of trucks eventually occupied the streets around Parliament, a display that was part protest and part carnival.
For almost a week the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing, the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, was blocked. The crossing sees more than 25% of the trade between the two countries.
Authorities moved to reopen the border posts, but police in Ottawa did little but issue warnings until Friday, even as hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters clogged the streets of the city and besieged Parliament Hill.
On Friday, authorities launched the largest police operation in Canadian history, arresting a string of Ottawa protesters and increasing that pressure on Saturday until the streets in front of Parliament were clear. Eventually, police arrested at least 191 people and towed away 79 vehicles. Many protesters retreated as the pressure increased.
Trudeau said people in Ottawa were harassed for weeks and said billions of dollars in trade were stalled by the border blockades, putting people’s jobs at risk.
The protests have been cheered on in the U.S. by Fox News personalities and conservatives like former U.S. President Donald Trump. Millions of dollars in donations have flowed across the border to the protesters.
"A flood of misinformation and disinformation washed over Canada, including from foreign sources,” Trudeau said.
“After these illegal blockades and occupations received disturbing amounts of foreign funding to destabilize Canada’s democracy it became clear that local and provincial authorities needed more tools to restore order.”
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-canada-ottawa-justin-trudeau-8b107609b1e33aca4b13a4d46951a935
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This article is from February 5th but it debunks the bogus claims from the right wing media that the "protests were peaceful". This was a violent right wing insurrection. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has every right to quickly end this illegal occupation of major Canadian cities especially in Ottawa.
Trucker convoy: Ottawa ‘under siege’ amid ‘nation-wide insurrection,’ officials say
The nation’s capital is a city “under siege” by the trucker convoy that has dug in over the past nine days amid what the chair of the police services board called a “nation-wide insurrection.”
“We are on day eight of this occupation. Our city is under siege. This group is emboldened by the lack of enforcement by every level of government,” said Diane Deans, chair of the board.
“This group is a threat to our democracy. What we’re seeing is bigger than just a City of Ottawa problem. This is a nation-wide insurrection. This is madness. We need a concrete plan to put an end to this.”
The last-minute meeting of the police service board put the decisions of Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly in the spotlight as multiple councillors hammered him over what they described as a “mindboggling” lack of results to end what Sloly, himself, and the Ontario premier have called an “occupation.”
Sloly said that the legal rules in place for police conduct “were never intended to deal with a city under siege,” and told members of the board that the police service does not have the resources to act to end the demonstration, including a lack of tow trucks to move the rigs encamped across the city.
“We do not have sufficient resources to adequately and effectively address this situation,” he said.
Sloly had announced on Friday that police were launching a “surge and contain” strategy with a goal to put an end to the demonstration, which is stretching into its ninth day with participants continuing to blast their truck horns at all hours of the day and night.
Deans earlier in the week said Ottawa residents are coping with a “living hell” and said it’s clear from the chief’s response that Ottawa police have been “overwhelmed” by the situation.
“We need to take extraordinary action,” Deans said. “We need to be able to bring it all under control.”
Sloly also told councillors on the board that he does not know when the situation will end.
“I can’t provide that,” he said when asked for a timeline.
Deans asked whether the city can pursue declaring an unlawful assembly and then a riot in order to begin making mass arrests, or pursue a court injunction, in order to “bring this under control now.”
Councillors also asked about what powers could be invoked and how they might start the process to invoke either the Emergencies Act or the National Defence Act, including exploring curfews.
“We cannot allow this kind of terrorism in our community to continue in this way,” Deans said.
“I would implore our legal minds to tell us what we need to do today, who we need to ask for what authority to bring this to a conclusion.”
Carol Anne Meehan, councillor for Gloucester—South Nepean, echoed the need to explore other provincial and federal authorities, saying: “We have to use every tool available in a toolbox.”
“Everybody’s on the breaking point,” Meehan said.
Ottawa police and security experts have warned about possible escalation with counterprotests and demonstrators. More than 100 people gathered outside Ottawa City Hall on Saturday afternoon to demand the convoy supporters go home.
On the south side of Laurier Avenue, counter-protesters led chants of “go home” while a handful of the convoy protesters shouted “freedom.” Counter-protest placards displayed a hint of Canadian politeness, asking protesters to go home “please” and “thank you.”
Behind the signs, however, was a deep sense of frustration — especially among those who live and work in Centretown after eight days of near constant noise and disruption.
“It’s the harassment we’ve faced over the last week. The noise harassment, the physical harassment, people not being able to go to work, people being harassed on the street for wearing masks,” said Erin, one counter-protester who did not want to give a last name due to fears of harassment.
“It’s not a peaceful protest. Everyone has a right to peaceful protest in Canada, and I support that right. But this isn’t a peaceful protest.”
Police lined Laurier Avenue, forming a barrier between the protest and the counter-protest. Almost nobody on the protest side wore masks, while counter-protesters sported N95s and surgical masks. Despite a few tense interactions and shouted epithets between the two sides, the police presence kept interaction largely to a minimum.
Incessant honking, coupled with booming dance music, filled the air in downtown Ottawa on Saturday with heavy trucks effectively blockading the east end of the parliamentary precinct.
The smell of exhaust and smoke from propane barbecues was thick at the corner of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive, one of downtown Ottawa’s central nodes and the entrance to the Byward Market, where protesters replaced the usual tourists perusing shops and restaurants.
A group of young male protesters could be seen wheeling a wagon full of orange jerry cans from truck to truck along Wellington Street, replenishing fuel as required. Families with strollers or babies strapped to their chests also waded through the protest, while a group dressed up in Santa Claus and reindeer costumes posed for photos.
The demonstration had the same party-like atmosphere that characterized the early days of the protest. But the police presence was notably heavier, with cruisers from different Ontario municipal forces and the Ontario Provincial Police blocking off streets and, in some cases, interspersed with the protest trucks.
Sloly has faced intense criticism over his handling of the trucker convoy, which has been permitted to blockade Ottawa’s downtown core and allow hundreds of big rigs into the city.
At the same time, an emergency request for an injunction against the blaring of truck horns in the downtown core was put over until Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern, with Justice Hugh McLean saying he did not know how to craft such an order that would be enforceable.
The lawyer who brought the suit, Paul Champ, stressed residents are suffering.
“Every hour that goes by, there are individuals (suffering) irreparable harm,” Champ said of the noise levels.
Deafening horns have blasted through the city’s core for more than a week, throughout the day and into the night, with countless residents posting on social media saying they have been victims of assault, threats and property damage at the hands of individuals associated with the convoy.
Sloly initially said he did not have the legal authority to prevent members of the convoy from coming into the city, a claim two constitutional lawyers disputed on Thursday.
He also announced on Friday that police will be stepping up their response in a “surge and contain” strategy, and said police will investigate any reports submitted to them of alleged criminal conduct.
Ottawa police have declined to answer questions about how many reports of death threats, rape threats and intimidation have been made to them so far.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the continued demonstrations “unacceptable” on Friday and described the conduct taking place on the streets of Ottawa as an “occupation.”
The Ottawa police force also called it an “occupation” on Friday, as did Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus.
“I spent the week undergoing the Siege of Ottawa,” Paul-Hus wrote on Twitter.
“If the motivation of truckers could be understood, the current situation is quite different. I ask that we clear the streets and that we stop this occupation controlled by radicals and anarchist groups.”
Language used by police and federal officials has been shifting over recent days, increasingly leaning on descriptors like “unlawful” and “illegal” in their comments about the demonstration.
And while Ottawa police have multiple options available to them, ranging from declaring an unlawful assembly or seeking a court injunction, to deploying additional RCMP resources or acting to remove the demonstrators, it remains unclear what the day will bring.
Multiple community groups cancelled plans to counter-protest over recent days, though some individuals have stressed they remain committed to doing so despite the risk of violence from the convoy.
Police have said they expect in the ballpark of 1,000 counter-protestors, something that one expert says has the potential to spark violence as tensions rise if the groups come into contact with each other.
“One of the lessons from Charlottesville was that there was just a real failure of the police there to keep the two groups apart and to establish any physical separation from the two groups,” said Regina Bateson, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa studying violent collective action.
She has studied the organizing and activities involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
The latter left one counter-protestor, Heather Hyer, dead after James Alex Fields Jr. plowed his car into counter-protestors in the vicinity of the rally. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 2018.
Bateson said she thinks the new approach outlined by police on Friday is “wise,” and that she hopes they are weighing the risks to counter-protestors from those involved in the convoy.”
“I hope that they’re aware of the risks involved in having counter-protesters and the original group of demonstrators on the ground at same time in close proximity.”
Predicting what could happen next is challenging, she added, noting that there has been growing evidence to suggest that extremists in the U.S. are showing a willingness to “behave in ways that are different and unexpected.“
That can make it difficult for law enforcement to gauge the impact of their actions, or envision scenarios that were previously unthinkable, such as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, she said.
“This is a moment that demands a lot of imagination on the part of law enforcement and government officials,” Bateson added. “Just because something seems fantastical, just because something has not happened here before does not mean it’s impossible.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/8597478/ottawa-trucker-convoy-risk-of-violence/
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Trudeau wins House vote on Emergencies Act
Although streets around Parliament have been cleared of protesters, the prime minister said “there continues to be real concerns.”
OTTAWA, Ont. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won approval from the House of Commons on Monday night for the Emergencies Act, which he put into play a week ago to end the convoy blockades in Canada.
The Liberal government won the vote 185-151 with the support of the New Democratic Party.
Outside the House of Commons, the streets around Parliament Hill have been cleared of trucks and protesters, although police still control access to the area.
Trudeau has said from the start that the never-before-used emergency measures would be targeted and temporary. On Monday morning, he told Canadians the state of emergency is not over.
“There continues to be real concerns about the coming days,” he said, “but we will continue to evaluate every single day whether or not it is time and we are able to lift this state of emergency.”
When asked if he considered the vote one of confidence in his minority government, Trudeau replied, “I can’t imagine anyone voting against this bill as expressing anything other than a deep mistrust in the government’s ability to keep Canadians safe at an extraordinarily important time.”
The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois voted against use of the sweeping enforcement measures and accused the prime minister of overreach.
Convoys rolled into Ottawa in January soon after the government of Canada introduced vaccination rules for cross-border truckers. The mandates turned out to be the least of their grievances.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said the threat posed by the so-called Freedom Convoy justified use of the act. “They came here to overthrow a democratically elected government,” he said last week. “It is a movement funded by foreign influence, and it is fed on disinformation. Its goal is to disrupt our democracy.”
Big rigs and protesters occupied Ottawa streets for almost three weeks, holding out against Ottawa Police Services, which failed to manage the crisis.
“Hurtful and racist symbols were everywhere … the incessant honking was unbearable,” Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi told POLITICO over the weekend. “Nearby parking lots were used as urinals, our skies were filled with firecrackers as they were hurled down streets every night, and the air was thick with diesel fuel.”
Protesters also shut down key trade corridors for a time along the U.S.-Canada border, including at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.
Once the Emergencies Act was invoked, police created a perimeter around key blocks in downtown Ottawa and established checkpoints to control entry into the area.
On Friday, a wave of municipal, provincial and federal police forces began to clear the streets in a massive sweep that lasted three days. Police said Monday that they’ve made 196 arrests and towed 115 vehicles.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/21/trudeau-wins-house-vote-emergencies-act-00010474
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Moving on from the false claim that the police didn't trample anyone? Is that indigenous elderly woman on video chanting "peace, love, and happiness" one of those dangerous terrorists that had to be oppressed? Thankfully she was using a walker when the police horses trampled her or she might have escaped to spread her violent propaganda.
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New polling suggests majority of Canadians support Emergencies Act
https://globalnews.ca/video/8630386/new-polling-suggests-majority-of-canadians-support-for-emergencies-act
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New polling suggests majority of Canadians support Emergencies Act
https://globalnews.ca/video/8630386/new-polling-suggests-majority-of-canadians-support-for-emergencies-act
No retraction of your falsehood that no one was trampled?
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This convoy occupation in Canada was an insurrection full of neo Nazis and right wing extremists. This article lays out the domestic terrorism threat that Canada faces and domestic terrorists were part of the convoy occupation just like on 1/6.
Canada’s right-wing extremism problem
Trump's malignant populism has turned far-right violence into a domestic terrorism threat
Jan 27, 2021
For Canadians, there has been much to unpack after four years of Donald Trump. And while we fancy ourselves above the darker forces of racism, nativism, fear and demonization (not to mention misogyny) that have been unleashed under Trump, our proximity to our neighbour to the south – and a porous social media – has made us particularly vulnerable to the spread of right-wing extremism of the kind witnessed during the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
While conservative columnists dismiss the idea it could ever get to the same point here, the anti-state and anti-government sentiments expressed by those who took part have already infected the mainstream in Canada. On the same day as armed protestors attacked the Capitol, in Toronto a motorcade of supporters waving Trump 2020 and Stop The Steal flags drove from Queen’s Park to Bayview Village mall as part of a show of support for the former president.
The truth is the cult of Trump has deeper roots than we’d like to believe in Canada.
Since Trump’s election in 2016, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment has been on the rise in Canada. (One of Trump’s first acts as president was to impose a ban on travel from Muslim countries.) A 2019 EKOS poll found that some 40 per cent of white Canadians now view immigration as a “threat.”
Hate crimes, which saw a sharp increase during the early days of the pandemic thanks to anti-China conspiracies, have risen by 60 per cent between 2014 and 2017, according to Statistics Canada. Hard to remember now in the blur of a global pandemic, but anti-Muslim protests were a weekly occurrence in Toronto before COVID-19 struck.
More alarming, there are now an estimated 300 active far-right extremist groups in this country, some 30 per cent more than before Trump came to office. It’s no coincidence.
Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Oshawa-based Ontario Tech University, says “a mélange of different interest groups, if you want to call them that, have come into the same space. I’ve been likening it to a Venn diagram of all that’s wrong with the country.”
The ground is shifting. “Politically motivated” and “ideologically motivated” groups have also entered the lexicon of far-right extremism usually associated with neo-Nazi groups. They include anti-Muslim groups, conspiracy theorists, militia groups and the incel (involuntarily celibate) online subculture. Most worrisome among them are anti-state and anti-government elements “that tend to be very aggressive in language and affiliate with the militia movement in the U.S.”
Perry says that as these groups have become more active online, the banal sort of street-level violence usually associated with the far-right has turned into something more violent: arson, firebombings and murders.
In recent years, the number of acts of domestic terrorism carried out by individuals associated with far-right groups have outnumbered acts of Islamic-inspired extremism in Canada. Our national security apparatus has taken notice. So have the feds, for the first time adding two neo-Nazi groups – Blood & Honour “an international neo-Nazi network whose ideology is derived from the National Socialist doctrine of Nazi Germany” and its armed branch, Combat 18 – to the list of terrorist organizations in 2019.
And while there are anti-hate laws in Canada that could be used to control extremism online, getting the police to enforce them is another matter.
Muslim community groups say Canada needs to go further. They’re calling for a review of current regulations to police online hate and a national plan to dismantle “xenophobic, white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups” after the murder of a volunteer caretaker outside a mosque in Rexdale in September.
Experts who follow right-wing movements agree that there’s also a larger conversation that needs to be had about the role of social media in spreading hate online. But already, some conservative commentators are likening that effort to an “attack on free speech.”
White Supremacy
Canadians have a tendency to be complacent when it comes to our own racism.
After the mob attack on Capitol Hill, the Globe’s John Ibbitson offered in Canada’s paper of record that it was “absurd” for observers on the left to “conflate” support for the Conservative Party in Canada (he called them Tories) with the kind of white nationalism behind Trump south of the border.
Opinion-makers over at the National Post argued that the attack “was not about white supremacy at all.” And that if Trump’s racist brand of populism were going to take root in Canada it would have happened by now.
Well, it has. The assault on Washington was more than just about goonery or malignant masculinity run amok. It was something more insidious. Yes, there were a lot of so-called “average folks” on Capitol Hill that day who believed that the election was “stolen” from Trump. One-issue types like anti-abortionists were also present in large numbers. Trump is their messiah. But five people died, including one police officer.
And among the cosplay types in the contingent of QAnon conspiracy theorists who sucked up most of the media attention, there were also armed members of militia groups there to “arrest” politicians for treason. Pipe bombs were discovered in front of the Republican and Democratic national committee offices, as well as in a truck near the Capitol. Weapons were also seized, which was only revealed days later after the FBI laid charges against several individuals, including attackers linked to neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.
Canada is not only not immune to the kind of fanaticism witnessed south of the border – it’s an active participant in the global growth of right-wing extremism.
The UK-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) has linked more than 6,600 right-wing extremist social media pages, channels and accounts to Canadians and some 6,352 Canadian users who were “closely connected” to extremist accounts on Twitter. Its June 2020 report identified subgroups of right-wing extremists in Canada that have posted content endorsing explicit violence and illegal hate speech online.
The study also found that Canadians are “highly active” on forums associated with white supremacy, behind only the U.S. and the UK in posting on extremist message boards – including one now-defunct U.S.-based website linked to some 100 hate crimes.
The report noted that concentrations of right-wing extremist activity in western Ontario, Alberta and Quebec were “often defined by regional concerns that reflected the demographics or politics of the province or city in question.” But there’s been a shift since Trump came to office: Muslims, immigrants and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have emerged “as shared objects of scorn and antipathy.”
That antipathy boiled over last July, when former Manitoba Canadian Armed Forces reservist Corey Hurren drove his pickup truck through the gates of the Prime Minister’s residence at Rideau Hall to “arrest” Trudeau. Hurren, whose social media accounts suggest he’s a fan of global conspiracy theories, was reportedly angered over what he saw as Canada “turning into a communist dictatorship.” He reportedly had four guns in his possession, including a restricted weapon. Friends and family came to his defence suggesting recent financial hardship contributed to his actions.
It was only a matter of time. Anti-Trudeau hysteria has become a lightning rod for separatist sentiment out West. The RCMP has had to investigate a number of credible death threats against the PM, including after a pro-pipeline demonstration in Calgary in 2018, which included anti-government conspiracy theorists alongside protestors wearing hoodies with an image of a noose hanging from a tree and the words “Come West Trudeau.”
The cult of Trump has not only fuelled the emergence of the secessionist Maverick Party in the oil patch (Canada’s Rust Belt), it also seen the Conservative party move to lend credibility to far-right narratives to hold on to their base out West.
Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole’s recent removal of MP Derek Sloan over his acceptance of a financial donation from a well-known figure in white supremacist circles is only symptomatic of a growing problem in the party of giving voice to out-there factions on the far-right, including conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers and anti-government agitators.
Anti-Muslim antagonism, meanwhile, has been firmly rooted in the party since before Stephen Harper tried to ride the “barbaric cultural practices” snitch line to election victory in 2015. His successor, Andrew Scheer, took up the mantle by openly courting Canada’s xenophobic and virulently anti-Muslim Yellow Vest Movement. (Scheer spoke at the group’s United We Roll rally in Ottawa in February 2019 taking the mic after white nationalist Faith Goldy.)
Scheer followed that outrage in March 2019 with a tweet describing the massacre of 50 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand, as an attack on “freedom” – failing to acknowledge that Muslims had been murdered because of their faith. A hastily arranged meeting with Muslim leaders would follow in Regina.
al Qaeda playbook for the far-right
The landscape on the far right is quickly evolving, a fact recognized by Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Services.
Back in May 2020, CSIS updated its definition of extremism to include “politically motivated” and “ideologically motivated” acts of violence. CSIS also identified “violent misogyny” of the kind associated with the incel movement as a form of terrorism.
The online group (which was among those targeted by former White House strategist Steve Bannon in swing states during the 2016 election) has been linked to two attacks in Toronto. The 2018 van attack carried out by Alec Minassian, who boasted to police about being inspired by incel, killed 10 people (many of them women) and injured 16 others. More recently, the murder of a 24-year-old mother and attempted murder of two others in a machete attack has led to terrorism-related murder charges against a 17-year-old who cannot be named.
The pandemic, says CSIS, has added another layer to the volatile mix on the far right. According to declassified Canadian intelligence files obtained by Global News last year, extremist groups have been promoting disinformation about COVID-19 in an attempt to capitalize on the pandemic.
Police in Quebec have linked the burning down of cellphone towers to the conspiracy theory that 5G wireless tech is the cause of the coronavirus. In Ontario and BC, recent anti-mask and anti-lockdown protests have attracted some familiar anti-Muslim agitators, white nationalists and neo-Nazi enthusiasts.
Meanwhile, militant white supremacist groups modelled after militias in the U.S. are adding new chapters in Canada.
According to CSIS, the tools used by these groups to recruit online – in particular members of the Canadian military – are modelled after Islamic fundamentalist groups like Daesh and al Qaeda. In January 2020, former Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Mathews was arrested with two other suspected members of the neo-Nazi organization The Base after allegedly planning to attack a gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, with the aim of “causing chaos and accelerating the initiation of a civil war.”
It’s unclear to what extent members of the military are involved in armed far-right groups but it’s enough of an issue that back in December, the Department of National Defence created an advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination to find out. The group, says Floriane Bonneville, press secretary for the Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan “will provide advice on how we can ensure individuals who hold racist or white supremacist beliefs are not allowed to enter into or remain in our organization.”
National security agencies “ignoring the challenge”
Facebook and Twitter have moved to cut off lifelines to far-right groups in the wake of the January 6 events in Washington, including here in Canada. But many of those folks are already moving to other platforms.
Heritage minister Steven Guilbeault has signalled plans to bring in regulations to fine social media companies that don’t police online hate. Daniel Savoie, a spokesperson for the minister, says those regulations will include “the spread of illegal content, including hate speech… terrorist propaganda, as well as violent and extremist content.”
The National Council of Canadian Muslims says that’s not enough. It’s calling for legislation separate from anti-terror laws to dismantle white supremacist groups.
But NCCM CEO Mustafa Farooq says that so far “national security agencies have ignored the challenge.”
He fears increased violence after the knifing murder of volunteer caretaker Mohamed-Aslim Zafis outside IMO Mosque in Toronto last September. That was followed by threats to downtown mosque warning of “another Christchurch.” The 34-year-old man charged with Zafis’ murder has been linked by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network to the UK-based neo-Nazi cult group known as 09A (Order of Nine Angels). Other militant white supremacist groups like the Three Percenters are said to have several Alberta mosques under surveillance.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has gotten behind the NCCM’s effort, tabling a motion in the House this week calling on all parties to condemn white supremacy and list the Proud Boys, the group Trump exhorted to “Stand back and stand by” before the attack on the Capitol, as a terrorist organization. But that’s a trickier proposition. Its counterpart here in Canada, which has been linked to acts of violence, bears only a passing resemblance to the more militant U.S. group. Says Bernie Farber, chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network: “We have to show great care who we list as a terrorist organization so that it meets the constitutional test. You can’t call them terrorists just because they’re bad people.”
So what’s the solution?
Besides pushing social media companies to police online hate, Farber says getting police to enforce anti-hate laws already in place has historically been a problem. Human rights laws have been another avenue used to keep online hate in check. But that’s become more difficult since the Harper government repealed section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act in 2013, the provision that prohibited online communications “likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt.”
“There’s no silver bullet,” says Perry, who notes “grooming” for entry into hate groups is already taking place on video gaming platforms.
More worrisome, she says, is the emergence of anti-state “lone actors” who do not necessarily affiliate with any particular group or movement but have been responsible for the deadliest incidents of violence in Canada. Those include Justin Bourque, who shot five RCMP officers killing three of them in a deliberate attack in 2014 aimed at sparking an “anti-government rebellion.” And, of course, Alexandre Bissonnette, the Trump fan and convicted murderer of six Muslim men at prayer in a mosque in Quebec City in 2017, whose online activity in the weeks prior to his attack included incel websites. Nineteen others were also injured in that attack.
Perry says anti-state actors “have emerged as the angriest, most aggressive element” online in recent months. “And to the extent that some are connected to militia and/or patriot movements, they are also often armed and trained. That’s a dangerous combination of attitude and skill.”
Trump may be out of the spotlight but the far-right forces given license under his presidency are already regrouping.
https://nowtoronto.com/news/donald-trump-and-the-rise-of-right-wing-extremism-in-canada
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This convoy occupation in Canada was an insurrection full of neo Nazis and right wing extremists. This article lays out the domestic terrorism threat that Canada faces and domestic terrorists were part of the convoy occupation just like on 1/6.
Simply another lie. Unless Canada wants to go the way of Europe and Ukraine, don't believe this endless fake propaganda. The current mess is the creation of weakness and incompetence. Trump got results. There would not be record crime, inflation, illegal immigration, fiasco in Afghanistan, and now a war in Europe if only voters could have ignored this type of fake propaganda. Just above Rick suggested the police didn't trample anyone despite a video of the police tramping several people including an elderly woman with a walker. The degree of Taxi Driver-like fanaticism is bizarre.
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Good!
"Freedom Convoy" protest organizer Tamara Lich denied bail
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/freedom-convoy-protest-organizer-tamara-lich-denied-bail
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Good!
"Freedom Convoy" protest organizer Tamara Lich denied bail
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/freedom-convoy-protest-organizer-tamara-lich-denied-bail
You should defect to Russia. Your buddy Putin is the only other person who shares your Cheka-like zeal to lockup his political opponents.
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After all the bogus right wing propaganda was being pushed against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau he has effectively ended the Emergency Act after he restored law and order ending an illegal occupation of major Canadian cities. That's is what you call effective leadership!
Trudeau ends emergency powers invoked to quell trucker protest
https://www.axios.com/trudeau-emergency-powers-trucker-revoke-841f78ad-bbeb-4bda-a33a-33426cb87dcd.html
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How ironic that Putin is using the same propaganda tactic as Trudeau to justify his attack on the Ukraine. The Russians are claiming the Ukraine is governed by neo-Nazis! Trudeau showed the way to justify attacking a peaceful group of folks. Just call them Nazis. The facts don't matter.
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Pepper spray, tow trucks, and Bitcoin seizures: How Canada finally ended the weeks-long Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa
https://fortune.com/2022/02/21/canada-ottawa-freedom-convoy-protest-ends-truckers-arrest-covid-vaccine-mandate/
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Pepper spray, tow trucks, and Bitcoin seizures: How Canada finally ended the weeks-long Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa
https://fortune.com/2022/02/21/canada-ottawa-freedom-convoy-protest-ends-truckers-arrest-covid-vaccine-mandate/
Sounds like how Putin handles peaceful protests in his country including calling them Nazis.
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After the right wing fascists were moved out, Ottawa returns back to a normal way of life. Shutting down a city is illegal and nobody has the right to deprive others of their liberties and freedoms via an illegal occupation.
'It feels back to normal': Downtown Ottawa attractions reopen following demonstrations
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/it-feels-back-to-normal-downtown-ottawa-attractions-reopen-following-demonstrations-1.5796800
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After the right wing fascists were moved out, Ottawa returns back to a normal way of life.
That reads exactly like a Kremlin press release after they take over the Ukraine. Amazing. It's hilarious that you fail to see the irony. There is no more evidence of "fascists" in Ottawa than there are in Kiev. Talk about digging your own grave.
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The overwhelming majority of Canadians opposed this fascist convoy insurrection and now the folks in Ottawa have peace after they were terrorized.
As ‘Freedom Convoy’ leaves Ottawa, residents continue looking over their shoulders
The blaring of truck horns, the sounds of parties going into the wee hours of the night, and a city under occupation was Jaime Sadgrove’s reality for three weeks. But, as the so-called “Freedom Convoy” vanishes from downtown Ottawa, Sadgrove is starting to see the spirit of a resilient city trickle back onto the streets.
“Everyone seems like they’re in a better mood. I picked up on that on the street as well, people are smiling at each other, saying ‘Hi’ even more than I think they did before the convoy,” Sadgrove said. “More people are wearing masks outside now, too.”
The protest aimed to have all COVID-19 mandates across the country come to an end and had overtaken streets of downtown Ottawa and Parliament Jan. 28.
The police operation to clear the demonstrators took nearly three days and resulted in hundreds of people being arrested and charged.
On the Monday following the police operation, Sadgrove felt more comfortable leaving home. It was the first time since the start of the blockade that Sadgrove could just walk around the neighbourhood. At times, Sadgrove and some friends drove to different parts of the city where protestors were not present. Sadgrove’s expedition this time was a simple one — going to the grocery store with their partner.
“It was just being able to do those mundane chores and not have to worry about running into protesters or hearing the horns or all that kind of stuff. It felt like having our neighbourhood back,” Sadgrove said.
In Amanda Jetté Knox’s home in Kanata, Ont., Monday was one of the few normal days they’ve had this year. Knox said they would “sleep a little bit better” knowing the convoy had departed the downtown core, adding that all members of their family felt more at ease.
“It felt good to have that quiet return to the city,” they said.
Knox, a human rights advocate and author, had been outspoken about the blockade, calling out what they felt was embedded racism and discrimination within the protest. Friends and family advised the often outspoken Knox to avoid downtown. Knox, who has four kids between the ages of 15 and 25, described having constant conversations with them about their own personal safety and about the threats emanating from the convoy.
“There’s a lot of hesitancy and the unknown is scary at any time. It’s especially scary in a situation like this,” Knox said.
While they don’t live downtown, the family is there often. Knox said. Now that downtown Ottawa is reopen to residents, Knox is preparing to take the family for a food and shopping trip, but is still feeling hesitant.
“There is a relief,” Knox said. “It is nice that it’s quiet again, but it’s by no means back to normal, I don’t know if we are ever going to get back to normal. I think that it left a scar on Ottawa.”
“We are looking over our shoulder. We don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
Centretown resident, Kiavash Najafi feels that same air of uneasiness as Knox.
“The pollution is gone, the noise is down, it feels like we have our community back,” he said. “It’s still tense. … People are still unsure of who and what you might do. There’s an uneasiness in people’s eyes.”
Now that streets have become a little bit more clear and clean, Najafi is trying to take stock of everything that occurred in Ottawa over the past three weeks.
“We’ve gone from high-adrenaline action to having that adrenaline crash and actually taking stock of what happened — and what happened was not good,” he said.
Ottawans remain aware of more potential occupations
But Najafi isn’t quite prepared to fully accept that the protest is in the past. Many of the protestors were positioned on his street during the occupation, and Najafi said he would regularly speak with them.
Most, if not all, of the demonstrators would say that this won’t be their last time coming to Ottawa, Najafi said, and that the city wouldn’t always have thousands of police officers walking the streets every day.
“We are looking over our shoulder and we know that this threat is not gone,” Najafi said. “The people who occupied us were our own citizens, and there’s a feeling from them that they’re not done.”
Chris Barber, a trucker from Saskatchewan, told the court during his bail hearing that he was no longer interested in orchestrating any blockades, despite being one of the primary leaders.
“My organizing days are done. I just want to go home,” he said.
The uneasiness that sits with both Najafi and Knox is also felt by Sadgrove. But, rather than sit on the sidelines, Sadgrove is instead advising Ottawa residents to get involved in the civic discourse and hold the mayor and police accountable for their alleged inactions.
“We had a failure of government and the best thing people can do is be a part of the community led organizations and demand change,” Sadgrove said.
While marches are being considered as one way to offer support to residents of downtown Ottawa, Sadgrove, who normally loves the thought of solidarity marches, said people should try to allow folks in the previously occupied areas to get back to their lives.
“I’m enjoying the peace and quiet, well the peace and quiet that feels right for this noisy neighbourhood,” Sadgrove said. ”Let us have that. I’m enjoying feeling that way again.”
As the weeks roll on and the tension continues to die down, Knox knows there are many unanswered questions about why it took so long for authorities to get involved.
But in the meantime, like many Ottawans, Knox is looking forward to being a tourist in their own city and admire not only the places, but the people of Ottawa, too.
“I’ve taken a lot of it for granted, having lived here for so long. I forget how beautiful it is and how magnificent it is, and I think that I’m going to really enjoy it,” Knox said.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8639780/freedom-convoy-ottawa-fear-future/
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Awesome!
"Freedom Convoy" leader Pat King has been denied bail
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pat-king-bail-hearing-decision
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After the right wing fascists were moved out, Ottawa returns back to a normal way of life. Shutting down a city is illegal and nobody has the right to deprive others of their liberties and freedoms via an illegal occupation.
'It feels back to normal': Downtown Ottawa attractions reopen following demonstrations
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/it-feels-back-to-normal-downtown-ottawa-attractions-reopen-following-demonstrations-1.5796800
Sound familiar?
"Putin using false 'Nazi' narrative to justify Russia's attack on Ukraine."
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Trudeau revokes Emergencies Act after police declare Ottawa cleared of protesters
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Comrades in arms using the same playbook.
Trudeau:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was cautioned against using “inflammatory” language by the Speaker of the House of Commons on Wednesday after he told Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, who is Jewish, that her party stands with “people who wave swastikas.”
Putin:
To stop the alleged mistreatment and "genocide," Russia must "strive to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine."
Reactions from the Jewish community have been swift. The Auschwitz Museum and the US Holocaust Museum condemned Putin's "megalomania" and his exploitation of history for his false narrative. Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS), told DW: "This talk of Nazism in Ukraine is completely out of place," he said. "The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a Russian-speaking Jew who won the last presidential election by a huge margin against a non-Jewish Ukrainian candidate."
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Comrades in arms using the same playbook.
Trudeau:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was cautioned against using “inflammatory” language by the Speaker of the House of Commons on Wednesday after he told Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, who is Jewish, that her party stands with “people who wave swastikas.”
Putin:
To stop the alleged mistreatment and "genocide," Russia must "strive to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine."
Reactions from the Jewish community have been swift. The Auschwitz Museum and the US Holocaust Museum condemned Putin's "megalomania" and his exploitation of history for his false narrative. Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS), told DW: "This talk of Nazism in Ukraine is completely out of place," he said. "The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a Russian-speaking Jew who won the last presidential election by a huge margin against a non-Jewish Ukrainian candidate."
Swastikas displayed at Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests against vaccination mandates
https://www.jta.org/2022/01/30/politics/swastikas-displayed-at-canadian-freedom-convoy-protests-against-vaccination-mandates
Nazi flags seen at freedom convoy in Ottawa
CityNews speaks with a hate crime researcher who speaks about nazi flags and hate symbols appearing at anti-vaccine mandate protests in the nation’s capital over the weekend.
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Swastikas displayed at Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests against vaccination mandates
https://www.jta.org/2022/01/30/politics/swastikas-displayed-at-canadian-freedom-convoy-protests-against-vaccination-mandates
Nazi flags seen at freedom convoy in Ottawa
CityNews speaks with a hate crime researcher who speaks about nazi flags and hate symbols appearing at anti-vaccine mandate protests in the nation’s capital over the weekend.
LOL. Canada is a hot bed of fascism! Even a fanatic can't believe that. Do you agree with Trudeau that the Jewish members of parliament are supporting fascists? It is exactly the same tactic being used by Putin. The difference is your hypocrisy and bias to view all events through the prism of anti-Trump hate.
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Yes, the organizers and the people of this insurrection belong to white nationalist, neo nazi, and white supremacist hate groups and they are still sitting in jail as the judges denied them their bail. But this article explains it was a vehicle for the same 1/6 insurrection in the United States. Instead of storming the Capitol, these far right wing extremists in Canada illegally blocked roads, bridges, and highways with big rigs and tractors terrorizing the civilians which also stopped International trade. Many people were harassed and violence broke out at these illegal demonstrations. Police also confiscated a massive amount of dangerous and illegal weapons. They were essentially shutting down the Canadian economy which is illegal and is domestic terrorism.
THE ‘FREEDOM CONVOY’ IS NOTHING BUT A VEHICLE FOR THE FAR RIGHT
They say it is about truckers, and have raised over $6 million dollars on GoFundMe. But if you look at its organizers and promoters, you’ll find Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism, and incitements to violence.
Posted on January 27, 2022
A crowd-funded convoy, ostensibly fighting against a mandate for truckers to be vaccinated, has raised over $6 million dollars. Its two GoFundMe organizers are previously known figures in Canada’s far-right ecosystem and have publicly made Islamophobic comments. Its loudest promoter, Pat King, is a racist who has tried to incite his audience to violence more times than you can count. (He’s so bad for their public image that the other organizers have even tried to put some distance between them.)
Some convoy supporters, like the Diagolon network, are even saying that they want this to be Canada’s very own January 6th, referring to the attempted insurrection in Washington, DC that led to multiple deaths and widespread arrests. Diagolon is an accelerationist movement, which means they believe a revolution is inevitable and necessary to collapse the current system. It’s also rife with neo-Nazis.
Since the start of the pandemic, COVID conspiracies have been bringing various fringe and far-right elements together. The close connections between the People’s Party of Canada, the young white supremacists of Canada First, and the Diagolon network is one example. This convoy is another.
The mainstream media has been very slow to report on the far-right connections, just like they were in 2019, when the far-right had their much smaller “United We Roll” convoy. Most have given them uncritical coverage, using their language, and calling it a “freedom convoy.”
Now, arriving from different corners of Canada, the fleet of semi-trucks, half tonne pickups, SUVs and more than a few sedans is on its way to Parliament Hill. Many of their supporters swear this isn’t about the far-right, and even, bizarrely, that they aren’t anti-vaccine. Most of them probably believe it, too. But the organizers behind the convoy, and where it emerged from, paint a very different picture.
UNITED WE ROLL 2.0
The convoy draws apt comparisons to a similar, albeit less funded, protest movement held in 2019: the “United We Roll” convoy. Organized primarily by associates of the Canadian Yellow Vest movement, UWR painted a narrative of disenfranchised oil and gas workers riding their rigs cross country to force a detached and distant Ottawa to listen.
Yellow Vests Canada was largely founded by individuals already associated with Canada’s far-right, which at the time was primarily united by anti-Muslim racism and Islamophobia. Excited by the protests held by France’s Mouvement des gilets jaunes, they copied the signature uniform, name, and adopted new grievances that would get them a much larger audience. They said they were for oil and gas, and that they represented Western alienation from a distant, Liberal, Ottawa. But the Facebook groups were also full of hundreds of examples of explicit anti-Muslim racism and calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s arrest and execution – a theme that remains present among COVID-conspiracy demonstrations.
By the time United We Roll arrived in Ottawa, media had started to catch on. Neo-Nazi Faith Goldy spoke on a second stage. The anti-Muslim hate group Northern Guard were spotted in attendance. Christopher Hayes, who was previously convicted of uttering threats against Justin Trudeau – and who has a history of membership in Islamophobic hate groups – was also there. Ultimately, UWR was a bust, with far fewer vehicles showing up than promised, and only a few hundred participants. Demoralized, the Yellow Vests Canada movement started to die out, although some holdouts kept smaller demonstrations going for months.
The leadup to the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” is extremely similar to the leadup to UWR, and it shares many of the same organizers and participants. They’re even reusing UWR promotional materials. Except this time they have the weight of the COVID conspiracy movement behind them, and $6 million dollars. Let’s dive into this new convoy’s most public figures.
THE MONEY COLLECTORS
Tamara Lich and B.J. Dichter, neither of whom are truck drivers, are currently listed as the organizers of the GoFundMe page. Dichter was a late addition, only added this week.
Both have interesting histories when it comes to political organizing.
Lich, born in Saskatchewan, now hails from Medicine Hat, Alberta, where she served as an organizer for Yellow Vests Canada, a regional coordinator for the separatist Western Exit or “Wexit” movement in Alberta, and now as the secretary for the Maverick Party – another separatist movement and fringe political party.
Attending and boosting Yellow Vest events starting in 2018, Lich social media posts from the time show her, in one moment, calling out some hateful rhetoric within the movement, while also posting Islamophobic articles of her own, like conspiracies about the “Muslim Brotherhood” operating in Canada. She shared posts from The Clarion Project – “an organization that advances anti-Muslim content through its web-based and video production platforms” – as well as the deeply conspiratorial and, once again, anti-Islamic podcast The Quiggin Report, hosted by dubious security “expert” Tom Quiggin.
Lich heavily promoted Quiggin’s 2019 “Alberta tour” saying it was an “absolute honour to have hosted” him during his stay in Medicine Hat.
“The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario is now just like the Liberal Party or the NDP. They are suffering from political entryism,” Quiggin said in an episode criticizing Member of Provincial Parliament Khalid Rasheed, a Muslim man. “They have members in their party who are … there to advance the cause of a foreign ideology. So either Progressive Conservative Party takes a very hard look at itself now or faces a future where extremism becomes normalized within the party.”
Lich shared the episode with the comment, “Canadians, are you paying attention yet? … We do not want the Muslim Brotherhood in Canada.”
Scrutiny of the convoy has increased, which according to the Canadian Press, briefly resulted in the crowdsourcing website freezing donations. Shortly thereafter, one-time Conservative Party of Canada candidate, People’s Party of Canada booster, and co-founder of the podcast network Possibly Correct, Benjamin “BJ” Dichter appeared as a co-organizer on the GoFundMe page.
Dichter’s website shares The Quiggin Report, and Dichter himself shares similar Islamophobic sentiments in public. In 2019 he claimed that “Islamist entryism” is “rotting away at our society like syphilis.”
“[The Conservative Party of Canada] is suffering from the stench of cultural relativism and political Islam,” he said during the first PPC conference held in Gatineau, Quebec. “It is suffering from the stench of extremism that same way in third-world countries suffer from extremist groups, separatist groups, communist guerrilla factions, paramilitaries, organized crime, and more.”
PAT KING IS SO TOXIC HE’S (SORT OF) DISAVOWED
Patrick King – another former Yellow Vester, one-time major figure in the Wexit movement as well as United We Roll – is listed as the contact to join the “Alberta North” portion of the convoy. A conspiracy theorist and streamer, King made headlines when he and supporters confronted members of an anti-racist rally in Red Deer, Alberta. Several instances of violence occurred during this event, including against an individual who attempted to serve King with a restraining order.
“Black Lives Matter and Antifa are planning a huge rally to disrupt our community [sic]," he said at the time. "Help support us to help drive out these left-wing anarchists that are trying to disrupt communities and trying to threaten people."
He also drew attention after a wild misinterpretation of court documents led to him claiming he forced Alberta to abandon its public health lockdowns.
In the past King has gone on record about his feelings about the “Anglo-Saxon replacement,” that plans to “flood [Canada] with refugees,” and subvert the education system -- a thin rebranding of the great replacement theory touted by ethnonationalists.
At other points, King has expressed overtly racist and antisemitic statements. In a 2019 stream about the then-upcoming federal election King complained that he had to leave the movement due to their lack of success: “[The election] won’t matter…unless you want to change your national language to Chinese or Mandarin or Hebrew,” and going on to compare Chinese names to the sound of change falling down stairs.
He’s publicly distorted established facts about the Holocaust – a form of Holocaust denial – saying, “I do know that the Holocaust [sic] was reduced to 1.5 million and not the 6 million that it was said to be.” He then invoked the antisemitic conspiracy theory that the Jewish people are secretly in control of world governance, media, and finances: “The questions have been asked several times to the ADL and the Jewish government and communities. We have Jewish world [bankers] who are dictating our government policies and controlling our Politicians.”
THE EXTREMISTS ARE COMING
Over the last week, King has made numerous livestreams to social media, frequently stating he is conducting his own crowdfunding for the trip and is not benefiting from the GoFundMe. King’s involvement led to some initial tension among those interested in supporting the convoy, but who were not enthused about what they perceived as potentially enriching King through the larger fundraiser. Among this group was Diagolon concept creator and far-right streamer Jeremy “Raging Dissident” MacKenzie.
Banned from several platforms, MacKenzie once told his audience to read a piece of neo-Nazi fiction called Day of the Rope. MacKenzie defends his endorsement by saying it’s about murdering pedophiles. In the book, all these pedophiles just so happen to be Jewish. The title of the book is taken straight from a chapter title in the infamous neo-Nazi novel The Turner Diaries, in which “race-traitors,” like people in interracial relationships, politicians, and journalists, are strung up on the streets. The novel is regularly found on mass murderer’s desks or bookshelves. “Gun or rope” is MacKenzie’s slogan.
While some participants swear it’s a peaceful convoy, MacKenzie’s antisemitic friend and fellow Diagolon streamer Derek Harrison is wishing for the opposite. "I would like to see our own January 6th event,” he says in a live stream, “see some of those truckers plow right through that 16-foot wall."
Since massive public attention has thrust the convoy into the spotlight, MacKenzie and many of his followers now plan to attend the Ottawa protest. However, MacKenzie had previously exited an organizing group on the chat app Telegram when he saw Pat King was involved.
MacKenzie is a retired combat veteran with the Canadian Armed Forces, and his animosity towards Pat King may be about stolen valour. King still faces accusations that he presented himself as a former military member, before later releasing a video where he appears to apologize for the claim.
The controversy around King resulted in a statement being released onto the fundraising page saying: “King is not and never has been affiliated with our movement nor has he been a part of our great team of volunteers.”
This update appears to have since been deleted, and King claimed in a later video that the statement was a public relations move because he was being attacked online. In a previous live stream, King also scrolled through a private Facebook chat titled “Convoy 2022” and appears to contain Lich, Canada Unity president James Bauder, and others discussing organizational details about the convoy. King remains listed as a contact on the Unity Canada website.
TRUCK DRIVER ASSOCIATIONS CONDEMN THE CONVOY
Initially, the issue addressed by the convoy was narrowly focused on the vaccine mandates for truck drivers who would be required to cross the US-Canada border as part of their work.
“We talked to our members and they said we encourage our drivers not to participate, but you know, I feel like they just want to be heard and this is the way they’ve been doing it for years,” Jean-Marc Picard, executive director for the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association, told CTV News during an interview.
Likewise, the Canadian Trucking Alliance issued a statement saying it does “not support and strongly disapproves of any protests on public roadways, highways and bridges.” The CTA’s president also followed up more recently in a joint statement with the ministers of labour and transport.
“The Government of Canada and the Canadian Trucking Alliance both agree that vaccination, used in combination with preventative public health measures, is the most effective tool to reduce the risk of COVID-19 for Canadians, and to protect public health,” it reads.
The CTA told the CBC, that the mandate could impact 12,000 to 16,000 Canadian commercial drivers – around 10 to 15 per cent of the industry’s cross-border drivers.
You can watch their racist video rants in the link below:
https://www.antihate.ca/the_freedom_convoy_is_nothing_but_a_vehicle_for_the_far_right
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Yes, the organizers and the people of this insurrection belong to white nationalist, neo nazi, and white supremacist hate groups and they are still sitting in jail as the judges denied them their bail. But this article explains it was a vehicle for the same 1/6 insurrection in the United States. Instead of storming the Capitol, these far right wing extremists in Canada illegally blocked roads, bridges, and highways with big rigs and tractors terrorizing the civilians which also stopped International trade. Many people were harassed and violence broke out at these illegal demonstrations. Police also confiscated a massive amount of dangerous and illegal weapons. They were essentially shutting down the Canadian economy which is illegal and is domestic terrorism.
There are a small number of "white nationalists" among the tens of millions of people in any country including Ukraine. That doesn't provide a justification for a violent suppression of peaceful people. That was used by Trudeau in the same way as Putin as a false premise to use force to oppress free people. You can't have it both ways. Supporting this tactic in Canada but rejecting it in Ukraine. You are effectively colluding with Putin. Someone should notify Adam Schiff.
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Wonderful!
Another Ottawa convoy protest organizer denied bail in Ontario court
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-another-ottawa-convoy-protest-organizer-denied-bail-in-ontario-court/
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Ottawa police confirms it's investigating officers for allegedly supporting 'Freedom Convoy'
Investigations began during illegal protest's 'early days,' interim chief says
The Ottawa Police Service has confirmed it's been investigating a small number of officers who may have supported the so-called Freedom Convoy since the early days of the illegal occupation in the downtown core.
Interim Chief Steve Bell told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Thursday the force is committed to scrutinizing the matter fully, and the investigations are ongoing.
"Yes, in early days, we started investigations into individuals who may have been involved. Those will continue. I think it's really important to note that it's a very, very small number," Bell said in response to a question about alleged officer donations.
"We need to deal with the people who supported it, because there's no room for them, but the vast majority of this organization did everything within their power, in an absolutely professional way, to remove that demonstration from our streets."
From Bell's wording, it's unclear whether the investigations pertain only to possible donations, or whether any officers may have had deeper links to the protest.
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.5301539.1569699053!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/steve-bell.jpeg)
Interim Ottawa police Chief Steve Bell says there's 'no room' in the force for officers who supported the illegal protest. (Kimberley Molina/CBC )
At least 6 Ottawa officers in publicly leaked list
Last week, CBC News matched at least two dozen current and former members of the Ottawa Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police with a publicly leaked list of names identified as apparent donors to GiveSendGo, a crowdfunding site that was used to support the weeks-long occupation in Ottawa.
The OPP said it had launched an investigation into alleged officer donations to the convoy, but wouldn't divulge how many officers were under scrutiny. Ottawa police, meanwhile, wouldn't confirm whether they were investigating.
After comparing the names of donors living in Ontario to publicly accessible salary disclosure lists of police officers, CBC found roughly 60 people with potential connections to law enforcement based on information they provided to GiveSendGo.
CBC then cross-referenced the information with other publicly available sources such as postal codes, social media accounts and archived news stories, and was able to match at least 26 donors to current and former police members — six with Ottawa police and 20 with the OPP.
For some Ottawa police officers, CBC was able to further confirm their names, and at times their donation amounts, with sources within the force. CBC is not naming the officers because they have not been charged nor disciplined, and none agreed to be on the record.
Their apparent contributions ranged from $50 to more than $1,000 each, and often accompanied a comment.
Listen to interim chief Bell's entire interview with Ottawa Morning
It's been nearly two weeks since police began a massive operation that paralyzed the downtown core, but many questions remain about why it took so long and what it’ll take to rebuild trust. We have the interim police chief Steve Bell. 15:48
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-police-investigating-officers-freedom-convoy-donations-1.6379619
'Freedom Convoy' assets to remain frozen through end of March
Mareva injunction freezes assets belonging to organizers of convoy, including cryptocurrency
A rare court order meant to freeze assets belonging to organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy is being extended through at least the end of March when the case returns to court.
Lawyers representing Ottawa residents in a proposed class-action lawsuit against the convoy protesters successfully argued for the rarely-used Mareva injunction on Feb. 17.
The Mareva order freezes particular funds from its respondents: organizers Patrick King, Tamara Lich, Christopher Garrah, Nicholas St. Louis and Benjamin Dichter, alongside the non-profit Freedom 2022 Human Rights and Freedoms.
The injunction restricts convoy leaders from "selling, removing, dissipating, alienating, transferring, assigning" up to $20 million in assets raised around the world.
On Wednesday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod says he wants to allow more time for lawyers to track down assets, including cryptocurrencies, with the next court date set for March 31.
Some assets already in escrow
Court heard some holdings have already been turned over to Toronto-based KSV Advisory, the company tasked with holding assets in escrow while the various court matters involving the protests are dealt with.
A TD Canada Trust account in Lich's name, which holds $1.3 million in assets raised on the fundraising platform GiveSendGo, was voluntarily transferred to KSV. Lich was released on bail Monday and faces criminal charges for her role in the protests.
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.6360699.1645796375!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/lich-and-king.jpg)
Tamara Lich and Pat King are two of those facing charges by Ottawa police for their roles in the so-called Freedom Convoy. Their assets have also been frozen related to a class-action lawsuit. (CBC)
Lawyers representing the government were in attendance at Wednesday's hearing, telling the court there was some overlap between assets being sought by the civil matter and assets frozen as a result of the invocation of the federal Emergencies Act.
Lawyers behind the Mareva order, who represent businesses and Ottawa residents, aim to redistribute donations to residents, businesses and employees of downtown Ottawa covered by the class-action lawsuit.
Crown lawyer Susan Keenan also said an application of civil forfeiture proceedings will be filed related to some of the funds raised for the protest. Essentially, that means the government will try to take some of the money being held in escrow — the same pot of money Ottawa residents involved in the proposed class-action lawsuit will seek damages from.
Keenan said Crown lawyers are co-ordinating with colleagues involved in the class-action lawsuit on the timing of filing the forfeiture application.
Cryptocurrency still being sought
It remains unclear how much cryptocurrency has been recovered, but court heard one of the key crypto fundraisers for the protesters, Ottawa resident Nicholas St. Louis, had a search warrant executed on his house on Feb. 28.
According to an affidavit with Wednesday's date, four bitcoin wallets were in his possession at the time of the seizure. According to St. Louis, officers from the Ottawa Police Service, OPP and RCMP were involved in executing the warrant. He has not been charged.
Police seized some cryptocurrency as a result of that search warrant, which has since been transferred to the escrow account, according to Crown lawyers.
"There is still some cryptocurrency which is scattered ... and it is being identified by the cryptocurrency agencies," said Monique Jilesen, representing the law firm Lenczner Slaght and acting for Champ & Associates, the law firm working with Ottawa residents in the proposed class-action lawsuit.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/convoy-court-order-class-action-lawsuit-paul-champ-1.6379006
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Good!
Canadian trucker protesters have bitcoin donations seized
The Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates had their donations seized, even if the contributions were made in Bitcoin, reported Vice's Motherboard on Tuesday.
While the overwhelming majority (over 90 percent) of truckers in Canada have been vaccinated, a small few are miffed they're being asked to get vaccinated to take deliveries back and forth between Canada and the United States.
A Christian crowd-funding website helped raise millions for the so-called "freedom convoy," but those funds were seized as part of the Emergencies Act.
"In that moment, Bitcoin entered the arena hoping to be the lead rescuer of the protesters from financial troubles, with the organizers of Bitcoin fundraiser HonkHonkHodl raising more than $1 million in the cryptocurrency," said the report. Now those donations have also been seized.
“Getting your money turned off is insanely harmful. One trucker I met ran a business and didn’t know when he was going to be able to pay his 10 drivers next,” a HonkHonkHodle lead organizer said in a chat with Motherboard.
Those leading the operation are now being sued by a group that wants the donations to be distributed to Ottawa citizens who have been impacted by the noise and even violence.
"The Ontario Provincial Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ordered banks and crypto exchanges to block any transactions from crypto wallets tied to the truckers," the report said.
Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, who donated $43,000 to the cause, said that the addresses would also be banned on his crypto exchange. “100% yes it has/will happen and 100% yes, we will be forced to comply. If you're worried about it, don't keep your funds with any centralized/regulated custodian. We cannot protect you. Get your coins/cash out and only trade p2p," he said.
Read the full report at Vice's Motherboard:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgmnpd/the-freedom-convoy-bitcoin-donations-have-been-frozen-and-seized
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Trudeau certainly showed the way to Putin on how to handle dissenters. Call them Nazis even if they are Jews and then send in the goons to put them down. Somewhere the old Cheka and Stasi members are smiling down upon them.
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White nationalism and right-wing extremism aren’t new to Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/white-nationalism-and-right-wing-extremism-arent-new-to-canada
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Canada: After Freedom Convoy, Ottawa braces for bikers’ rally
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/canada-after-freedom-convoy-ottawa-braces-for-bikers-rally-101651222532725.html
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Almost $6M in Freedom Convoy money captured as months-long injunction ends
Proposed class-action lawsuit to expand as millions in digital currency still evades authorities
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.6354595.1645059729!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/freedom-convoy.jpg)
A months-old injunction against Freedom Convoy organizers ended Monday, but the lawyers responsible for muting incessant honking in February are focused on expanding and certifying a proposed class-action lawsuit to ensure Ottawa residents and businesses are compensated.
Lawyers representing Ottawa residents in the proposed lawsuit against convoy protesters successfully argued for a Mareva injunction on Feb. 17, a court order to restrict convoy leaders from "selling, removing, dissipating, alienating, transferring, assigning" up to $20 million in assets raised around the world.
On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod said the injunction would be dissolved.
MacLeod did keep an escrow order that ensures a third-party agent could continue to hold just more than $5.7 million raised by the convoy protests until lawyers decide what will happen to the money.
Paul Champ, one of the lawyers involved in the proposed class-action lawsuit, originally said a broad net was cast to capture funds from the Freedom Convoy.
"We've gotten most of the funds that we were trying to freeze now," he said.
More money brought into escrow over past month
As of March 30, nearly $2 million in assets were being held by the third party, according to the escrow agent's last official report.
Then on Monday, the court ordered for roughly $3.8 million Cdn raised on the U.S.-based crowdfunding site GiveSendGo to be transferred to escrow.
The site had transferred that money to a Canadian bank account belonging to the not-for-profit corporation created by organizers. Instead the money was held by a payment processing company because of freeze orders put in place in February to prevent the money from being used by protesters.
More than $400,000 Cdn worth of digital currencies was also moved into escrow.
Proposed class-action suit set to move forward
Champ and his team are expected to expand the scope of the proposed class-action lawsuit to include thousands of defendants — including donors and more truck drivers involved — as they seek to reimburse downtown residents and businesses.
Defendants would then file their own materials before the court decides whether to certify the class-action suit.
"We finished our efforts to track and get control of all funds that were donated to support the convoy truckers and that were donated to essentially make it possible for the truckers to continue their occupation of downtown Ottawa and continue the harm of downtown Ottawa," said Champ.
His team hopes the money now in escrow "will hopefully one day go to compensating the people of downtown Ottawa."
Most funds raised for convoy returned to donors
The convoy protest in Ottawa raised more than $20 million total over its three-week stay in the city's downtown.
Tamara Lich, the convoy leader who had access to a significant amount of money through her role in organizing the protest — for which she has since been charged — helped raise nearly $10.1 million before donations were suspended.
The website used to raise that money, GoFundMe, then returned most of those funds to the original donors as of Feb. 5, the company said.
The almost $1.4 million that remained in Lich's possession was then transferred into escrow.
Two fundraisers launched on GiveSendGo raised more than $12 million and during a March 9 court appearance, GiveSendGo co-founder and chief financial officer Jacob Wells said donations would be returned to donors.
When asked by CBC, the company refused to disclose the total amount reimbursed.
Most of the digital currency raised as part of convoy fundraisers — 20.7 bitcoins (worth almost $1.1 million Cdn) — continues to evade authorities.
Authorities are believed to be monitoring the remaining bitcoins but it remains unclear if they will be successful in capturing them.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/freedom-convoy-injunction-ends-money-captured-1.6438103
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Crowdfunding platforms now required to report transactions, after truck convoy protests
Government says crowdfunding platforms are an emerging risk for terrorist financing
Canada has become one of the first countries in the world to require online crowdfunding platforms to report to its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, government officials told a special committee examining the truck convoy protest and the steps the government took to end it.
Finance department officials said new regulations went into effect last week, adding crowdfunding platforms and some payment processing companies to the list of companies obliged to report large or suspicious transactions to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, Canada's financial intelligence unit.
Barry MacKillop, deputy director of intelligence for FINTRAC, said the regulations close a gap that could be exploited.
"Certainly, I do believe that having them as subject to the Proceeds of Crime, Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing Act would at the very least act as a deterrent for anyone who might want to use a crowdfunding platform to advance nefarious activities," MacKillop told MPs and senators on the committee set up to examine the government's use of the Emergencies Act.
Millions raised on GoFundMe, GiveSendGo
Julian Brazeau, director general of the Finance department's financial crimes and security division, said to his knowledge Canada is the first country to require crowdfunding platforms to report transactions to a body like FINTRAC.
The move means that some large donations over $10,000 to Canadian fundraising campaigns hosted by online crowdfunding companies like GoFundMe or GiveSendGo, or which the platform thinks may be suspicious, could now be reported to FINTRAC and then potentially be flagged to police.
GoFundMe, which hosted the initial multi-million dollar crowdfunding campaign for the Ottawa truck convoy protest, said it believes "responsible action is core to social fundraising" and it will follow the new regulations.
"GoFundMe will continue to collaborate and cooperate as new regulations are put in place," said spokesperson Meghan Weltman.
GiveSendGo — which raised millions for the convoy protest after GoFundMe shut down the fundraiser because it feared it might violate its terms of service — has not yet responded to questions from CBC News.
The power of crowdfunding companies to raise money was in the spotlight earlier this year after organizers of the truck convoy protest — which paralyzed downtown Ottawa for three weeks and blocked various border crossings — successfully raised millions of dollars from donors both from Canada and abroad.
The government first required crowdfunding platforms to report to FINTRAC as part of the Emergency Economic Measures Order it adopted when it invoked the Emergencies Act to resolve the truck convoy protest. When the declaration of an emergency was revoked, that requirement ended. However, the government telegraphed plans to require crowdfunding platforms to report to FINTRAC in its budget last month, then published new regulations April 27 in The Canada Gazette.
Financial Action Task Force has identified crowdfunding platforms "as an emerging area of risk for terrorist financing."
That crowdfunding platforms weren't required to report certain transactions to FINTRAC presents "a serious and immediate risk to the security of Canadians and to the Canadian economy," it wrote.
"This risk was highlighted in early 2022, when illegal blockades took place across Canada that were financed, in part, through crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers. Allowing these gaps to continue represents a risk to the integrity and stability of the financial sector and the broader economy, as well as a reputational risk for Canada."
New regulations
The regulations will introduce a number of new requirements for crowdfunding platforms.
"Obligations include registration with FINTRAC, reporting requirements (including suspicious transactions and large value transactions), record keeping, customer due diligence and developing a compliance program," the government wrote.
The regulations include transactions in both traditional and virtual money like cryptocurrencies and "apply to domestic entities, as well as foreign entities when they direct their services to Canadians."
The government said approximately 1,000 crowdfunding platforms and additional payment processors will now have to report to FINTRAC. It estimates it will cost the platforms a total of $18-$20 million over the next 10 years in administrative and compliance costs.
Much of Tuesday evening's committee hearing focused on the Emergency Act provisions that resulted in 280 bank accounts or other financial accounts being frozen for several days. MPs and senators peppered the officials from the finance department and FINTRAC with questions, wanting to know why it was done and how it was carried out. Conservative MP Glen Motz said the move has shaken the trust of many Canadians in the government and Canada's banks.
Assistant deputy minister Isabelle Jacques said the measure was adopted to stop money from flowing to the protest and dissuade protesters from remaining on Parliament Hill. Once they left the protest, their accounts were unfrozen, with all of the accounts unfrozen by Feb. 24. Jacques pointed out that it was up to financial institutions to decide which accounts should be frozen, based on information provided by the RCMP.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/convoy-finance-crowdfunding-fintrac-1.6440671
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Freedom Convoy protesters struggling to get seized items back from police
Several Freedom Convoy protesters say thousands of dollars of items seized during February's enforcement efforts are unaccounted for, and that getting back those items that are in police possession has been a laborious process.
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) says they received 41 items from the city during the clean-up of the protests, which disrupted life in Ottawa's downtown for roughly three weeks earlier this year.
Items in the force's possession include generators, barbecues and space heaters that helped fuel and feed protesters in the city's core.
They're being stored at OPS's evidence control facility in the city's southeast. Police say six items have been returned to their owners, but 35 remain unclaimed.
"As with any property, the owner can provide proof of ownership to retrieve their item," OPS said in a statement. "Receipts, serial numbers, and photos of items are acceptable means of identifying the property."
According to some of the protesters, many of the items collected during the clean-up were either newly purchased or donated to the convoy participants.
David Paisley, who became a de-facto Freedom Convoy organizer during the protests and remains a celebrity among supporters due to his popular social media channel, Live From the Shed, said he's tried unsuccessfully to get back roughly $1,000 worth of banners he had made.
Paisley was arrested during the police enforcement — he essentially lived on Wellington Street throughout the protests and had a live feed going during his arrest — but was never charged.
When he went to retrieve his items, police asked him for the name of his arresting officer and a case number, Paisley said.
Paisley said he wasn't provided with any documentation containing that information, meaning he's come up short in his efforts to retrieve the signs — which he says hold both sentimental and monetary value.
"As best we can tell, everything was kind of thrown in trailers and taken out of there as quick as possible," he said, adding there didn't appear to be any system in place to track where seized items were being taken.
"Time was the overarching priority, so everything was very rushed."
Ben Froese operated a crane that flew a Canadian flag and was parked almost directly in front of Parliament Hill during the majority of the protests.
Froese said police caused roughly $2,500 worth of damage to his truck's cable during the enforcement action, and the location of the flag — one of the more memorable images from the protests — remains unknown.
"I still haven't heard if it was actually taken somewhere as evidence," he said. "My flag is still a big question mark as to what they did with it, if they just threw it out to the garbage, I don't know."
Not seized as evidence, says OPS
It's unclear where flags and other items that were seized ended up.
According to OPS, it received no tents, tables or chairs from the city. It's believed city officials — and possibly private contractors — responsible for cleaning the streets post-police action threw things out.
Police say none of the items in its possession were seized as evidence and they aren't waiting for a judge's order to release them.
"If they truly only have 41 items in their possession, then either a significant amount of items were thrown out, or there's some contractor somewhere sitting on a large number of items," said Paisley.
Karl Douville helped operate the Coventry Road camp and estimates thousands of litres of fuel, straw bales and other items were removed.
"It's an incredible amount of stuff. There's tens of thousands of materials there, if not hundreds of thousands of material there, that was taken off Wellington," he said.
Douville said he's co-ordinating with other organizers to create an inventory of unaccounted items, in the hopes of getting them back.
"There's a lot of stuff that shouldn't have been taken," he said, adding there were teams of people who tried to clean up during the enforcement — but police didn't allow it."
'There needs to be a fair system'
In its statement, police said they "actively worked to identify property owners" and that in some cases, items marked with a name and phone number allowed them to do that.
Organizers are contemplating searching city dumps to see if they can retrieve things like extension cords, power bars, chairs and tables that they believe were thrown out.
They also hope police will release the items so that they can ensure they're returned to their rightful owners.
Paisley said there's an expectation property will be protected by police and noted most of the people involved in the Freedom Convoy — including himself – haven't been charged with or found guilty of any crime.
"There needs to be a fair system for getting that property back. Unless there's some kind of justification for why those items are still in police possession, it seems inappropriate," he said.
"They seem to be wanting to be claiming due process now, but they skipped all the due process before. So to expect us to have receipts and proof of everything when they just came in and scooped it all up — it doesn't seem to be a fair trade-off."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/freedom-convoy-protesters-struggling-to-get-back-seized-items-from-police-1.6445709
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Great news!
Canada’s ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizer charged with perjury, obstruction of justice
One of the organizers of Canada’s trucker convoy protest has been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, the Canadian Press reported.
Pat King was charged with three counts of each on Tuesday, adding to the 10 charges he already faces for his role in the protest against COVID-19 restrictions, including mischief, intimidation, obstructing police and disobeying a court order.
King was arrested on Feb. 18 and was denied bail on Feb. 25.
The Epoch Times noted that King is the last of the high-profile Canadian protesters to be arrested and charged.
Police in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa began arresting people involved in the protest, dubbed the “Freedom Convoy,” in mid-February. The protests, which went on for three weeks, disrupted the city and led police to block off sections of Ottawa.
A spokesperson for another organizer, Tamara Lich, slammed her arrest, calling it “absolutely baseless and a disgrace to any liberal democracy, although not a surprise.”
A similar protest in the U.S., the “People’s Convoy,” caused chaos in Washington, D.C., last month before heading to California.
https://thehill.com/news/3273549-canadas-freedom-convoy-organizer-charged-with-perjury-obstruction-of-justice/
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Canada's Trucker Protests Have a New Political Champion
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/world/canada/trucker-convoy-protest-conservatives.html
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Jean Charest says convoy “laid siege” to Ottawa and Pierre Poilievre “appeals to the fringe minority”
https://tnc.news/2022/05/14/jean-charest-says-convoy-laid-siege-to-ottawa-and-pierre-poilievre-appeals-to-the-fringe-minority/
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CSIS was concerned about extremist violence, recruitment amid Freedom Convoy: top spy
Head of RCMP says she does not believe the Ottawa protests were a failure of police
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Police enforce an injunction against protesters, some who had been camped in their trucks near Parliament Hill for weeks, on Feb. 19. A few days earlier the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, giving it temporary powers to deal with the blockades and protests against pandemic restrictions. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Canada's spy agency was concerned extremists might commit violence and recruit members when the Freedom Convoy rolled into Ottawa earlier this year, its director told lawmakers on Tuesday night.
But David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said he could not provide specific examples, citing classified intelligence.
"We have seen a number of individuals, who were of concern to CSIS prior to the convoy, being engaged online and also in person in the context of the convoy," Vigneault said while testifying before a special joint committee investigating the invocation of the Emergencies Act in February, in response to the protests that occupied blocks of downtown Ottawa for weeks.
"The concern we had with the convoy, at the outset and throughout, was the fact that we have seen in Canada, in other jurisdictions, violent extremists using these protests and demonstrations to engage in acts of violence, to recruit members, to be able to spread their ideology further,
CSIS was also concerned about the risk of lone actors, who would "be engaged in violence spontaneously," Vigneault said.
"This is what we were focusing our activities during the convoy and providing information to law enforcement."
The never-before-used law gave temporary powers to deal with the blockades and protests against pandemic restrictions. It defines a qualifying emergency as something that "arises from threats to the security of Canada."
Vigneault said every day the agency is uncovering and investigating threats to the security of Canada, including "a rise in anti-authority, violent rhetoric, particularly as it relates to public health measures."
He said CSIS was aware of the "opportunities that large gatherings and protest" offer for violence and recruitment to ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE), a broad term used by the agency to cover various grievances including those from far-right, anti-authority and anti-government, and racist groups.
One of the concerns for the agency was a memorandum of understanding issued by Canada Unity, one of the groups organizing the convoy, calling on the Governor General and the Senate of Canada to form a new government with the protesters themselves.
"Our assessment of the manifesto was obviously something of concern," said Vigneault.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki told the committee the Mounties provided additional protective protection to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon because of the MOU.
Not a policing failure: RCMP commissioner
The Emergencies Act authorized a ban on travel to protest zones, prohibited people from bringing minors to unlawful assemblies and allowed banks to freeze the accounts of some of those involved in the protests. It also enabled the RCMP to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial offences where required.
At the time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau argued its use was necessary to address "serious challenges to law enforcement's ability to effectively enforce the law."
But that reasoning has been questioned by the opposition and other critics who have asked whether other measures, including policing tactics, could have been used.
Lucki said she involved in conversations about triggering the act a week before it was invoked on Feb. 14, but that she never asked for it.
Pressed repeatedly about why police couldn't act sooner, Lucki said the act gave her officers, and those of the Ottawa police, different enforcement abilities — like compelling tow trucks to help move vehicles.
"This was a different type of protest where people weren't leaving," she said.
Senator questions policing decisions
She said she didn't think the event was a failure in policing, despite several senators and MPs on the committee suggesting the opposite.
"In my view, the actions by police prior to the invocation of the act demonstrated a series of police failures, not willful failures, but the inability of police to contain and act appropriately in reducing the occupation here in Ottawa," said Sen. Peter Harder.
"I find it surprising that you would say that there has been no failure of policing in respect of these incidences."
Tuesday's committee is separate from an inquiry, led by former Ontario Superior Court justice Paul Rouleau, that will look into into the events that led to the Emergencies Act being invoked and make recommendations.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/csis-rcmp-convoy-violence-1.6448734
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She broke the law....lock her up!
Crown wants Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich returned to jail to await trial
Crown prosecutors want Ottawa protest organizer Tamara Lich sent back to jail to await trial, claiming she breached her bail conditions by agreeing to participate in an event next month where she will receive a “Freedom Award.”
In an application filed in advance of Lich’s bail review hearing, the Crown claims she violated the court-imposed condition that she not express support for anything related to the Freedom Convoy movement she led in Ottawa earlier this year.
At a gala organized by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) scheduled for June 16, Lich will be given the “George Jonas Freedom Award” to recognize her participation in the protest that gridlocked Ottawa’s downtown for more than three weeks.
Lich was arrested in Ottawa in February after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act. She was charged with multiple offences related to the protest, including mischief and obstructing a peace officer Her initial bail request was denied but that decision was reversed after a bail review.
After spending 18 days in jail, she was released on March 7th under conditions that require her to reside in Alberta and not travel to Ontario except for court appearance or to meet with counsel.
or by any other means, support anything related to the Freedom Convoy.”
The Toronto gala will feature a keynote speech by columnist Rex Murphy, with VIP tickets selling for $500. Two other galas are scheduled for Calgary and Vancouver this summer.
Promotional material for the events says Lich “inspired Canadians to exercise their Charter rights and freedoms by participating actively in the democratic process,” calling the occupation of Ottawa a “peaceful protest” that awakened many to the “injustice” of COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates.
Unless her bail conditions are revised, Lich would not be able to attend the events in person.
“Tamara Lich has continued her support of the Convoy cause with the assistance of Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms,” the Crown’s application says.
The Crown also alleges that the Calgary-based JCCF, a registered charity that has led legal challenges of COVID measures, has a “collaborative and representative” relationship with Lich. The application says JCCF lawyer Keith Wilson referred to Lich as “the spark that lit this fire” and on one occasion identified her as his client.
Wilson and other JCCF lawyers attended the Ottawa protest and spoke on the behalf of Lich and other organizers at a press conference. They also posted videos on social media supporting the protest.
The Crown’s application notes that the organization hired a private investigator to follow a Manitoba judge presiding over the JCCF’s legal challenge of provincial lockdown mandates for churches last year.
The Crown also argues that the judge who granted Lich bail made several errors of law and asks that his decision be overturned, sending her back to detention.
The application will be heard in an Ottawa court on Thursday and Friday.
At the same hearing, Lich will ask the court to change the bail conditions that restrict her social media use and prevent her from travelling to Ontario.
Lich’s lawyer in the criminal matter, Lawrence Greenspon, declined to comment on the Crown’s application.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/crown-wants-freedom-convoy-organizer-tamara-lich-returned-to-jail-to-await-trial-1.5908985
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These people never learn. They all believe they are above the law and they continue to break it. Lock her up!
Crown trying to put Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich back in jail
Tamara Lich still supporting Freedom Convoy, breaking bail condition, Crown says
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.6376694.1646747582!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/tamara-lich-court.JPG)
Ahead of her Thursday court appearance, Crown prosecutors are arguing Ottawa protest organizer Tamara Lich should be back in jail because she is violating her bail conditions by continuing to support the Freedom Convoy.
Lich agreed to attend a Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) gala planned in Toronto for June 16, where she is being given a "Freedom Award."
According to an application filed by Crown lawyers, Lich is not to support "anything related to the Freedom Convoy" and the document charges the event is "designed to support the Freedom Convoy movement."
The event includes a VIP reception with tickets going for $500, and the Crown says, "It is the only reasonable inference that Ms. Lich has agreed to attend to this event in support of the Freedom Convoy cause."
Lich has been out of jail since March 7, on the condition she leave Ottawa, reversing a decision made the previous month to keep her in jail. She has been living at an Alberta residence for about two months.
Moiz Karimjee, the Crown counsel prosecuting Lich, also alleges in his latest application the decision to release Lich in March was done without proper analysis.
She was arrested Feb. 17 shortly before the major push by police to clear out the remaining protesters who occupied downtown Ottawa streets. Lich stayed in custody and was denied bail on Feb. 22, but then appealed and was released.
Lich and Chris Barber are jointly charged with mischief, counselling mischief, obstructing police, counselling to obstruct police, counselling intimidation, and intimidation by blocking and obstructing one or more highways.
In its application, the Crown says Lich "has continued her support of the Convoy cause" and that she has done so with the assistance of the JCCF, a charity associated with the Freedom Convoy.
"The collaborative and representative nature of the relationship between the parties cannot be denied," the application says, noting the charity's lawyers have been present at court appearances.
Keith Wilson, a JCCF lawyer, went to the protests in Ottawa and appeared at official Freedom Convoy news conferences to speak on the group's behalf.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lich-bail-ottawa-convoy-1.6458393
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Trucker convoy organizer Tamara Lich should return to jail until her trial, Crown argues
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A Crown prosecutor argued on Thursday that Tamara Lich, an organizer of the “Freedom Convoy,” breached her bail conditions by accepting an award for her leadership during the Ottawa protest.
A judge initially denied Ms. Lich bail after her arrest during the massive protest that overtook downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks in February, but she was released in March after a review of the court decision.
She was released with a long list of conditions, including residing in Alberta, a ban from all social media and an order not to “support anything related to the Freedom Convoy.”
Ms. Lich and fellow protest organizer Chris Barber are jointly accused of mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.
The Crown says Ms. Lich has violated one of her bail conditions by agreeing to accept a “freedom award” from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a legal advocacy group that supported the protest.
The organization planned to honour her at a gala celebration for inspiring “Canadians to exercise their Charter rights and freedoms by participating actively in the democratic process,” and leading the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Ottawa.
That protest evolved into a weeks-long demonstration that gridlocked the streets of Ottawa. The federal government eventually invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history in an effort to dislodge the participants.
“Ms. Lich has suffered for the cause of freedom by spending 18 days unjustly jailed, and exemplifies courage, determination and perseverance,” the organization wrote in a statement on its website, which the Crown included in its notice of application.
Ms. Lich told the court she learned she won the award for her leadership role in the protest in an e-mail on March 28 and responded that she’d be honoured to accept.
“You were supporting something related to the Freedom Convoy,” Crown counsel Moiz Karimjee charged when Ms. Lich took the stand by video conference.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Ms. Lich told the court, but said she didn’t feel it was a breach of her conditions.
“I don’t feel like that’s what the recognition is for. I feel that the recognition is for inspiring Canadians to hold the government to account to the rule of law and to uphold their Charter rights.”
She also told the court: “There is no convoy anymore.”
Mr. Karimjee argued in court that Lich should return to jail to wait for her trial.
The Justice Centre’s website said Ms. Lich would attend the award dinner in Toronto on June 16, if a review of her bail conditions would allow her to attend, as well as events in Vancouver and Calgary.
The Toronto event is expected to include a keynote address by columnist Rex Murphy.
Over the course of the arguments, the justice repeatedly admonished the Crown for his “decorum,” until Mr. Karimjee made the extraordinary request for Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips to recuse himself from the hearing.
“I frankly need to consider whether I need to bring a mistrial application given Your Honour’s comments,” Mr. Karimjee said before asking the judge to withdraw from the hearing, telling the court he was just doing his job.
“That request is denied,” Justice Phillips responded.
Despite the tense exchange between the Crown and Justice Phillips, Ms. Lich appeared far more relaxed than during previous hearings, when she had sat up straight with her lands in her lap.
On Thursday, she appeared slouched in her chair with her arm hanging over the back, sucking on lozenges to ease a sore throat.
During the protest, Keith Wilson, a Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms lawyer, spoke on behalf of the convoy protesters at a news conference and described Ms. Lich as a client. He represented Ms. Lich and other members of the protest during civil proceedings in February that saw an injunction placed on the noise that protesters blasted from their trucks day and night in the early days of the demonstration.
“Tamara Lich ought to be detained,” the Crown’s notice of application concludes.
Ms. Lich’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, challenged the idea that the award gala was connected with the protest. He said the event doesn’t appear to be a fundraiser for the protest movement.
Ottawa Sgt. Mahad Hassan told the court Ms. Lich wasn’t arrested for the alleged breach, even though police felt they had the grounds, after a conversation with the Crown on May 3.
The police and the Crown decided to deal with the issue at the scheduled bail review hearing instead.
Meanwhile, Ms. Lich’s lawyers plan to argue that her bail conditions are too restrictive and should be reconsidered.
Mr. Greenspon told the court Thursday that the social media ban imposed on Ms. Lich was unnecessarily broad and has had a huge impact on her life while she’s been out of custody.
He said she wishes to be in contact with her 94-year-old grandmother by social media and communicate with her friends and family.
The hearing is expected to continue Friday.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-freedom-convoy-organizer-tamara-lich-should-return-to-jail-until-her/
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Sudbury candidate named in $306M Freedom Convoy lawsuit
Ontario Party candidate for Sudbury Jason LaFace has been named as one of the initial 17 defendants in a class-action lawsuit that targets Freedom Convoy organizers and participants
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As one of the leading figures in this year’s so-called Freedom Convoy to Ottawa, Sudbury’s Jason LaFace has been targeted in a class-action lawsuit that seeks $306 million in restitution.
He is one of 17 people named in the initial round of legal documents in a class-action lawsuit, though lawyer Paul Champ said more defendants are to come, with the licence plates of more than 400 semi-trucks jotted down, of which they have names for approximately 300 thus far.
Other notable defendants listed thus far include fellow organizers Chris Barber (Swift Current, Sask.), Patrick King (Red Deer, Alta.) and Tamara Lich (Medicine Hat, Alta.).
LaFace is also currently seeking public office as the Ontario Party’s candidate for Sudbury in the June 2 provincial election. During this year’s convoy of truckers and their supporters opposed to COVID-related mandates, he was identified as a “road captain” for Northern Ontario.
The convoy made its way across Canada through various paths and converged in Ottawa in late January and early February, where they blocked off several blocks of the city’s downtown core for several days, blaring semi-truck horns and idling hundreds of vehicles throughout.
The lawsuit, Champ told Sudbury.com, is approximately 10 per cent for the “pain and suffering and discomfort that was caused to the people who live and work in downtown Ottawa.”
The lion’s share, he said, is in relation to “lost wages and business losses for all the businesses that were shut down in downtown Ottawa and all the workers that were laid off in that period.”
Further, people affected by the convoy have reported suffering the hearing disorder tinnitus as a result of truckers blaring their horns at all times of the day and night, and there’s concern about respiratory issues due to more than 400 trucks idling within several blocks of the city’s downtown core 24 hours per day for several days on end.
As a human rights lawyer, Champ clarified that he cares “very deeply and passionately” about the right to protest, but that the Freedom Convoy’s participants went well over the line.
Their tactics, he said, “were designed to cause harm to others, and in particular a third party.”
“When they came into Ottawa their plan was to completely block the streets downtown Ottawa, where over 12,000 people lived in the area they blocked off, as well as a couple hundred businesses that were operating previously,” he said.
“They were blowing air horns and train horns from very early in the morning until very late at night with the intent and purpose of making life miserable for people in downtown Ottawa because they thought they would be able to persuade the government to capitulate to their demands.”
Freedoms aren’t limitless, he said, adding that if they were, “we’d be in a state of chaos.”
Someone’s personal freedom to swing their fist ends when it comes into contact with someone’s nose, he clarified.
“Why don’t I drive on the left hand of the street? That’s interfering with my freedom. Ugh, traffic lights, who says I have to stop on red? That’s interfering with my freedom. … It’s pretty easy to recognize the juvenile foundation of this quote-unquote 'philosophy' that some of these Freedom Convoy protesters had.”
Champ’s office has created a website for the Ottawa Convoy Class Action, which can be found by clicking here. It includes the names of its defendants, with LaFace the only person from the Greater Sudbury area listed thus far.
Area residents saw the convoy make its way through Greater Sudbury in late January, during which hundreds of people lined its stretch through the municipality to cheer participants on. At least 137 Sudbury-area donors later contributed to a GiveSendGo fundraiser to help the truckers and their supporters while they were camped in Ottawa.
Sudbury.com reported on the convoy from its stop at Nairn Centre, where LaFace identified himself as a leading organizer and spoke about the effort on camera.
When told about his name being included in the class-action lawsuit, LaFace issued an emailed response to Sudbury.com’s inquiry, noting, “Don't know anything about it nor do I care to give it any energy.” He also adamantly denied having been served any legal documents related to this matter.
Not so, Champ said.
“We just served LaFace the original claim just about a week ago,” Champ said. “We were having a hard time tracking him down.”
Sudbury.com has since received a signed affidavit through Champ's office that affirms LaFace was, in fact, served a statement of claim at his Levack home on May 14 at 8:40 p.m.*
LaFace played a fairly significant role in the convoy, the lawyer said, including in its more problematic components.
"It’s my understanding that on the ground he was one of the primary liaisons with the truckers who he had organized and was working on the ground to ensure that those truckers remained motivated and interested in staying on the ground, blocking the streets of Ottawa and continuing with their honking and idling 24 hours a day, which are the main focus of harms that are in the claim.”
The nuances of the class-action lawsuit will continue to roll out over the course of the coming months, Champ said. The goal is to file a motion for certification in February, by which time more defendants are expected to be named.
A handful of plaintiffs represent groups of people affected by the convoy’s occupation of downtown Ottawa, which included a dozen city blocks, thousands of residents and a potentially hundreds of businesses.
Thus far, Champ said his office had been contacted by more than 1,000 people directly.
“Make no mistake, it’s fully supported by the people in downtown Ottawa,” Champ said, adding that they’re lining up experts to determine the medical harm from sound pollution, air pollution and the economic losses that came as a result of the occupation.
Like everything else, the $306-million estimate remains fluid.
“We’re still measuring how serious the medical harms were,” he said. “We may end up actually increasing the amount on the claim.”
Sudbury.com reached out to the Ontario Party regarding LaFace being named as a defendant in the class-action lawsuit, but did not receive an immediate response. Party Leader Derek Sloan’s Sudbury campaign stop earlier this month affirmed their strong support for the convoy.
https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/sudbury-candidate-named-in-306m-freedom-convoy-lawsuit-5402720
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Trudeau signals new gun-control changes coming; here's what the Liberals have promised
In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled that the Canadian government will be moving ahead on new gun-control measures "in the coming weeks."
In previous Parliaments, the Liberals have made changes to Canada's gun laws, including strengthening background check requirements and banning more than 1,500 models and variants of "assault-style" firearms. And, while some elements of their plans have still yet to come to fruition—including their proposed mandatory gun buyback program—in the 2021 federal election, Trudeau promised to go further.
As part of his mandate, and stemming from Liberal campaign promises, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has been tasked with moving forward on a series of gun-control measures, including the recent announcement of regulations around firearm licence verifications and business record keeping.
As for what's outstanding, and could soon be coming from the federal government, the Liberals have promised to:
- Follow through on requiring owners of banned firearms sell them back to the government to be destroyed or "rendered inoperable";
- Move to ban the sale or transfer of high-capacity magazines that can hold more than the legal number of bullets;
- Require long-gun magazines be permanently altered "so that they can never hold more than five rounds”;
- Provide funding to provinces and territories who move ahead with banning handguns in their municipalities;
- Increase the maximum penalties for firearm trafficking and smuggling; and
- Table "red flag laws" that would allow firearms to be immediately removed if the owner is deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Speaking about the U.S. shooting, the public safety minister said it is a reminder that "we still have a lot of work to do" in Canada.
"It's not just about writing responsible and common-sense laws. It's not just about investing more in law enforcement… It's about stopping crime from occurring in the first place, isn't it?" Mendicino said on May 25.
Justice Minister David Lametti also has some overlapping responsibility when it comes to tabling the "red flag law" legislation.
In an interview on CTV News Channel's Power Play on May 25, he pledged "concrete measures" were in the works that he and other ministers have been involved in. Though, he declined to offer specifics about what exactly the government is planning to do in the short term.
"But I can say that there are options out there working with municipalities in terms of restrictions under the Firearms Act, that we might work with municipalities to enforce. There's obviously Criminal Code provisions,” Lametti said. I'm not going to promise any of that, I'm just going to say that these are the kinds of discussions that have been had."
With just a few weeks left in the House of Commons' spring sitting before MPs take a summer hiatus from debating and passing legislation, and other priority bills already moving through Parliament, should a new gun-control bill be presented in as Trudeau has said "the coming weeks," it's unlikely it would pass before the fall.
Between factoring in the time opposition parties would want to study any proposed new legislation, and the time that may be needed to implement any regulations stemming from potential new laws, it could be some time before further updates to Canada's firearm laws are in effect.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/trudeau-signals-new-gun-control-changes-coming-here-s-what-the-liberals-have-promised-1.5919582
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Justin Trudeau announces bill to freeze handgun ownership in Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday his government was introducing new legislation to implement a "national freeze" on handgun ownership and prevent people from buying and selling handguns anywhere in the country.
Other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives," Trudeau told reporters at a briefing.
Reuters
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Handguns: Canada proposes complete freeze on ownership
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Canada should introduce a total ban on the buying and selling of all handguns, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said.
His government is proposing a new law that would freeze private ownership of all short-barrelled firearms.
The legislation would not ban the ownership of handguns outright - but would make it illegal to buy them.
Mr Trudeau's proposal comes days after a deadly shooting at a Texas primary school, in the neighbouring US, killed 21 people.
The bill, which was presented to Canada's parliament on Monday, makes it impossible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in the country.
"Other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives," Mr Trudeau told reporters.
"As we see gun violence continue to rise, it is our duty to keep taking action," he said.
It marks the most ambitious attempt yet by his government to restrict access to firearms.
The bill would also require rifle magazines to be reconfigured so they can hold no more than five rounds at a time.
And it would take away firearms licences from gun owners involved in domestic violence or criminal harassment.
Unlike in the US, gun ownership is not enshrined in Canada's constitution, but firearms are still popular, especially in rural parts of the country.
Canada already has stricter rules on gun ownership than its southern neighbour and records fewer firearm incidents every year.
For example, all guns must be kept locked and unloaded and anyone wishing to buy a firearm must undergo extensive background checks.
But there have been calls in recent years to tighten gun legislation there even further, especially following a number of deadly shootings.
In April 2020, a gunman posing as a police officer killed 22 people during a shooting spree in Nova Scotia - the deadliest in Canada's history.
Within days, Mr Trudeau announced an immediate ban on 1,500 different kinds of military-grade and assault-style weapons.
The new bill would effectively limit the number of legally-owned handguns in Canada to present levels.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61641543
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Justin Trudeau Points to U.S. Gun Violence in Vow to Freeze Handgun Sales in Canada: 'This Is About Freedom'
https://people.com/politics/justin-trudeau-points-us-gun-violence-freeze-handgun-sales-canada/
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Code of conduct complaint filed against convoy lawyer
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lawyer-freedom-convoy-organizers-code-of-conduct-complaint-1.6470802
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Conspiracy quack lunatic Marjorie Taylor Greene is at it again.
QAnon Congresswoman takes aim at Trudeau for handgun control, evokes conspiracy theory
Twitter tirade comes as Americans debate additional gun restrictions after Uvalde
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/05/31/qanon-congresswoman-takes-aim-at-trudeau-for-handgun-control-evokes-castro-conspiracy-theory.html
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit Colorado Springs and NORAD
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is scheduled to visit Colorado Springs and NORAD next week.
According to a press release from Trudeau’s office, the prime minister will be in Colorado on June 7 as he is joined by the Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand.
He then plans to travel to Los Angeles to attend the Summit of the Americas.
“Canada enjoys profound and longstanding relationships in the Americas.,” Part of a statement from Trudeau reads. “The Summit of the Americas is a unique opportunity to work with world leaders in the region to agree on a forward-looking agenda that tackles the challenges of our time, including advancing climate change and promoting democracy. By working together, we can build a better future for people in the Americas and beyond.”
https://www.kktv.com/2022/06/03/canadas-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-visit-colorado-springs-norad/
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Trudeau Scorns China’s Response to North Korea Patrol Flights
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-06/trudeau-rebukes-china-s-response-to-north-korea-patrol-flights#xj4y7vzkg
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Trudeau calls China’s close encounter with Canadian warplanes ‘provocative’
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/06/trudeau-china-aerial-encounter-provocative-jets-canada
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They came. They idled. They left. What have convoy protesters been doing since they went home?
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ottawa-convoy-protesters-visit-at-home/
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Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and Secretary Austin Visit NORAD
https://www.c-span.org/video/?520895-1/canadian-prime-minister-trudeau-secretary-austin-visit-norad
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Canada, California to partner on climate action and nature protection
LOS ANGELES - Canada and California are kindred progressive spirits on climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday as he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a new blueprint for working together to stave off the worst consequences of a warming planet.
The framework signed by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Environmental Protection Secretary Jared Blumenfeld, their respective bosses standing behind them, includes modest expansions on a similar 2019 agreement.
It also advances policy and regulatory steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants in both jurisdictions, as well as conservation measures and dealing with the worsening threat of wildfires.
And it will stand the test of time, Newsom said — regardless of who is in power in the California governor's mansion, the White House or the Prime Minister's Office.
California is a $3.3-trillion a year economy, he said — the fifth-largest in the world, and a "stable partner" whose efforts to address climate issues and pollution standards have been influencing other states and countries, including Canada, for decades.
"We punch above our weight," Newsom said, describing the state as a "stable partner" whose regulatory reforms have stood the test of time and the political whims of the electorate.
"We carry a lot of weight as it relates to low-carbon green growth, as it relates to efforts to change the way we produce and consume energy — regardless of who's in the White House."
Trudeau said Canada will always find favour with a partner that's willing to make progress on issues of shared significance.
"Canada has always been a country that engages in the world, and whether it's engaging with like-minded countries or like-minded states like California, we're just there to get things done," Trudeau said.
"When we find alignment on so many things — as we always have with California, but as we specifically have under Gavin Newsom's administration — we jump on it."
Trudeau delivered an impassioned defence of his government's efforts to rebrand Canada, a country economically dependent on its fossil-fuel resources, as a champion of tackling climate change.
It's precisely because of that reputation as an oil-producing nation that Canada has extra credibility on climate issues, Trudeau said.
"Moving forward on climate change is really hard for us. We have a thriving fossil fuel industry in our country at a time where the world continues to run on fossil fuels and will for a number more years," he said.
"The fact that we have that means it's all the more important for us to step up and show real leadership on fighting climate change, and that's exactly what we've done."
Guilbeault later described taking part in a Summit of the Americas meeting to document progress on the Global Methane Pledge, an international effort to target one of the most powerful greenhouse gases.
Canada has committed to reducing methane emissions, which can be between 20 to 80 per cent worse for the atmosphere than CO2, by 30 per cent by 2030, Guilbeault said.
"We can get a big bang for our buck in terms of emissions reduction and in terms of preventing increases in temperatures," he said.
"If we reduce global emissions of methane by 30 per cent between now and 2030, it's 0.5 C that we're basically sucking out of the atmosphere. Less warming means less climate change."
The fellowship between Newsom and Trudeau, two progressive leaders in their early 50s who cut a similar silhouette, was evident from the moment they met on the front steps of the California Science Center.
The pair chatted and laughed out loud at each other's jokes as they sat down for a brief luncheon meeting before their joint news conference, where Newsom joked about Trudeau's popularity with his staff, a lack of term limits in Canada and how he himself is a "future ex-governor of California."
The bonhomie gave way to a more sombre meeting later Thursday between Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden at the Summit of the Americas.
Biden agreed during that meeting that he would finally pay an in-person visit to Canada in the coming months, his first since becoming president in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Trudeau seated next to him, Biden delivered the standard White House greeting about the U.S. having "no better friend in the world than Canada" and said he and the prime minister share a similar vision for the hemisphere.
"I think we both share the same sense that the possibilities for our hemisphere are unlimited," Biden said, calling it the "most democratic hemisphere in the world."
Trudeau responded by saying it's "extraordinarily important" for close partners like Canada and the U.S. to be there for each other and for allies around the world.
"The work that we can do on supporting and projecting and sharing our values is a way of actually supporting and impacting citizens around the world," Trudeau said.
Doing so, he said, helps make the case "that democracy is not just fairer, but it's also better for citizens, putting food on the table, putting futures in front of them."
The federal government's official readout of the meeting mentioned their mutual support of Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and that Trudeau also brought up Canada's support for NATO and the plan to modernize the continental defence system known as Norad.
Trudeau also "expressed his support" for Biden's proposed hemispheric "Partnership for Economic Prosperity," but the readout did not mention whether Canada has been invited to take part.
Trudeau also committed to working closely with the U.S. and other partners "to respond to the current humanitarian, protection, and irregular migration challenges in the region."
They also discussed supply chains and co-operating on securing critical minerals.
The White House readout went further, saying the two "discussed the potential of developing critical minerals in both countries," as well as "joint efforts" to protect supply chains from "external shocks."
Trudeau also made the point that U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber "are placing further pressure on home prices and affordability."
Trudeau also sat down Thursday with the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, before sitting down with Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.
Argentina and Canada have a lot of "common ground" on shared values, including climate change and gender equality, Fernández said.
"Canada is a great country and has a great prime minister," he said. "There's a lot for us to do together."
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-california-to-partner-on-climate-action-and-nature-protection-1.5939445
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Trudeau aims for big finish on final day of Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles
https://www.rmotoday.com/national-news/canadas-soa-commitment-27m-on-irregular-migration-4000-more-migrants-by-2028-5464169
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Canada's SOA commitment: $27M on irregular migration, 4,000 more migrants by 2028
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/canada-s-soa-commitment-27m-on-irregular-migration-4-000-more-migrants-by-2028-1.5941714
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden
June 9, 2022
Los Angeles, California
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, to reiterate their commitment to deepening the Canada-U.S. partnership on a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global challenges.
The leaders discussed Putin’s illegal and unjustifiable military aggression against Ukraine, the immense human grief and suffering, and stressed their unwavering commitment to continue supporting the government and people of Ukraine. The leaders agreed to continue their close cooperation on sanctions alignment, and on economic, humanitarian, military, and other forms of assistance, and to continue working with partners and allies to maintain unity in the face of Russia’s disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the rules-based international order.
The Prime Minister noted Canada’s commitment to the defence and security of NATO Allies, and of the North American continent. He outlined Canada’s recent defence spending commitments in Budget 2022, and discussed support of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) modernization.
On the Summit of the Americas, the Prime Minister and the President shared their mutual commitment to the Summit theme of “Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future.” The Prime Minister noted his commitment to supporting inclusive economic growth, pandemic recovery, climate action, the green transition, and democratic resilience in the hemisphere. The Prime Minister expressed his support for President Biden’s Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, and looked forward to working together with the President and other hemispheric partners to advance the well-being of people across the hemisphere.
The Prime Minister and President discussed irregular migration and forced displacement, and reiterated their commitment to working together to address the root causes of migration. The Prime Minister expressed his support for the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, and his commitment to enhance cooperation with the U.S. and other partners to respond to the current humanitarian, protection, and irregular migration challenges in the region.
The Prime Minister and President discussed the ongoing crisis in Haiti.
The leaders noted the polarizing effects of disinformation, and the grave threat it poses to civil societies, especially in Russia.
The Prime Minister and President discussed their mutual commitment to enhancing collaboration on regional security and good governance in the Indo-Pacific region, and with regards to their respective relationships with China. They recognized Canada’s recent announcement that it intends to implement a new telecommunications security framework, and to prohibit the inclusion of Huawei and ZTE’s products and services in Canada’s 5G networks.
The Prime Minister and the President renewed their commitment to supply chain security and resilience and noted the release earlier today of the U.S.-Canada/Canada-U.S. Supply Chains Working Group Progress Report.
The leaders also noted progress made under the Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals, and discussed the importance of taking further action bilaterally. They also stressed their commitment to working with like-minded partners to drive investment to mining, minerals processing and recycling projects, including for those critical minerals which are core inputs for electric vehicles, advanced batteries, and other clean energy technologies.
The leaders noted the recent challenges with global energy markets and reiterated the importance of working together to strengthen Canada-U.S. energy security. They recognized the opportunity that enhanced Canada-U.S. energy collaboration offers for our collective energy security, that domestic energy security and climate action are increasingly and inextricably tied together, and that the clean energy transition will deliver energy security and a sustainable future for generations to come.
The Prime Minister and the President therefore noted their shared commitment to combatting climate change and accelerating the green transition.
The Prime Minister and the President noted the importance of continuing to promote and nurture trade and investment ties. The Prime Minister noted that the imposition of duties on Canadian softwood lumber are placing further pressure on home prices and affordability.
The Prime Minister and the President noted the uniqueness of the Canada-U.S. partnership, and the broad and deep people-to-people ties that bind us together, and stressed their mutual commitment to continuing to deepen the relationship for the benefit of all of our citizens.
The leaders agreed that the President will visit Canada in the coming months.
https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/readouts/2022/06/09/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-meets-president-united-states-america-joe
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'I don’t regret anything’: Tyson Billings (aka Freedom George) pleads guilty to convoy charge
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-press-newsalert-key-freedom-convoy-figure-pleads-guilty-to-mischief
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with President of Rwanda Paul Kagame
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, about the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali.
Prime Minister Trudeau looked forward to travelling to Rwanda next week and to meeting with President Kagame. The two leaders exchanged views on their objectives and the path forward for the modernization and renewal of the Commonwealth, noting the importance of substantive discussions on climate, youth employment, and innovation. The Prime Minister also emphasized the need for countries in the Commonwealth to promote democracy, human rights, and pluralism in line with the Commonwealth Charter.
The two leaders exchanged views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and noted that the invasion was contrary to foundational principles of the Commonwealth. Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated that the invasion was an affront to the fundamental principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, self-determination, and international law, and expressed that it is important for the Commonwealth summit to provide an opportunity for member countries to stand up for democracy and denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The leaders discussed the impact of the resulting supply chain disruptions, price hikes, and increasing food security issues, that have hit Africa particularly hard.
The two leaders also spoke about the growing depth and scope of bilateral relations. Prime Minister Trudeau looked forward to a fulsome discussion on these issues at next week’s meetings.
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Ottawa police say they are aware of planned Canada Day protests
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Ottawa police say they are aware of planned protests for Canada Day, and say they won’t allow a repeat of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ occupation that took over downtown earlier this year.
Police said in a statement Friday they have received several questions about planned protests and other commentary online, and have been planning accordingly for weeks.
“We will not allow for conditions that led to the unlawful protests in February to reoccur,” police said. “We are applying lessons learned from the unlawful protest as well as the Rolling Thunder and associated protests to build our plan.”
Police say they expect Heritage Canada celebrations—taking place at LeBreton Flats this year because of construction on Parliament Hill—to be larger than usual. They are also expecting several other large events throughout the city.
"These factors, combined with an increased level of protests and demonstrations, are guiding our planning,” they said Friday. “There will be significant road closures and a major increase in police presence. We will be bringing multiple extra policing resources from several services.
Organizers are planning events from late June through Canada Day and the rest of the summer to protest remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Many are affiliated with, or expressed support for, the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest that took over downtown Ottawa for three weeks in January and February.
The group Veterans for Freedom is holding a three-day conference in Ottawa next week and is coordinating a June 30 route for James Topp and his supporters to walk through parts of Ottawa to the National War Memorial.
Topp is a Canadian soldier who was charged by the Department of National Defence in May after publicly speaking out against federal vaccine requirements while in uniform.
The group is also planning Canada Day celebrations on the lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada, a march to City Hall, and a dance party on Parliament Hill that evening.
Police say they will continue to prohibit vehicles in and around places of national significance, as was done for the ‘Rolling Thunder’ event in late April.
"The right to lawful and peaceful demonstrations will always be protected,” police said. “The operational planning team is mindful that we do not want to overshadow this important and celebratory event. We will have the resources and plan to respond to safety issues immediately."
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-police-say-they-are-aware-of-planned-canada-day-protests-1.5951621
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'Freedom Convoy’ caught police, institutions off-guard, ex-Ottawa police chief says
Ottawa’s former police chief, who resigned amid heavy criticism of the force’s handling of the “Freedom Convoy” protest in February, says Canada’s institutions and police services were unprepared for the scale of the demonstration.
Peter Sloly says the protest represents a “paradigm shift” in the kinds of security events facing Ottawa and he is calling for the street in front of Parliament Hill to be closed to vehicles to prevent another massive national security threat.
Sloly spoke out for the first time since he stepped down during the heat of the protest on Feb. 15, when Ottawa’s downtown streets were seized by hundreds of big-rigs, other trucks and thousands of demonstrators protesting COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government.
He tells a parliamentary committee the easiest way to prevent another national security threat from approaching Parliament Hill would be to close Wellington Street to traffic and install barriers and bollards to control the flow of people and potential threats.
He also suggests placing Wellington Street under the jurisdiction of Parliamentary Protective Services instead of the Ottawa police, though he warned that will be a costly solution and won’t solve communication issues between the various police services that operate on and near Parliament Hill.
Sen. Vernon White, who served as Ottawa police chief from 2007 to 2012, told the committee he’s been advocating for the closure of Wellington Street and Elgin Street near the National War Memorial since a terrorist stormed the Hill in 2014.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8888466/freedom-convoy-caught-police-off-guard-ex-ottawa-police-chief/
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Canada commits $27M on easing migration pressures at Summit of the Americas
Deal includes promise to welcome 4,000 more migrants from Latin America, Caribbean by 2028
Leaders from across the Americas, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, signed on Friday to what U.S. President Joe Biden called a "historic commitment" to ease the pressure of northward migration.
The agreement, the central accomplishment of the Summit of the Americas in California, commits Canada to spend $26.9 million this year on slowing the flow of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection also includes a Canadian promise to welcome an additional 4,000 migrants from the region by 2028, as well as a pre-existing plan to bring in 50,000 more agricultural workers from Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean.
Canada is already a beacon of hope for migrants from all over the world, Trudeau said during his closing news conference when asked why a G7 country is taking so few additional newcomers.
Simply bringing more and more people in doesn't address the underlying issues of economic, social and governmental instability that compel people to pack up and leave in the first place, he said.
"It's not simply enough to say, 'We'll just keep accepting people.' We need to do that, and we will, because that's the country we are," Trudeau said.
"But we also need to be making deliberate, targeted efforts to make sure people don't feel compelled, that the only choice they have is to put themselves and their families at tremendous risk in order to leave their communities in their country."
Progressive initiatives
To that end, the government announced an additional $118 million for progressive initiatives aimed at improving the lives of people where they already live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
That includes $67.9 million to promote gender equality; $31.5 million in health and pandemic response spending; $17.3 million on democratic governance and $1.6 million for digital access and anti-disinformation measures.
"Each of us is signing up for commitments and recognizing the challenges that we all share, and the responsibilities that impact all of our nations," Biden said earlier in the day, the 19 other leaders at the summit standing on the stage behind him.
He blamed the growing migratory pressure on the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, made worse by the war in Ukraine and what he called the "turmoil" wrought by autocracies in the region.
Colombia, he said, is hosting millions of refugees from Venezuela, while as much as 10 per cent of Costa Rica's population consists of migrants — a problem he said demands a collective approach for the sake of the hemisphere's health and well-being.
"Our security is linked in ways that I don't think most people in my country fully understand, and maybe not in your country as well," Biden said. "Our common humanity demands that we care for our neighbours by working together."
The $26.9-million portion of Canada's commitment will go toward improving integration and border management, protecting the rights of migrants, gender equality measures and tackling human smuggling.
4 key pillars
The L.A. declaration is based on four key pillars, Biden said: stability and assistance for communities, wider legal migratory routes, humane migration management and co-ordinated emergency response.
The White House said it seeks "to mobilize the entire region around bold actions that will transform our approach to managing migration in the Americas."
It includes commitments from an array of Latin American and Caribbean nations on everything from economic stabilization and humanitarian relief to "regularizing" migrants living illegally in host countries.
Colombia, for instance, has already regularized 1.2 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees, and has agreed to do the same for 1.5 million more by the end of the summer.
Not surprisingly, the U.S. is doing the heaviest lifting, including $25 million US to support countries that are implementing new regularization programs, $314 million US for stabilization efforts and a $65-million US pilot project to support agricultural workers.
The Biden administration is also committing to resettle 20,000 refugees from the Americas over the next two years, three times the current resettlement rate, the White House said.
At the same time as the funding and resettlement efforts, the U.S. plans to crack down on human smuggling operations, including a new campaign that's "unprecedented in scale" aimed at disrupting and dismantling criminal smuggling enterprises in Latin America.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-summit-of-the-americas-1.6485483
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Canada's Justin Trudeau Announces "Freeze" On Handgun Ownership
"We're introducing legislation to implement a national freeze on handgun ownership," Justin Trudeau told a news conference, joined by dozens of families and friends of victims of gun violence.
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Ottawa: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday a proposed freeze on handgun ownership in Canada that would effectively ban their importation and sale, following recent mass shootings in the United States.
The bill must still be passed by Parliament, with the ruling Liberals holding only a minority of seats.
"We're introducing legislation to implement a national freeze on handgun ownership," Trudeau told a news conference, joined by dozens of families and friends of victims of gun violence.
"What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada," he said. "In other words, we're capping the market for handguns."
Days after Canada's worst mass shooting left 23 dead in rural Nova Scotia in April 2020, the government banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms.
But Trudeau acknowledged Monday that gun violence continues to rise.
The government statistical agency reported last week that firearms-related violent crimes account for less than three percent of all violent crimes in Canada.
But since 2009 the per capita rate of guns being pointed at someone has nearly tripled, while the rate at which a gun was fired with an intent to kill or wound is up five-fold.
Almost two-thirds of gun crimes in urban areas involved handguns.
Police often point to smuggling from the United States -- which is reeling from recent shootings at a school in Texas and at a supermarket in New York state -- as the main source of handguns.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino estimated there are about one million handguns in this country -- up significantly from a decade ago.
Trudeau commented, "People should be free to go to the supermarket, their school or their place of worship without fear. People should be free to go to the park or to a birthday party without worrying about what might happen from a stray bullet.
"Gun violence is a complex problem," he said. "But at the end of the day, the math is really quite simple: the fewer the guns in our communities, the safer everyone will be."
The proposed law would also strip anyone involved in domestic violence or stalking of their firearms license, and take away guns from those deemed to be a risk to themselves or others, as well as strengthen border security and criminal penalties for gun trafficking
It would also ban long-gun magazines capable of holding more than five bullets.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/canadas-justin-trudeau-announces-freeze-on-handgun-ownership-3039178
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338Canada: Why Canada’s Conservatives are choking on diesel fumes
In a contest for the soul of the party, here’s why frontrunner Pierre Poilievre is playing to party voters who supported the convoy protest.
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MONTREAL, Que. — Canada’s Conservatives often boast about the size of their tent, though its capacity is being tested by wildly differing viewpoints on the Freedom Convoy protest.
Questions about the trucker convoy took center stage last week when five of six leadership candidates met to debate in Ottawa — not far from where hundreds of trucks and thousands of protesters took neighborhoods around Parliament hostage in February.
The divide in opinion on the convoy, which could hardly be starker, may be on display again Wednesday when candidates gather in Edmonton for a rematch.
The debate is not just over leadership, but also about the soul of the party. Pierre Poilievre is leading a front-runner campaign with ideals that could wrest the Conservatives to the right.
During their first showdown, Jean Charest lambasted Poilievre for openly supporting the protest. And the former Quebec premier was met by wild booing when he suggested the blockades were illegal.
Meanwhile, social conservative candidate Leslyn Lewis accused Poilievre of not doing enough — supporting the convoy only when it was convenient for him to do so.
Ahead of Wednesday’s matchup we have new data from EKOS Research Associates that sheds light on how Canadians, and especially conservative voters, feel about this issue.
What polls say about the protests
Here is the question put to the field: “As you may know, the convoy protests were a protest movement made up of truckers and other demonstrators who, among other things, blockaded several Canadian cities and border crossings with the United States in February 2022. The protest was sparked by vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers, but later grew to a push for an end to all pandemic restrictions. To what extent do you support or oppose this movement?”
Among all of the poll’s respondents, a clear majority, 63 percent, opposed the convoy, against 23 percent who expressed support for the protests.
Breaking down the results by polling region, the data shows that a majority of voters opposed the blockades in all polling regions of the country, including 68 percent in Quebec, 63 percent in Ontario, 55 percent in British Columbia, and even 51 percent in Alberta.
So then why would leadership candidates spend so much time and political capital focused on an issue that most Canadians object to? The answer lies in the breakdown by voting intentions.
Almost 90 percent of Liberal voters and 83 percent of NDP voters opposed the convoy.
But among CPC voters? A plurality of respondents, 46 percent, actually supported the convoy, against only 30 percent who opposed it. This helps to explain why last week’s debate seemed designed not so much for the general public as it was for internal CPC consumption.
In fact, the tally among CPC supporters stood much closer to those of the People’s Party of Canada, the fringe far-right party led by former Beauce MP Maxime Bernier (the PPC received 4.9 percent of the popular vote in the 2021 federal election, and failed to win a single seat) than the average Canadian electorate.
Among all voters, Charest and Poilievre stand in a statistical tie with 24 and 22 percent, respectively. Patrick Brown, who skipped last week’s debate but will be on stage Wednesday, stands in third place with 11 percent, while Lewis was a distant fourth with 5 percent.
However, when we break down voting intention results and isolate data from current CPC supporters, the numbers show a dominant lead for Poilievre: Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed chose the Carleton MP, against only 14 percent who preferred Charest — a crushing 43-point lead in favor of Poilievre.
It would be a safe assumption to presume conservative voters, who overwhelmingly favor Poilievre according to this poll (and other recent polls from various sources), would be much closer to a representative sample of CPC members, that is, those who will actually get to cast a vote for this leadership race. Therefore, one must assume Poilievre is leaps and bounds ahead of the field in member support.
Moreover, if we crossover the convoy support and preferred CPC leader data, we observe a significant divide. On one side is Charest and Brown. On the other, Poilievre and Lewis.
Among respondents who favor Jean Charest for CPC leader, 85 percent opposed the convoy, among Brown’s supporters, 82 percent opposed the convoy.
Poilievre supporters stand at the other end of this spectrum. Fifty-one percent approved of the convoy, and only 22 percent opposed. In fact, Poilievre’s numbers are far more similar to Lewis’ than to Charest’s or Brown’s, and, once again, are much closer to the PPC’s than to the average Canadian voter.
Some of those who have expressed that the very soul of the CPC is squarely in play in this leadership race have been accused of hyperbole, but these numbers are just one example of how divided the Conservative movement currently is, and how much healing will be needed within the base once the leadership contest is over.
Nevertheless, there were no calls healing or unity on display last week. Throughout the fiery exchanges during the debate, Poilievre often referred to Charest as a “liberal,” not as a political stand, but as a slur. While this catchphrase evidently works wonders for clicks and likes on social media, it remains to be seen whether this strategy will really help grow the CPC base in time for a general election.
Still, this poll’s data suggest that Poilievre’s unapologetic support for the convoy, along with his offense-first brash style we witnessed at the debate, appeals far more to “purple conservatives” than to “blue liberals.” For a party trying hard not to become “Liberal-lite,” Poilievre seems inclined to lead his party towards becoming “PPC-light.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/11/338canada-canada-conservatives-convoy-protest-00031535
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Freeland says Canada’s economic reputation was at risk, prompting Emergencies Act
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The risk to Canada’s economic reputation was behind the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to deter the “Freedom Convoy” blockades across the country, the deputy prime minister and finance minister repeatedly told MPs Tuesday.
But Chrystia Freeland — the highest-ranking minister yet to appear before the special committee investigating the government’s unprecedented use of emergency powers — would not share specific data that would have been available at the time the Act was invoked, which would have shown the protests were damaging the national economy.
“It was clear to me that with each passing hour, our economic reputation with the United States as a reliable trading partner and as a reliable investment destination was being damaged,” she said.
She pointed to comments made by Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin in early February, when protesters blocked the key Ambassador Bridge border crossing between her state and Ontario, who said the blockades made the case for more Buy American policies to end the reliance on foreign trade — including with Canada.
“This is so dangerous to Canada, colleagues,” Freeland said.
“I was deeply, deeply concerned that these illegal blockades and this illegal occupation would provoke a whole new wave of protectionism and deeply erode our trading relationship with the United States. That was a real economic threat.”
Such a threat could not be specifically felt in the moment, the minister said, but rather “in the years ahead.”
That didn’t sit well with some members of the committee, including NDP MP Matthew Green, who pressed Freeland for relevant economic data that would have influenced the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.
Their exchange grew testy as Freeland disputed Green’s assertion that reputation and “feelings” don’t matter when it comes to the economy, and specifically its impact on the government’s decision-making.
“I’m not talking about pontification, I’m talking about facts here,” Green said at one point.
“I don’t believe I’m pontificating,” Freeland replied. “The economic impact was absolutely, clearly there.”
“That’s not good enough,” Green shot back.
Some of the economic data figures Freeland pointed to were released after the last trucks were removed from outside Parliament, including Ottawa city council’s estimation that the blockade there cost the city at least $30 million.
Experts predicted at the time of the blockades that the economic impacts could be felt for months afterwards, without giving specific figures.
Yet data showed the blockades at the Ambassador Bridge and Coutts, Alta., border crossings had little impact on cross-border trade, with truckers simply being rerouted to other nearby ports of entry.
While she could not speak to police actions and their needs at the time, Freeland said she was speaking daily with Canadian business leaders and owners who were raising concerns about the economic impact of the blockades.
“These were not people who hyperventilate,” she said. “These were people who could really see every day their businesses being eroded, and therefore the national economy.”
Throughout her appearance, a few MPs from the opposition parties accused Freeland of not providing clear answers to questions, with Green at one point accusing the minister of being “almost contemptible.”
Freeland did speak to the controversial financial measures carried out under the Act, which included directing banks to freeze some protesters’ accounts, as well as those of any donors to the “Freedom Convoy” movement.
She said any decisions to freeze accounts were made independently by financial institutions independent without “political direction,” based on information received from law enforcement and internal data.
The government has said more than 200 bank accounts worth $7.8 million were frozen while the Act was in place. Any affected accounts were unfrozen once the Act was lifted on Feb. 23.
Freeland told the committee that RCMP never provided a list of donors to financial institutions to be targeted under the emergency measures. She later added that court orders would have taken too long to have the desired effect, which was to cut off the “Freedom Convoy” movement and deter future blockades.
Freeland repeatedly said invoking the Emergencies Act was a “last resort” for the government to crack down on the blockades and give police the necessary powers to remove protesters and their vehicles after weeks of inaction.
“It was an agonizing time, I think, for many Canadians, and it was an agonizing time for everyone in government, because we had to balance some serious things against each other,” she said.
“We did not invoke the Emergencies Act lightly. That’s why it took some time.”
Following Freeland’s appearance, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told the committee it took several days for the “Freedom Convoy” movement to rise to the level of a national emergency, prompting his ministry and others to step in.
He also tried to clarify that the government never received a recommendation from police to invoke the Emergencies Act.
Marco Mendicino, Blair’s successor as public safety minister, has come under fire for telling the committee that police asked for the government to invoke the Act, despite the heads of the RCMP and Ottawa police saying otherwise.
"(Police) were clearly having difficulties in affecting the lawful purpose of restoring public order in the city of Ottawa, protecting the people of Ottawa, to opening up those vital trade corridors (under existing laws),” he said. “I needed to understand why.
“One of the considerations the government has to consider before invoking the Act is to ensure that no other law of Canada can be applied to these circumstances. So I think it was absolutely essential and appropriate to consult with law enforcement.”
Mendicino has used similar language to try and clarify his earlier comments, but that has not stopped Conservatives from calling for his resignation. The minister has defended his actions.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8920882/emergencies-act-freeland-freedom-convoy-blockades-ottawa/
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Prime Minister signs historic land claim settlement with Siksika First Nation
(https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2022/6/2/justin-trudeau--chief-ouray-crowfoot--siksika-1-5930050-1654200606778.jpg)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Siksika Nation Chief Ouray Crowfoot participate in a signing ceremony on the Siksika Nation in Siksika Nation, Alta
SIKSIKA, ALTA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the chief of the Siksika First Nation have signed a historic land claim settlement, which the federal government says is one of the largest agreements of its kind in Canada.
Trudeau and Marc Miller, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, participated in a signing ceremony Thursday with Chief Ouray Crowfoot, council and community members.
"We're gathered today to right a wrong from the past," Trudeau said during the ceremony.
"We're gathered to give ourselves a chance to start rebuilding trust between us, nation to nation."
The federal government said the settlement dates back more than a century when Canada broke its Blackfoot Treaty promise and took almost half of Siksika Nation's reserve land, including some of its agricultural lands, to sell to people who settled in the area.
The agreement provides $1.3 billion in compensation to Siksika Nation to resolve outstanding land claims, which include about 46,500 hectares of Siksika's Reserve and certain mineral rights taken by Canada.
Trudeau said it's important to move forward as partners with Indigenous people.
"This settlement will enable you to invest in your priorities like infrastructure, education and supports for Elders and youth," he told those gathered. "It will create new economic, social and cultural opportunities."
Crowfoot said the settlement doesn't make up for past wrongs, but it will make a difference in people's lives.
"Canada needs to stop using the word reconciliation. You will never reconcile, you will never make it whole," he said.
"This land claim -- $1.3 billion, that's a lot of money -- it will never make it whole of what it was before. But we've got to move forward. What the $1.3 (billion) can do is provide opportunities, opportunities we didn't have before.
"I do see the tide turning for Siksika. I see us becoming a thriving nation."
Siksika's website says each member of the First Nation is to receive $20,000 in July as part of the settlement.
Siksika Nation includes approximately 8,000 members.
Elder nation members told CTV news they want the true history of their people to be shared.
"These things happened to my people and it's my wish to go out there and tell our story and people listen," said Angeline Ayoungman.
Young nation members say they are optimistic that this progress will benefit future generations.
"It's a big thing for me because I can tell my daughter about this historic moment that happened here," said Tasheena Black Kettle.
"You know it can be very beneficial for a lot of people you know it can mean getting a new vehicle, being able to go to college, getting a better experience, getting a better chance at life," said Desmond Pelly.
He later added, "It's a light at the end of a dark tunnel for a lot of people that are struggling with poverty."
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/prime-minister-signs-historic-land-claim-settlement-with-siksika-first-nation-1.5929590
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'We are all with you': Trudeau in London for 'Our London Family' community events
(https://london.ctvnews.ca/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2022/6/5/trudeau-in-london--ont----june-2022-1-5933819-1654458475130.jpg)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the stage at Oakridge Secondary School to speak ahead of a march to the London Muslim Mosque on June 5, 2022 in honour of the Afzaal family. (Jim Knight/CTV News London)
Speaking at an emotional march in London, Ont., marking the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack on a Muslim family, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told those gathered that Islamophobia is “an attack on all Canadians.”
The prime minster participated in a number of community on events Sunday, which began with a roundtable discussion with students at Oakridge Secondary School in the early afternoon.
Trudeau was later joined by London Mayor Ed Holder, Afzaal family members and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, and were in attendance for a rally that began later that day.
“Since the evening of June the sixth, I’ve truly struggled to find the right words — how to properly express on behalf of our city the magnitude of what happened to that beautiful family,” said Holder.
Holder then introduced Trudeau, who took the stage outside Oakridge Secondary School to a crowd of approximately 2,000 people to talk about the memories of the Afzaal family and the dangers of Islamophobia.
"We are gathered here to honour the victims of this horrible tragedy," Trudeau said. "Three generations of the family were taken by brutal, cowardly and brazen act of terrorist violence. We remember them. Some of you were her [Yumnah’s] classmates — I know you miss her deeply."
Trudeau said that millions of Canadians face microaggressions and racism daily in Canada, adding that the siutation must change. He said his government has taken action to address racism in Canada, but there is still work that needs to be done.
“We need to be there to clearly say this is unacceptable, this is wrong,” he said. “We also need to act.”
During the speech, Trudeau said it sent a strong message to see so many people in attendance at the rally, and that Canada’s diversity and openness is what makes Canada great.
"We are all with you. We are all Muslims in Canada. We are all Afzaal family members in Canada," Trudeau added.
Trudeau also spoke to the harm and divisiveness of disinformation, and said it’s up to everyone to speak up and call it out. He said that words matter because they lead to action, and action is what lead to thousands of people gathering in London Sunday for the Afzaal family.
“Words matter,” Trudeau said. “Words continue to matter.”
Yumnah Afzaal attended Oakridge Secondary School, and during the rally, her cousin Esa Islam talked about how the attack left him with a sense of responsibility.
“In the awake of the attack that took my cousin Yumnah and her family’s lives last year, I was left with a responsibility — a responsibility to ensure that no one would ever have to wake up in the morning to hear that members of their family were murdered the night before, solely because of their faith or how they looked.”
Yumnah’s friend Maryam Al-Sabawi talked about how she lost her sense of belonging, community and sense of self.
And Al-Sabawi had one final message for the prime minister.
“To our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, I turned 16 this year...you have two years to earn my vote.”
Following the conclusion of the speeches, there was a community-led march through the streets of London, beginning at Oakridge Secondary School and culminating at the London Muslim Mosque.
According to the City of London, there will be traffic impacts on Sunday with Oxford Street between Hyde Park Road and Wonderland Road being closed during the march — the street has since reopened to the public.
Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, died after police say they were deliberately hit by a truck during an evening walk on June 6, 2021, in London.
The family's nine-year-old boy was seriously injured, but survived.
A 21-year-old man faces four counts of first-degree murder in what police say was allegedly an attack motivated by hate. The case has not yet gone to trial.
https://london.ctvnews.ca/we-are-all-with-you-trudeau-in-london-for-our-london-family-community-events-1.5933673
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In Canada Day message, Trudeau says Canadian flag represents promise of a better life
The prime minister said the national holiday is an opportunity to commit to the values that the Maple Leaf represents, adding that the flag is more than a symbol.
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OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for unity amid a potentially divisive national holiday on Friday, using his official Canada Day address to call for deepened commitment to Canadian values like hope and kindness.
The prime minister said the date marking Canada’s 155th anniversary of confederacy offers an opportunity to embrace the values the Maple Leaf represents, adding the flag is more than a symbol.
“It’s also a promise — a promise of opportunity, a promise of safety for those fleeing violence and war, and a promise of a better life,” he said.
An unprecedented level of security met locals and visitors alike in the national capital Friday for the first in-person Canada Day events in Ottawa since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police had a highly visible presence throughout the downtown core, with groups of officers walking the streets and cars framing the entrance to the LeBreton Flats Park where the main celebrations are set to take place. Visitors had to walk through airport-style metal detectors and have their bags searched before entering.
Among the earliest arrivals were Donna Marzolf and her 12-year-old daughter Alexis Livingstone, who travelled from Calgary to take part in the celebration and secure front-row seats to the main stage. Alexis, sporting a maple leaf t-shirt and carrying a small Canadian flag, said she was particularly excited to see her twin sister Sophia perform O Canada at the festivities as part of the Calgary Children’s Choir.
The twins’s mother said the day was a celebration of “peace and safety and freedom -- though that kind of has a bad connotation right now.”
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Karen MacDonald flew from Ladner, B.C., for her first visit to Ottawa.
“It’s totally thrilling to me to be here in person,“ she said. ”So many different people in the city are all wearing red and white, with flags. It makes my tummy hurt with pride.”
Along with people celebrating the holiday, a convoy of protesters opposed to COVID-19 restrictions — who often drape themselves in Canadian flags — are planning events in Ottawa on Friday. But the National War Memorial, which was the site of a large gathering Thursday evening, was quiet early on Canada Day as a handful of visitors took photos.
Small lineups of people were screened by metal detectors at the entrances to Parliament Hill as a calm but celebratory crowd wandered through downtown streets that were closed to vehicles.
Trudeau’s official holiday message, released Friday morning, described Canada as strong because of the diversity among its roughly 38 million residents.
“No matter what our faith is, where we were born, what colour our skin is, what language we speak or whom we love, we are all equal members of this great country,” he said. “And today we celebrate the place we all call home.”
In an apparent reference to the treatment of Indigenous people, including at residential schools, the prime minister spoke about Canada’s “historic wrongs,” saying while we can’t change history, we can work to build a better future.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon released a Canada Day address of her own calling on Canadians to work together to build an inclusive society.
She urged people to be kind to each other, learn from one another and listen to Indigenous Peoples, on whose land we live.
The Governor General is due to give a speech at formal celebrations in Ottawa on Friday, which will also be attended by the prime minister.
https://www.thestar.com/politics/2022/07/01/governor-general-calls-on-canadians-to-work-toward-inclusive-society-on-canada-day.html
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Trudeau urges Canada Day celebrants to reclaim Maple Leaf as national symbol
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-day-message-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-2022-1.6508218
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Trudeau opened up a pretty big can of "Woke" with his "reconciliation" towards native Canadians.
First it started meekly enough with renaming streets and schools that had a "colonial" tie. The "dialogue" is one-sided because you can't mention what bad things natives did to whites.
"Communities Reimagining Celebrations to Honour Indigenous People on Canada Day" ( Link (https://globalnews.ca/news/8958201/canada-day-honouring-indigenous/) )
Halifax, Nova Scotia must really be feeling the pressure. "Halifax" and "Nova Scotia" are about as "colonial" as it gets, so a name-change must be being threatened. The city now calls its celebration "Kana’ta: Canada Day". The natives already receive recognition from a national holiday in September called "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation".
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Prime Minister Trudeau arrives for first Calgary Stampede since 2019
Trudeau joined his lone Calgary MP, George Chahal, at a pancake breakfast in the morning
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau landed in Calgary on Sunday to attend Stampede for the first time since 2019.
Trudeau joined his lone Calgary MP, George Chahal, at a pancake breakfast at northeast Calgary’s Genesis Centre in the morning, surprising the crowd of about 200 people. Chahal, a former city councillor, greeted Trudeau with a big Stampede-welcoming “Yahoo.”
“This is a moment to gather and to celebrate being able to gather once again. It’s great to see everyone in person. Happy Stampede,” the prime minister said in a brief address to the crowd.
“We’ve had a tough couple of years where people have had to pull together and make it through. And we really saw the strength of community, Canadians leaning on each other, being there for each other — that’s what it’s all about.”
Trudeau flipped pancakes and mingled with the crowd for about 30 minutes before heading to the Stampede around 10:30 a.m. alongside Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault. He was also scheduled to attend a Liberal Party fundraiser later in the day.
“I was not expecting Justin Trudeau at all,” said Melvin Lopes, who attended the breakfast with his family. “Very good surprise; my father-in-law is visiting us from India and he’s a big fan of Justin Trudeau . . . He’s with me here today, and he’s so glad to see him here in person.”
One man was escorted off the premises by police after shouting “Trudeau’s a traitor” as the prime minister took the microphone to speak to the crowd.
At the Stampede, Trudeau met with the Stampede’s veterinarian and some students who are researching animal safety. They walked along the horses in the pens behind the grandstand infield as they talked. He then met with Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who welcomed him to Calgary.
Gondek told The Canadian Press it was great to talk to Trudeau about the Stampede and their shared responsibility.
“We had a great conversation about the vibe that he’s feeling in the city — his words — so it’s really good to make sure that the federal government is aware that Calgary’s in good shape,” she said.
Trudeau also visited one of the barns and talked to some heavy horse owners before walking through the crowds on the grounds, where many young families were attending.
Some Stampede-goers stopped the prime minister while he walked along the midway, asking for selfies as he talked about how nice it was to be back at the event. Others, including refugees from Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan, thanked him. One Calgary woman thanked him for helping save her home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Osman Husein, who was attending his first Stampede, said he felt like he had a celebrity moment.
“It’s cool. It’s cool to see him. I didn’t expect him at Calgary, not at Stampede,” he said.
Others could be heard muttering negative comments under their breath before walking away, and some yelled in the background.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes in the Calgary Stampede on Sunday, July 10, 2022
After more than an hour of walking through the crowds, Trudeau was whisked off by his security detail to a Liberal Party fundraiser at a brewery in northeast Calgary, where he spoke to a friendly crowd.
He took the opportunity to rally the troops by talking about a federal child-care deal, providing pandemic supports from Ottawa and standing up for democracy in places such as Ukraine.
Trudeau’s Calgary trip came after a day in Nova Scotia on Saturday, where he formally apologized for the systemic racism experienced by the only all-Black unit to fight for Canada during the First World War.
It was also a day after a federal Conservative party barbecue Saturday night at Heritage Park attended by four of the party’s five leadership candidates.
Interim party Leader Candice Bergen assured the crowd of 1,100 that unity doesn’t mean uniformity, and it’s OK if party members disagree on issues.
“It is OK to be a Conservative and have a different view from another Conservative on a particular issue. We are in the middle of a leadership race and I’m not naive nor am I blind,” Bergen said.
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/trudeau-arrives-for-calgary-stampede
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Trudeau announces deal to build $1.5B electric vehicle battery plant in Ontario
$1.5-billion investment by Umicore will make Canada a global player in electric vehicles, PM says
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.6519447.1657733605!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/electric-vehicles-20220713.JPG)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that Ottawa and Ontario have signed a deal with Umicore, a global metals refiner, to build a new battery materials facility in the province's Loyalist Township.
Speaking at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., the prime minister said the facility will supply materials for one million electric vehicles a year.
Umicore, a multinational corporation based in Belgium, will transform metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium into cathode active battery materials (CAM) at the new eastern Ontario site — materials that are critical to producing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Trudeau said the new plant will create 1,000 jobs while it is being built and hundreds of long-term positions once it is up and running.
He said the government and industry investments are part of a "big bet" that Canada can be a key international player in electric-vehicle supply chains.
"Today's announcement is about creating jobs, cutting pollution and building a stronger, cleaner economy for Canadians. Umicore's intention to establish its new facility in Loyalist Township is another major step forward as we make Canada a global leader in producing electric vehicles, from minerals to manufacturing," Trudeau said.
Ontario's Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said the $1.5-billion investment will build the first industrial-scale manufacturing plant of its kind in North America.
"With recent success attracting major investments to the province, our government is staking Ontario's claim to developing and building the batteries that will power vehicles of the future," Fedeli said.
Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the plant will fill a gap in the Canadian electric-vehicle system by shoring up a key part of the battery-making process.
"The auto sector is spreading across the country now," Champagne said. "It's not just concentrated, but now Kingston is going to be part of the auto sector in Canada."
The plant will be built with some financial support from both levels of government but a dollar figure wasn't immediately available.
Ottawa and the province have plowed hundreds of millions of dollars in public money into similar projects in recent months.
In a statement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who was not at Wednesday's announcement, said these multi-billion dollar investments are paying off, helping the province to "strengthen its position as a North American auto manufacturing powerhouse."
Umicore said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ottawa, which will allow it to tap funds from the federal Strategic Innovation Fund to help offset some of the construction costs associated with building a plant of this size.
The company already has penned an agreement with Loyalist Township for a 140-hectare parcel of land that eventually will house the plant.
The company will start on construction in 2023, with the site expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025 — pumping out the materials that will help drive the global transition from cars and trucks powered by internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
"We are most grateful to the Canadian and Ontario governments for their support and for their readiness to co-fund this planned project. The facility will help Canada and Umicore in their shared objective of achieving a carbon-neutral battery supply chain," said Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore.
Carmakers General Motors, Honda and Stellantis, the company that makes Jeep and Chrysler vehicles, have also promised recently to spend billions of dollars in the coming years to build battery and electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in Ontario — investments that have breathed new life into Canada's long-stagnant auto sector.
According to government data, Canada's auto sector supports nearly 500,000 workers, contributes $16 billion annually to the country's gross domestic product and is one of the largest export industries.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-ev-battery-materials-plant-1.6519260
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Of course they did. Russia wants instability in our countries with democracy and it's been speculated that Russian dark money was behind the funding of these convoys which came from groups in the United States.
Russia Today covered ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests more than any foreign outlet: research
Russia Today (RT) covered Canada’s so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests far more closely than any other international outlet, according to new research.
The Russian state-controlled television network used key words associated with the convoy protest during more than four and half hours of broadcasts between Jan. 13 and Feb. 12 — dwarfing the rate of any other international outlet’s coverage of the anti-mandate occupation that snarled Ottawa streets earlier this year.
That’s according to an analysis of Google Jigsaw’s Global Database of Events, Language and Tone (GDELT), which Ahmed Al-Rawi, director of Simon Fraser University’s Disinformation Project, published on his website on Tuesday. The analysis has not been peer-reviewed.
“I was surprised to see that Russia Today, the Russian government-run television channel, was well ahead of so many other news channels in covering the convoy protests,” Al-Rawi told Global News in an interview.
The only other outlet that came close to covering the protests this closely was Fox News, which dedicated two and a half hours of coverage to the so-called “freedom convoy.”
Al Jazeera devoted the third-most time to the topic, with just over an hour of coverage over the course of the month, while CNN, MSNBC, Deutsche Welle, BBC News and CBS spent less than 30 minutes on the topics.
Why was Russia Today so interested in the convoy?
The Russian network’s interest in Canada’s convoy protests wasn’t surprising to intelligence community experts who have followed the Kremlin’s tactics in recent months.
That’s because, recently, Russia has focused less on tipping the scale towards specific electoral outcomes. Rather, according to an FBI official who spoke out earlier this year, the country has focused on sowing chaos and distrust abroad.
"The primary objective is not to create a particular version of the truth but rather cloud the truth and erode our ability to find it, creating a sentiment that no narrative or news source can be trusted at all,” David Porter, an assistant section chief with the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, told a U.S. election security conference in March.
“To put it simply, in this space, Russia wants to watch us tear ourselves apart.”
“The primary objective is not to create a particular version of the truth but rather cloud the truth and erode our ability to find it, creating a sentiment that no narrative or news source can be trusted at all,” David Porter, an assistant section chief with the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, told a U.S. election security conference in March.
makes sense that Russia would see the so-called “Freedom Convoy” as an opportune moment to sow this kind of division, according to Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst and assistant professor at Carleton University.
She pointed to the protesters’ repeated critiques of the Canadian government as “corrupt” as evidence that anti-government seeds were already planted in the movement — and with the right amount of nurturing, Russia could help those ideas grow.
“(U.S. intelligence officials) think the Russian government is trying to … target democratic institutions, trying to target and amplify mistrust so that people no longer believe in democracy, that they believe their institutions are corrupt,” Carvin said.
For RT, the trucker convoy protests had “a dovetail of interests,” she said.
“It makes sense for RT to promote events like this.”
RT has a “history” of sowing dissension and spreading disinformation, according to Carmen Celestini, a lecturer at the University of Waterloo who used to work with Al-Rawi’s Disinformation Project.
The convoy protests earlier this year were “based on disinformation,” she said — from their unscientific claims about vaccines to their belief they could demand the government resign en masse.
“All of those things are notions that Russia is going to try and promote, just because that dissension everywhere else in the world pulls away from dissension in (Russia) and puts them in a stronger position,” Celestini said.
RT also chose to frame the protests in a specific way, Al-Rawi found after sifting through the terms different outlets used to describe the protests.
Rather than referring to the event as a “trucker protest” or “trucker convoy,” RT most often used the convoy’s own terminology, calling it the “Freedom Convoy.”
The Russian outlet used the term 1,032 times — five times more often than its next most-used term: “convoy protest.”
Fox News and the 'freedom convoy'
RT devoted a disproportionate amount of its time to covering the convoy protests — but experts think another outlet might have been able to have a much bigger impact on Canada, despite boasting fewer convoy-related broadcasts: Fox News.
Without clear sources, RT’s website claims its channel is available in more than 700 million households around the world. It’s unclear whether that number has changed since Canada banned RT from the airwaves in March.
Fox News, on the other hand, says it reaches 200 million people every single month.
“RT may have played a role in generating lots of content, possibly feeding content into the U.S. media ecosystem, but really, it was Fox News that was promoting this convoy,” Carvin said.
American news outlets have far more of a role in Canada’s media ecosystem than Russia’s outlets, Carvin added.
Convoy protesters used American rhetoric and symbols throughout their protests in Ottawa, with many carrying U.S. flags and other regalia that shows their support for former U.S. president Donald Trump.
“We have to remember this was, in effect, a Canadian movement led by Canadians, cheered on by Americans,” Carvin said.
It was a “homegrown movement” that Russia tried to amplify.
“This wasn’t something that was created by Russia…. The fact that RT was reporting on it is just kind of consistent with their overall goals,” she explained.
Navigating the media landscape
When pressed on how Canadians should navigate an information environment where foreign media may try to skew stories, Al-Rawi said he’s not suggesting everyone stop watching Fox News, or even RT.
Rather, we should try to “consume as many diverse channels as possible.”
“Watching them is important to compare and see their perspective,” he said.
“And from that, they would have a better idea about how different channels frame an event like this one — a very important event, actually — in our history.”
Wherever you get your information, it’s important to be mindful of the source you’re reading, Carvin said.
“People really do need to sit down and think, you know, ‘I’m on Facebook and I’m reading a story. Now, does it come from a reputable news source?'”
Canadians have a tendency to build social media bubbles where they get their information from sources that all think the same way they do — a reality that makes navigating the information ecosystem such a “vexing problem” in 2022, according to Carvin.
“Getting through that, it’s a very, very hard thing to do.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/8983352/freedom-convoy-russia-today-disinformation/
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'Freedom Convoy' organizers discussed playing 'race card' with Metis heritage
OTTAWA - Organizers of the "Freedom Convoy" discussed using their ties to Métis identity to play the "race card" as part of an overall strategy to control their public image and garner sympathy for their cause, text messages suggest.
The messages between Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, obtained by Ottawa police and entered as evidence by the Crown in Lich's bail hearing this week, indicate how acutely aware the organizers were of the optics of the protest.
The convoy's connection to Pat King, who has spread racist conspiracy theories, as well as the appearance of Nazi and Confederate flags in the early days of the protest, prompted accusations that it was sympathetic to white nationalist causes.
While planning the convoy, Lich and Barber appeared aware that racial identity could be raised in criticisms of it. Lich has described herself as Métis, and on Jan. 20, about a week before demonstrators arrived in Ottawa, Barber texted Lich that his wife was Métis as well.
"It's going to work in our favour," replied Lich. "Playing the race card works both ways lol."
That same day, Lich congratulated Barber on his interview on a podcast, describing it as very "PC" — or politically correct — "but also direct."
Barber said to Lich on Jan. 22 that all of his years of "social media trolling" were going to pay off. "I'll spin and use it all against them," he said in reference to those critiquing the convoy.
The protest against COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government swarmed the capital's downtown with large trucks, blocking streets and blaring loud horns for more than three weeks. Protesters also blockaded multiple border crossings. It all prompted the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act and the police to use force to clear the crowd.
For their role in the protest, Lich and Barber have been charged with mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.
Barber remains out on bail, while a justice of the peace ruled Friday that Lich had breached a release condition and revoked her bail.
At Lich’s bail hearing this week, Barber’s lawyer was granted a publication ban on court documents showing his cellphone communications, except for those with Lich.
Diane Magas, counsel for Barber, said the Crown’s submission may lack the full context or intent of the messages, and could be misleading or inaccurately interpreted.
The 4,000-page document filed with the court says it includes all messages — numbering in the thousands — found on Barber’s phone. Dozens are directly between Barber and Lich, not including group chats.
Lich's lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, declined to comment on the messages outside court on Friday.
The conversations between the pair appear to illuminate their shifting feelings about King. He is known for boosting the white nationalist "great replacement theory," predicated on an anxiety that white people are being replaced.
King remains in an Ottawa jail on charges of mischief, intimidation, obstructing police, disobeying a court order, perjury and obstruction of justice.
His lawyer has not yet responded to requests for comment.
On Jan. 22, Lich told Barber they need to have "a very frank discussion" with King, raising concerns about past allegations against him.
Despite these concerns, Lich also said he was needed by the movement — in apparent contrast to later statements in which the convoy tried to distance itself from King.
"We need him and I don't care about his past but it only takes one," she said. "We have to control his rhetoric. Not even threatening to throw snowballs at the parliament (sic)."
"I know he's had issues. I've got skeletons in the closet to (sic)," Barber replied.
But a few days later, on Jan. 26, Lich said if King "doesn't stop now and right now he needs to go home."
"Honestly I hate to do it. I believe a part of his heart is in this for the right reasons but he will bring down this whole thing."
On Jan. 29, the day after the convoy arrived in the capital, Barber messaged Lich about an interview King had done.
"I'm concerned he is putting us in a bad light. Is he supposed to speak today?? I'm nervous what he's gonna say," he said.
"No. He is not speaking. Period. We have people that will look after him," said Lich.
A text message from Lich to Barber on Jan. 30 said she had received a call from the "command centre" that had a "strategy to gridlock the city."
"Can you head over there with me soon," she asked Barber. "I don't want to make those decisions on my own."
During this period, some Conservative MPs cheered the arrival of the convoy, as the party opposed the Trudeau government’s vaccine mandates for federal workers and travellers.
On Jan. 31, Tory MP Marilyn Gladu posted a photo to social media of herself and caucus colleague Candice Bergen at a restaurant with two men Gladu described as "hard-working truckers in Ottawa."
Erin O’Toole’s reluctance to stake out a clear position on the protest was among the reasons a majority of his caucus ousted him on Feb. 2 and replaced him with Bergen as interim leader.
A couple days later, Lich wrote, “Candace Bergen (sic) wants to meet soon. What (do) you think?”
Barber didn’t directly respond to the question. The next day, Lich expressed enthusiasm for appearing on an American media outlet.
“We must be on Fox at 6:30,” she wrote.
Christopher Martin-Chan, a spokesman for Bergen, said ultimately no meeting took place between convoy representatives and the interim leader.
Conservative MP Glen Motz had been speaking with Lich and was willing to act as liaison to have MPs listen to her concerns. He suggested meetings with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, said Martin-Chan.
Motz confirmed he spoke directly with Lich "in an effort to resolve the ongoing protest," and tried to facilitate a meeting with the ministers.
"Unfortunately, after several conversations with both ministers, they declined any resolution meeting with the protest organizer," he said, adding he believes if the Liberal government had taken that meeting, the protest would have been resolved differently.
Alghabra's office said in a statement that it was not “not appropriate or responsible to Canadians to meet with individuals who blocked our borders, hurt our economy, and terrorized the residents of downtown Ottawa.”
A spokesman for Mendicino echoed those sentiments.
After the ministers declined to meet, Motz said he tried setting up a meeting between Lich and Bergen, which Lich's legal team declined as "resolution would only be beneficial if it included the government."
Ottawa police, with help from police forces from across Canada, cleared the protesters out of the capital in a massive operation beginning Feb. 18.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/freedom-convoy-organizers-discussed-playing-race-card-with-metis-heritage-1.5980936
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blames Russia for global food crisis as Ukraine grain deal announced
https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2022/07/22/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-blames-russia-for-global-food-crisis-as-ukraine-grain-deal-announced.html
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'Freedom Convoy’ organizer Tamara Lich back in court for bail review
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“Freedom Convoy” organizer Tamara Lich is once again arguing to be released from jail after a justice of the peace denied her bail earlier this month.
Lich was ordered to remain in jail to await trial for her role in the protest that paralyzed downtown Ottawa in February, after the court decided she had breached her bail conditions.
She had been ordered not to communicate with key convoy organizers except through counsel or in the presence of counsel, but was re-arrested after having contact with fellow protest leader Tom Marazzo at an awards gala in Toronto last month.
In court Monday, her lawyer Lawrence Greenspon argues the two organizers did nothing more than shake hands and pose for a photo together at the gala.
Marazzo is also a leader of a group called Veterans 4 Freedom, which staged several rallies in Ottawa over the Canada Day weekend.
Lich faces charges of mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation for her role in the massive protest against COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government.
Failing to comply with bail was more recently added to the list.
Lich appeared in court in person, with her hands neatly folded in her lap as she sat in the prisoner’s box of the Ottawa courtroom.
She has now spent 48 days in jail while she waits to answer to non-violent charges, Greenspon said. He added that she may end up spending more time in custody before her trial than she would ultimately have to serve if she is found guilty.
“We’re asking your honour to put an end to this injustice,” Greenspon said to Justice Andrew Goodman at the end of the defence’s arguments.
Crown counsel Moiz Karimjee disagreed, saying there’s the potential for Lich to serve a lengthy prison sentence for her role in gridlocking Ottawa.
Justice Goodman challenged the Crown about whether he has found a case of mischief that’s come close to the maximum sentence of 10 years.
“The answer to that is no, because there’s never been an occupation of a city, the capital of Canada, for three weeks,” Karimjee said. “If not in a situation such as this, then what other situation?”
This was the fifth time Lich was before the court to argue for her freedom from jail while she awaits a trial.
The convoy organizer was originally arrested and charged in February, the day before police moved in to remove the three-week protest from Ottawa’s streets.
She was released the next month with a long list of conditions, including a ban from using all social media.
This is the second time the Crown has argued she breached those conditions. The first time, the judge not only allowed her to remain out of jail but also allowed her to come back to Ontario to attend the award gala, where Lich was a guest of honour.
At the Toronto event, Lich received an “Freedom Award” from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms in recognition of her leadership role during the convoy.
After Lich was caught on video with Marazzo, police sought a Canada-wide warrant for the alleged breach of her bail conditions. She was arrested in her home town of Medicine Hat, Alta.
The Crown told the court Monday that the case is not about politics.
“It’s not about what views one espouses, whether we believe in vaccination or not,” Karimjee said. “It is about the rule of law.”
Lich’s trial date has not been set.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9013662/tamara-lich-freedom-convoy-bail-hearing-ottawa/
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Canada's inflation rate accelerates again 8.1%, but not as sharply as forecast
OTTAWA, (Reuters) - Inflation in Canada picked up speed again in June with prices rising at their fastest pace since January 1983, official data showed on Wednesday, but the rise was not as steep as forecast, leaving analysts unsure about how forcefully the Bank of Canada would respond.
Canada's annual inflation rate hit 8.1% in June, up from 7.7% in May, driven by higher costs at the gas pump and almost everywhere else, Statistics Canada said, but short of forecasts it would accelerate to 8.4%.
"For one of the rare times in the last two years, we've actually got a number that's below expectations," said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. "The bad news is we still got the highest inflation in roughly forty years."
Gas prices rose 54.6% in June compared with a 48.0% gain in May, though "price increases remained broad-based with seven of eight major components rising by 3% or more."
Indeed, all three core measures of inflation, which the Bank of Canada watches carefully, rose in June. CPI Common, which the central bank says is the best gauge of the economy's performance, hit 4.6% from a upwardly revised 4.5% in May.
The central bank last week said it expected headline inflation to be around 8% for the next few months. It also surprised with a rare 100 basis points rate increase, a move aimed at fending off a price spiral.
Later on Wednesday, in an interview with broadcaster CTV, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said inflation is likely to remain "painfully high" and above 7% for the rest of 2022, though it probably will ease back in July compared with June.
With inflation quadruple the 2% target, economists and money markets both see more oversized hikes coming, though not another 100-bp surprise.
"It's no time for complacency from the Bank of Canada and we expect them to maintain a relatively forceful policy stance in September," said Andrew Kelvin, chief Canada strategist at TD Securities. "The debate for September should really be between a 50 or a 75-basis-point move."
Money markets are betting on a 50-bp increase on Sept. 7, with two further hikes in October and December to bring the policy rate to 3.5%, up from a record low 0.25% at the beginning of the year.
The June data was not all negative, with grocery and shelter price gains easing after months of acceleration. Looking ahead, economists noted gas prices have fallen so far in July, giving Canadian consumers a bit of relief.
"Gasoline prices are currently tracking almost a 9% decline in July, so we know we're going to go the other way next month," said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
The Canadian dollar was trading down at 1.2871 to the Greenback, or 77.69 U.S. cents.
© 2022 Reuters
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CanadianPM @CanadianPM
Live from Quebec City: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and @GGCanada, Mary Simon, welcome His Holiness Pope Francis to the Citadelle of Quebec and deliver remarks. Tune in: http://ow.ly/CKR350K5QJI
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https://twitter.com/CanadianPM/status/1552417265148207105
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Pope arrives in Quebec City for meetings with Trudeau, Indigenous leaders
Pope Francis arrives in Quebec City on Wednesday, July 27, where he is expected to meet Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as well as Indigenous leaders and other dignitaries at the Citadelle of Quebec. Following his meetings at the Citadelle, the Pope will ride through the Plains of Abraham in his Popemobile and greet the public. Pope Francis has said he hopes that this week-long trip to Canada, which started on Sunday, July 24, can help to heal the wrongs done to Indigenous people by the Roman Catholic Church.
Watch:
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The CPC is now the Convoy Party of Canada
Ottawa residents were understandably concerned about a Canada Day repeat of the anti-vaccine protests that gridlocked their city’s downtown at the start of this year. But while our nation’s capital managed to survive the festivities mostly unscathed, the so-called convoy’s creeping takeover of this country’s official Opposition continues apace.
Leadership race front-runner Pierre Poilievre made that abundantly clear last week when he decided to march with James Topp, the controversial far-right leader of the convoy’s latest iteration. Far from turning his back on the more extremist elements of that movement, Poilievre seems determined to hug them as close as possible.
If there was any remaining doubt about the CPC’s new status as the Convoy Party of Canada, it should have been dispelled Tuesday evening when the party decided to disqualify Patrick Brown from the leadership race. Writing in the Toronto Sun, former Liberal strategist (and Trudeau antagonist) Warren Kinsella concluded: “The Conservative Party of Canada has effectively been taken over by the convoy types. And who was the biggest critic of the ‘freedom’ convoy types? None other than Patrick Brown.”
As Kinsella noted in his column, a comparison between the recently released CPC membership list and the list of GiveSendGo donors who supported the convoy earlier this year revealed plenty of overlap. A not-so-grand total of 14,707 different members reportedly gave nearly $1.78 million to support the illegal occupation of Ottawa, with all of those donations coming in February, Kinsella wrote. It’s fair to assume many of those members will be casting their leadership ballots for Poilievre, especially after his recent walkabout.
Indeed, based on the convoy’s popularity among the current Conservative membership, Poilievre’s Canada Day stunt may not be as politically suicidal as it might seem from afar. As EKOS pollster Frank Graves noted, his data shows that while 68 per cent of Canadians oppose the convoy, that figure drops to 30 per cent among CPC voters, with nearly twice as many (55 per cent) supporting it. That ratio of support to opposition is only eclipsed by People’s Party of Canada voters, whom Poilievre is almost certainly targeting in both the leadership race and beyond.
But the convoy-tinged rot in the CPC goes much deeper than some of its members.
As CTV reported recently, former Saskatchewan premier and party heavyweight Brad Wall was in regular contact (some 26 texts, along with nearly 30 minutes of phone calls) with Chris Barber, a Saskatchewan truck driver and one of the original convoy’s chief organizers. Barber was subsequently charged alongside Tamara Lich with intimidation, obstruction of a peace officer and mischief, and has a history of racist statements and behaviour (including two Confederate flags hanging in his garage). But in February, he also had the ear of one of the Conservative Party of Canada’s leading lights.
When pressed by CTV to explain this relationship, Wall offered up a brief statement: “I know him from Swift Current. He’s connected to relatives and I’d like to keep that confidential and private.”
Stephen Carter, a former adviser to multiple premiers and mayors in Alberta, doesn’t think that’s nearly good enough. “This should be disqualifying,” he said on the latest episode of his podcast The Strategists. “You don’t reach out to someone and offer good advice to bad people.”
Wall and his fellow convoy-curious conservatives clearly don’t see them that way. They see the convoy’s fans as a valuable source of donations and political support, and they’re apparently willing to overlook the talk about overthrowing a democratically elected government and charging the prime minister with treason in order to get it.
That relationship is only going to get cozier if Poilievre becomes the one in charge, an outcome that seems practically inevitable at this point.
If nothing else, this should put to rest once and for all the notion that there is a moderate version of the Conservative Party of Canada just waiting to emerge. Instead, a resounding victory by Poilievre would almost certainly mean a turn further to the right, towards the sort of Fox News-style, nonsense-on-steroids politics that defined the convoy and seems to intrigue its enablers.
Now, it’s up to Canadians to decide whether they want that from their government-in-waiting — and whether they’re willing to trust its leaders with the reins of power.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/07/07/opinion/cpc-now-convoy-party-canada
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Happy Birthday to Chrystia Freeland, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister - August 2
Chrystia Freeland is right on ‘friend-shoring.’ Our allies need Canada to help reduce dependence on Russian energy
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During Janet Yellen’s first visit to Canada in June as U.S. treasury secretary, she and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland again discussed “friend-shoring” — the idea Canada must prioritize trade with countries which share our values.
Freeland’s remarks deserve more attention than they’ve received. She did more than talk about an economic concept; she gave concrete examples and a call to action. “What we can really contribute to a world of friend-shoring is critical minerals and metals and energy,” she said. “We owe it to our allies as good partners to really step up.”
Freeland is absolutely right. For economic as well as geopolitical reasons, Canada must do more to export critical resources to countries we count as allies. That includes building the infrastructure Canada needs to access international markets.
She’s also correct in suggesting we owe it to our allies to step up and do more. In diplomatic circles, Canada isn’t seen as a reliable partner these days. Far from being viewed as nice and dependable, we are now viewed by many as a country that talks a big game — but often can’t match its words with action.
Canada has given international partners ample reason to question whether we’re able or willing to build big infrastructure projects. Foreign governments and investors have expressed frustration that we appear determined to keep all our critical resources for ourselves. The reputational damage this has created cannot be overstated.
In Korea recently, a senior government official suggested to me that Canada is effectively “hoarding” its critical resources. That leaves Korea with no other choice, he said, but to acquire them from regimes that don’t share Korea’s (or Canada’s) values. It was a serious and sobering assessment from a key strategic ally.
This perception isn’t limited to the Indo-Pacific. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is coming to Canada in August, in part to make the case for Canada developing new liquified natural gas and hydrogen export capacity. Like most Europeans, he’d prefer that his country import energy from Canada — and lower its dependence on Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
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Given the global stakes involved, we have a moral obligation to move quickly. As Freeland acknowledged, “these are big, challenging projects” which take years to complete once necessary approvals have been secured. The government should identify two or three critical energy infrastructure projects, and then fast-track their approvals.
Done responsibly, the development of critical energy infrastructure would do more than strengthen economic and energy security for Canada and its allies. It would also enhance global environmental security, by allowing like-minded nations to import energy from a country committed to reducing emissions and combating climate change.
To be clear, our allies need Canada to be an exporter of innovative forms of clean energy such as green and blue hydrogen. They don’t want us to be short-term suppliers, but permanent partners. They want our help to transition away from less reputable energy suppliers, as they shift toward renewable sources of energy.
Similarly, as Canada and our allies move toward greater adoption of electric and zero-emission vehicles, our deposits of critical minerals and metals will be in increasingly high demand. We therefore need to significantly expand the supporting supply chain export infrastructure — roads, railways and ports — from coast to coast to coast.
In the past year, we’ve witnessed a surge in investment here in Canada to transition car and truck plants to the production of electric and zero-emission vehicles. We’ve also seen new foreign investment in Canada to develop new battery production facilities. Those investments were made here, not elsewhere, on the promise of access to critical minerals and metals.
These are scarce resources. Over the past two decades, countries that don’t share Canada’s world view have gone about securing extraction rights on multiple continents for minerals and metals crucial to the green economy. If we don’t develop our own critical resources, we will put Canada and our allies at risk.
Various leaders throughout history have been credited with the (perhaps apocryphal) observation that countries don’t have friends, only interests. In that sense, some may view “friend-shoring” as a misnomer. What is clear, however, is Canada has allies — and it is in our interests to supply resources to those allies facing heightened threats.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/07/31/chrystia-freeland-is-right-on-friend-shoring-our-allies-need-canada-to-help-reduce-dependence-on-russian-energy.html
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Convoy Played Race Card
Freedom Convoy' organizers discussed playing 'race card' with Metis heritage
Organizers of the "Freedom Convoy" discussed using their ties to Metis identity to play the "race card" as part of an overall strategy to control their public image and garner sympathy for their cause, text messages suggest.
The messages between Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, obtained by Ottawa police and entered as evidence by the Crown in Lich's bail hearing this week, indicate how acutely aware the organizers were of the optics of the protest.
The convoy's connection to Pat King, who has spread racist conspiracy theories, as well as the appearance of Nazi and Confederate flags in the early days of the protest, prompted accusations that it was sympathetic to white nationalist causes.
While planning the convoy, Lich and Barber appeared aware that racial identity could be raised in criticisms of it. Lich has described herself as Metis, and on Jan. 20, about a week before demonstrators arrived in Ottawa, Barber texted Lich that his wife was Metis as well.
"It's going to work in our favour," replied Lich. "Playing the race card works both ways lol."
That same day, Lich congratulated Barber on his interview on a podcast, describing it as very "PC"? — or politically correct? — "but also direct."
Barber said to Lich on Jan. 22 that all of his years of "social media trolling" were going to pay off. "I'll spin and use it all against them," he said in reference to those critiquing the convoy.
The protest against COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government swarmed the capital's downtown with large trucks, blocking streets and blaring loud horns for more than three weeks. Protesters also blockaded multiple border crossings. It all prompted the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act and the police to use force to clear the crowd.
For their role in the protest, Lich and Barber have been charged with mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.
Barber remains out on bail, while a justice of the peace ruled Friday that Lich had breached a release condition and revoked her bail.
At Lich’s bail hearing this week, Barber’s lawyer was granted a publication ban on court documents showing his cellphone communications, except for those with Lich.
Diane Magas, counsel for Barber, said the Crown’s submission may lack the full context or intent of the messages, and could be misleading or inaccurately interpreted.
The 4,000-page document filed with the court says it includes all messages — numbering in the thousands — found on Barber’s phone. Dozens are directly between Barber and Lich, not including group chats.
Lich's lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, declined to comment on the messages outside court on Friday.
The conversations between the pair appear to illuminate their shifting feelings about King. He is known for boosting the white nationalist "great replacement theory," predicated on an anxiety that white people are being replaced.
King remains in an Ottawa jail on charges of mischief, intimidation, obstructing police, disobeying a court order, perjury and obstruction of justice.
His lawyer has not yet responded to requests for comment.
On Jan. 22, Lich told Barber they need to have "a very frank discussion" with King, raising concerns about past allegations against him.
Despite these concerns, Lich also said he was needed by the movement — in apparent contrast to later statements in which the convoy tried to distance itself from King.
"We need him and I don't care about his past but it only takes one," she said. "We have to control his rhetoric. Not even threatening to throw snowballs at the parliament (sic)."
"I know he's had issues. I've got skeletons in the closet to (sic)," Barber replied.
But a few days later, on Jan. 26, Lich said if King "doesn't stop now and right now he needs to go home."
"Honestly I hate to do it. I believe a part of his heart is in this for the right reasons but he will bring down this whole thing."
On Jan. 29, the day after the convoy arrived in the capital, Barber messaged Lich about an interview King had done.
"I'm concerned he is putting us in a bad light. Is he supposed to speak today?? I'm nervous what he's gonna say," he said.
"No. He is not speaking. Period. We have people that will look after him," said Lich.
A text message from Lich to Barber on Jan. 30 said she had received a call from the "command centre" that had a "strategy to gridlock the city."
"Can you head over there with me soon," she asked Barber. "I don't want to make those decisions on my own."
During this period, some Conservative MPs cheered the arrival of the convoy, as the party opposed the Trudeau government’s vaccine mandates for federal workers and travellers.
On Jan. 31, Tory MP Marilyn Gladu posted a photo to social media of herself and caucus colleague Candice Bergen at a restaurant with two men Gladu described as "hard-working truckers in Ottawa."
Erin O’Toole’s reluctance to stake out a clear position on the protest was among the reasons a majority of his caucus ousted him on Feb. 2 and replaced him with Bergen as interim leader.
A couple days later, Lich wrote, “Candace Bergen (sic) wants to meet soon. What (do) you think?”
Barber didn’t directly respond to the question. The next day, Lich expressed enthusiasm for appearing on an American media outlet.
“We must be on Fox at 6:30,” she wrote.
Christopher Martin-Chan, a spokesman for Bergen, said ultimately no meeting took place between convoy representatives and the interim leader.
Conservative MP Glen Motz had been speaking with Lich and was willing to act as liaison to have MPs listen to her concerns. He suggested meetings with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, said Martin-Chan.
Motz confirmed he spoke directly with Lich "in an effort to resolve the ongoing protest," and tried to facilitate a meeting with the ministers.
"Unfortunately, after several conversations with both ministers, they declined any resolution meeting with the protest organizer," he said, adding he believes if the Liberal government had taken that meeting, the protest would have been resolved differently.
Alghabra's office said in a statement that it was not “not appropriate or responsible to Canadians to meet with individuals who blocked our borders, hurt our economy, and terrorized the residents of downtown Ottawa.”
A spokesman for Mendicino echoed those sentiments.
After the ministers declined to meet, Motz said he tried setting up a meeting between Lich and Bergen, which Lich's legal team declined as "resolution would only be beneficial if it included the government."
Ottawa police, with help from police forces from across Canada, cleared the protesters out of the capital in a massive operation beginning Feb. 18.
https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/374947/-Freedom-Convoy-organizers-discussed-playing-race-card-with-Metis-heritage
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Canada inflation up near 40-year high; calls mount for 75-bps rate hike
https://www.reuters.com/business/canadas-annual-inflation-rate-gallops-near-40-year-high-77-2022-06-22/
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Update: As of August 19th, the importation of handguns will be banned in Canada. The ban will remain in effect until the national handgun freeze – which will make it impossible to buy, sell, or transfer handguns anywhere in Canada – comes into force.
We’re taking this step to keep you, your loved ones, and your community safe – and we’ll keep working to strengthen gun control across the country. To learn more about the measures we’ve introduced and the ban we’ve just announced, click here: https://bit.ly/3Q7OjW2
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1555663087881097217
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Justin Trudeau @Justin Trudeau
We’re creating 250,000 new, affordable child care spaces across the country – so your kids can get the best possible start in life, and so you can keep building your career. And as we work to make $10-a-day child care a reality, we’re cutting fees in half by the end of the year.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1555315777489829896
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Police still investigating officers' donations to Freedom Convoy fundraiser
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/police-still-investigating-officers-role-freedom-convoy-1.6541611
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
We’ve made a lot of progress to grow our EV sector and support workers at the heart of it. That’s why today’s news – that American Senators passed legislation that would include Canada in a new tax incentive – is so important. Let’s keep working together for a greener future.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1556390234186829824
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
We’ve all heard heartbreaking stories of gun violence impacting communities across the country. Our government will keep taking action – and last week, @marcomendicino announced new tools to protect our communities and get firearms off our streets. Take a look.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1556727190615691265
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
For decades, Canada’s peacekeepers have bravely protected civilians, upheld human rights, and promoted peace around the world. Today, we honour these heroic women and men for the sacrifices they have made and the dedication they have shown – thank you.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1556992907118362625
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Today, we celebrate the diverse cultures, traditions, and languages of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world, and the contributions Indigenous Peoples make to our country every day:
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1557016101455859714
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
One year after this agreement, more families in Manitoba are saving money, more spaces are opening, and more kids are getting a better start in life. That’s what this policy is all about.
For more on the progress being made in Manitoba, click here: https://bit.ly/3JGfTHn
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1557127962310447104
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Toronto police spent $7.6 million dealing with potential local convoy, figures show
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Idling police cruisers on quiet residential streets of Toronto and out-of-service buses parked across Avenue Road, University Avenue and College Street were a common sight throughout February, 2022.
They were visual clues of a massive Toronto Police Services operation that ran from Feb. 2 to Feb. 27 in the snow-covered city — the force working to deter and discourage the kind of live-in protest or occupation that ground downtown Ottawa to a halt.
Figures obtained by Global News through a freedom of information request show Toronto police spent $7.6 million on its local operation to deter the so-called “Freedom Convoy” from occupying the city, and a further $1.2 million sending officers and resources to assist Ottawa police in both February and April.
The Toronto Police Services budget is approved by the Toronto Police Services Board and ratified by Toronto city council. The 2022 budget sits at roughly $1.1 billion.
On Jan. 28, a convoy of protesters descended on downtown Ottawa from across Canada.
The protest’s stated aim was to have all COVID-19 mandates across Canada removed, with the federal government’s vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers becoming the shorthand explanation for the group’s protest.
The convoy that arrived in Ottawa stayed in the city for roughly three weeks, occupying the area in front of Parliament Hill and some residential streets.
Blaring truck horns, musical performances from DJs and late-night parties were a constant in the capital.
The figures obtained from Toronto police show that between Jan. 28 and Feb. 22, officers were sent from Toronto to Ottawa to assist the overwhelmed local police force. More than $112,000 was spent on regular pay for Toronto Police Services staff, with $554,962 in overtime.
Toronto paramedics also cost $41,866 assisting in Ottawa, while Toronto Fire costs came to $22,100 for the Ottawa protest.
As the reality that the so-called “Freedom Convoy” was more than a weekend of protests set in, Toronto police began work on a multi-million-dollar operation to thwart efforts to occupy the area around the provincial legislature.
Police data shows a Toronto-based operation to manage a “trucker convoy” in Toronto took place between Feb. 2 and Feb. 27 — at a total cost of $7,636,988.
“While we do not disclose our operational tactics, we can tell you that in light of what transpired in Ottawa, an extensive amount of planning and resources went into supporting our operations on those weekends in order to mitigate any impacts on critical infrastructure, businesses, residents and roadways,” a spokesperson for Toronto police told Global News.
A particularly large police presence — marked by helicopters, police cruisers and heavy-duty machinery — was seen over the weekend of Feb. 5 and 6.
University Avenue was closed between College and Queen streets, along with College Street between University Avenue and Yonge Street. Queen’s Park Crescent, and parts of Queen Street West and Bay Street, were also affected by closures.
“Additional rolling and static closures in and around the downtown core can be expected throughout the weekend,” police said at the time.
At the time, Toronto Mayor John Tory said police were making preparations “because we all want to do everything we can to avoid the situation that we’re seeing in Ottawa.”
A significant protest and rally did take place over that weekend, shutting Bloor Street at its intersection with University Avenue, but protesters cleared by the end of the weekend, without taking up a long-term presence in the city’s downtown.
“Ultimately, the actions we took in an extremely dynamic situation, in partnership with our public and private sector partners, was successful in preventing unreasonable disruption while maintaining public safety and allowing for peaceful demonstration,” the Toronto police spokesperson said.
The vast majority of the public money used to avoid an occupation of Toronto ($6.8 million) went on overtime payments to police officers, with $132,299 categorized as benefits, the freedom of information figures say.
Police also spent $174,578 on tow trucks.
Ontario Provincial Police — along with officers from Peel, Barrie, Hamilton and Waterloo — were also used in the preventative operation. The information released under freedom of information says this cost came to roughly $545,539.
“Invoices and details have not been submitted or verified yet,” the information read.
The policing operation extended throughout the month of February, with regular road closures and a visible police presence throughout the areas around the legislature and downtown Toronto.
In April, when the so-called “Rolling Thunder” protest took place in Ottawa, Toronto police spent an additional $333,550 assisting police in the national capital.
“The support we provided in Ottawa, in partnership with many other police services across the country, also helped put an end to a very disruptive takeover by protesters in that city,” Toronto police said regarding $1.2 million in resources provided during February and April’s protests.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9048900/toronto-police-freedom-convoy-protest-policing-cost/
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Canada & the US have always benefited greatly from our integrated supply chains, and legislation passed by their House of Representatives today makes it clear that will continue. Now, we’re one step closer to Canada being included in a new US tax incentive for electric vehicles.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1558241922094972932
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U.S. Congress passes a climate bill that will affect all of North America: What you need to know
The bill contains measures Canadian miners and automakers have called a 'big win' for Canada
https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/inflation-reduction-act-canada
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Germany and Canada are close friends, and later this month, I look forward to strengthening our partnership when Chancellor @OlafScholz visits Canada. Learn more about his upcoming visit: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/08/13/chancellor-germany-olaf-scholz-visit-canada
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1558571384204320768
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Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to sign hydrogen deal in Newfoundland
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are set to sign a green energy agreement later this month in Newfoundland that could prove pivotal to Canada's nascent hydrogen industry.
The German government on Friday issued a statement confirming the agreement will be signed Aug. 23 in Stephenville, where a Newfoundland-based company plans to build a zero-emission plant that will use wind energy to produce hydrogen and ammonia for export.
If approved, the project would be the first of its kind in Canada.
Germany is keen to find new sources of energy because Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to a surge in natural gas prices. As well, Russia has reduced its flow of natural gas to its European customers, prompting concerns about supply shortages.
Meanwhile, the company behind the Newfoundland project, World Energy GH2, has said the first phase of the proposal calls for building up 164 onshore wind turbines to power a hydrogen production facility at the deep-sea port at Stephenville. Long-term plans call for tripling the size of the project.
"There is a heightened urgency for Canada to step into this new market that's in such high demand," said Stephenville Mayor Tom Rose, who noted the province did not lift a moratorium on wind farm development until this year.
"We're poised now to be the green energy hub of North America."
Among the companies behind the project is CFFI Ventures Inc., led by Nova Scotia-based billionaire John Risley, who is best known as co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods.
As for Trudeau and Scholz, Rose said they will be joined in Stephenville by cabinet ministers and a delegation of German business leaders who will attend a green energy trade show before the signing ceremony.
Rose said Stephenville is an ideal place for a wind farm because the area is known for having a world-class "wind corridor." As well, the town has the means to produce the large amounts of water needed for hydrogen production because heavy-duty infrastructure remains in place from the Abitibi-Price paper mill that closed in 2005.
"It appears to be the energy of the future and the demand is very robust," said Rose, who was born and raised in the area. "We're stepping up when another country needs our resources."
The multibillion-dollar project was registered with the province in June and now requires an environmental impact statement.
In its proposal, World Energy GH2 says it is on the cutting edge of a new, green industry.
"The development of large-scale green hydrogen production facilities is just starting, providing (Newfoundland and Labrador) and Canada with the opportunity and advantages of being a first mover in the green energy sector," the proposal says.
"(Newfoundland and Labrador's unique geography, strong wind resource and proximity to large centres of demand, will make it a globally competitive green hydrogen producing region."
The company points out that the vast majority of existing hydrogen production relies on natural gas or coal for its electricity, which means it produces unwanted carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, the company says construction of its first wind farm is slated for late next year on the Port au Port Peninsula.
In Cape St. George, which is on the peninsula, Mayor Stella Cornect has said residents are worried about the project's potential impact on the area's delicate ecosystem, which includes rare and endangered plants.
On Saturday, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed Trudeau will accompany the chancellor on a brief Canadian visit that will include earlier stops in Montreal and Toronto, starting Aug. 21.
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/trudeau-and-german-chancellor-olaf-scholz-to-sign-hydrogen-deal-in-newfoundland-1.6026866
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
It’s official: @POTUS signed legislation that will include Canada in a new tax incentive for electric vehicles purchased in the US. This is good news for Canadians, for our green economy, and for our growing EV manufacturing sector.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1559648402408980480
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
This morning I met with the folks over at Ferme Bourdages who are welcoming people to Gaspésie from across Canada and around the world. Small businesses like this are so important to our tourism industry and we’ll keep supporting them as Canada’s tourism industry recovers.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1560347259438600192
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Canada is a big place, but it always feels small when you bump into familiar faces. When I visited À l’abri de la tempête Microbrasserie today, I met @damienrobi — an excellent musician who kept us entertained with his daily videos these past two years. Great meeting you, Damien!
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1560779319621947394
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
The Port of Cap-aux-Meules is critical to the Madelinots, and today, @DiLebouthillier and I announced a new investment to rebuild the fishers’ wharf. This funding will ensure stability and economic opportunities for years to come.
More here: https://bit.ly/3we12P2
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1560712327384768512
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Canada's inflation rate falls to 7.6 per cent
In July, Canada's rate of inflation fell from 8.1 per cent to 7.6 per cent. It marks the first time in a year that the inflation rate has fallen.
Watch:
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Convoy blockades cost Canadian economy billions in reduced GDP, documents show
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Newly disclosed cabinet documents show that Ottawa produced an internal estimate in February of the GDP impact of countrywide blockades, figures Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland did not provide when asked during a June committee hearing on the government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
Minutes of a cabinet-level meeting attended by Ms. Freeland that took place the day before the government invoked the act show ministers were told that the blockades were causing economic losses of 0.1 per cent to 0.2 per cent of GDP per week.
Canada’s GDP is about $2.6-trillion, meaning the estimate showed that the Canadian economy was losing between $2.6-billion and $5.2-billion a week. The source of that economic estimate is not clear because of the extent of redactions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet invoked the act on Feb. 14 for the first time in Canadian history as a means to resolve several highly disruptive blockades by people who were primarily opposing COVID-related restrictions.
A package of highly redacted cabinet-level documents were made public this week in Federal Court as part of a legal challenge seeking a judicial review of the government’s use of the act. The documents included the revelation that the Prime Minister’s national security adviser, Jody Thomas, told the full cabinet on the evening of Feb. 13 that there was a potential for a breakthrough with the protesters who had blockaded downtown streets in Ottawa for weeks.
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said this week that the breakthrough comment was in reference to talks that had taken place around that time between the protesters and the City of Ottawa. However, the federal government concluded those talks would not succeed.
Invoking the Emergencies Act triggers a legal requirement for a special joint committee of MPs and senators to hold hearings and review whether the government’s decision to use the special powers was appropriate.
In May, the committee heard from two senior Finance Canada officials – assistant deputy minister Isabelle Jacques and director-general Julien Brazeau. In response to MP questions, they both said that the department may have produced some economic impact analysis of the blockades, but neither of them knew for sure or had seen such information.
“I did not receive at that time, certainly any numbers, concerning that,” Ms. Jacques told the committee.
Conservative MP Glen Motz then followed up directly with the minister in a June 14 committee meeting with a series of questions about what economic assessments were produced, if any.
Ms. Freeland responded by discussing the concerns that business leaders were expressing at the time, but did not provide any national GDP impact figures.
She did provide an opening statement to the committee that included Statistics Canada estimates of the daily trade effects the blockades caused in Alberta, Manitoba and at the Ambassador Bridge in Ontario.
“I personally had many conversations and read many reports that caused me to be very concerned about the economic consequences of the illegal blockades and occupation,” she replied to Mr. Motz. “I spoke directly with Canadian business leaders, who told me that they were hearing from investors that their confidence in Canada, as an investment destination, was shaken.”
Later in the hearing, NDP MP Matthew Green picked up on the same line of questioning: “I need to know if the government had, within its department – within your department, your ministry – facts that meant the economic impacts of the occupation were significant enough,” he said. “I’m going to put the question to you directly: What were the economic impacts of the occupation, and were they significant enough to meet the threshold of a threat to national security, under section 2 of the CSIS Act?”
When Ms. Freeland again responded with general comments about the economic impact, Mr. Green interjected: “Can you quantify it?”
“I had many conversations with Canadian business leaders,” she replied.
Conservative MP and emergency preparedness critic Dane Lloyd said in a statement that the government has not been fully truthful with Canadians about its decision to invoke the act.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-trucker-convoy-protests/
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
To start off our day, @Bundeskanzler Scholz and I sat down and spoke about the opportunities and challenges our countries are facing. Whether it’s trade and jobs, Ukraine, or energy security, we’re on the same page – and we’re focused on how we can keep making progress together.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1561769986301083650
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Chrystia Freeland @cafreeland
Whether it’s supporting Ukraine, working together on energy security, or standing up for the rules-based international order, Canada has a steadfast friend and ally in Germany.
Great to meet with @Bundeskanzler Scholz and our German partners today!
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https://twitter.com/cafreeland/status/1561801330942959617
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
From signing agreements with leading German automakers, to announcing the Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance,
@Bundeskanzler Scholz and I have been busy this week. Glad you could come to Canada, my friend – let’s keep delivering results for Canadian workers. https://bit.ly/3pDfFYi
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1562246803784974337
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Great to have you back in Canada, @JensStoltenberg. Over the next two days, I look forward to discussing international security, Russia’s illegal invasion, climate change – and to meeting with the Canadians who make our contributions to
@NATO possible.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1562643786093985793
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Canada’s North is warming at three times the global average. The researchers at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station are doing groundbreaking work to understand the effects of climate change and lead the way in innovation in Arctic science and technology.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1562950292013953025
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Justin Trudeau @ JustinTrudeau
In both Cambridge Bay and Cold Lake, @JensStoltenberg and I made progress on shared priorities and discussed threats to transatlantic security. Jens, it's been great to spend time with you this week – let’s continue to work together to keep people safe. http://bit.ly/3pORPZD
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1563311365271724036
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The ‘Freedom Convoy’ is Turning Into a Christian Nationalist Revival Movement
Convoy-related groups are looking more and more like a Christian Evangelical 'revival' movement
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Several months after the end of the convoy occupation of Ottawa, a number of far-right convoy-linked groups are increasingly looking more and more like Christian Evangelical “revival” movements.
Many evangelical Christians and pastors were key participants in the Ottawa convoy occupation, with many promoting extreme Christian nationalist rhetoric, combining Christian identity, Canadian nationalism and right-wing political beliefs.
“This group is small, but it’s there. And they should not be dismissed as being merely religious,” theology professor Dr. Christine Mitchell wrote in The Conversation back in February.
Mitchell suggests that Christian nationalist truckers’ “divinely-mandated mission is the overthrow of the Canadian government,” and that they likely believe “Parliament is the temple that will be destroyed unless people turn from their sin.”
In Ottawa, a convoy-adjacent group calling itself “The United People of Canada,” took over a deconsecrated church last month
TUPOC has said it wants to run the church as a “social enterprise” and transform it into a community centre, although the group was recently served an eviction notice for failing to pay their $10,000 lease.
While TUPOC doesn’t explicitly describe itself in religious terms, key individuals at TUPOC have cited religious convictions as motivation for occupying the church.
“There is kind of a war going on. It feels like a war doesn’t it?” Diane Nolan, a TUPOC board director, said in a Facebook video last week. “It’s not just a convoy, it’s an uprising.”
“I’m gonna die in this place knowing that I’ve served God first,” Nolan said in another video that has since been deleted.
Nolan’s religious beliefs are intertwined with far-right politics, urging supporters not to vote Liberal or NDP.
“‘I’ve had so many dreams and visions. If this next election, if anybody is voting red or orange, we’re in trouble. If they come into power, I’m telling you…that red and orange, we need to be very careful. If we see them get in power then you better get back into position and you better know how to stand,” Nolan said in a Facebook video.
“In the Bible, it talks about the Armour of God, and we’re equipped with the Armour of God,” Nolan added.
TUPOC is one of many groups across the country who are incorporating the rhetoric of the ‘freedom’ convoy into Evangelical theology and preaching.
In Saskatchewan, convoy participants and organizers recently spoke at the three day Faith Fire Freedom Festival in Moose Jaw organized by the Christian nationalist group Revival Reformation Alliance on August 11-14. The festival took place in a large outdoor “revival” tent and featured worship services, street preaching, river baptisms, speaking in “tongues” and even a woman who danced on stage claiming God had healed her from a knee injury.
The Revival Reformation Alliance describes itself as “a coalition of ministries, ministers, intercessors and saints contending for the move of God in this nation.” The RRA has previously been criticized for promoting homophobic and anti-abortion messaging through their “Battle for Canada” events hosted in cities across the country.
RRA and Battle for Canada are associated with the New Apostalic Reformation movement. Art Lucier, an RRA preacher who spoke at the Faith Fire Freedom Festival, recently denied that the NAR is a “cult.”
“We’ve been accused that we are part of a cult called NAR, the New Apostalic Reformation. Now this is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard,” Lucier said in a Facebook video.
According to Lucier, the New Apostalic Reformation advocates for the resurgence of apostles and prophets to function as non-denominational “movement leaders” to “tear down demonic strongholds and plant and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.” Lucier says these movements should involve not only prophets, teachers, pastors and prayer leaders but “concerned Christian business people” and politicians.
However, other Christian leaders have called NAR “a cancer within Christianity” and “a formula for mass manipulation, the creation of cult leaders, and people who are absolutely unaccountable.”
Convoy organizer and former PPC candidate Mark Friesen was listed as a speaker at the RRA’s Faith Fire Freedom Festival. Friesen was involved in the far-right Yellow Vest movement and United We Roll convoy before organizing “Freedom Rallies” in Saskatoon at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Friesen later caught COVID-19 and was hospitalized for months and transferred to Ontario. After being released from the hospital, Friesen credited the “power of prayer” for saving him, noting in a livestream he had previously rejected religion.
Nadine Ness, president of the far-right organization Unified Grassroots, also spoke at the RRA’s festival on Saturday night. Ness also organized a separate “We Are Free” worship concert and film screening the following day hosted by Unified Grassroots.
“We’re ready to see a big move across Saskatchewan and I think it’s gonna start here, this awakening, this revival of some sort,” said Ness in a private Facebook video.
Ness founded Unified Grassroots to oppose all COVID-19 restrictions and mandates in 2021, saying she felt “called” by God and that the group was led by “Christian values.” Other prominent Unified Grassroots members have promoted religious conspiracy theories linking the COVID-19 vaccine to the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast.
Last year, Ness had an hour-long phone call with Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe pressuring him to drop all COVID-19 restrictions. Ness has since started her own provincial party.
Unified Grassroots premiered a documentary at the “We Are Free” concert called Fringe Preachers which highlighted the many preachers who travelled to Ottawa during the convoy occupations. The documentary was produced by Toronto-based street preacher Solomon Ikhuiwu. Ikhuiwu claims to have predicted the Ottawa convoy by burying — or “planting” — a Bible in Ottawa on Canada Day 2021, over six months prior to the convoy occupation in January 2022.
Other preachers who speak or make appearances in the documentary include American televangelist Sid Roth from the It’s Supernatural Network; Pastor Henry Hildebrandt of Aylmer, Ontario’s Church of God; Whitby, Ontario preacher Curtis Hartshorn from church planting organization E3 Canada; Toronto-area street preacher Paul Kovacs of Worldwide Revival Ministries; Hamilton street preacher Peter Townsend of Because of Christ Ministries; and Rob and Melissa McKee of Ottawa’s Biker’s Church.
The documentary also included a clip from The Fifth Estate where top convoy organizer James Bauder said that God had called on him to start the convoy:
“God, where do I fit into this? How do I put unity out there? And he said ‘Convoy for Freedoms.’”
The documentary also featured another key convoy organizer: Pat King.
“God has given us the opportunity to be able to take part in something like this, to stand for what we stand for – peacefully, not aggressively – and we’re making a huge impact,” King said in the documentary. “As you hear the train horns on the trucks right now, that’s the horns of heaven telling you, ‘You’re on the right path, Pat’.”
King had suggested in other videos the only way the convoy to Ottawa would be “solved is with bullets.”
The Fringe Preachers documentary was sponsored by Frances Wai-Chi Tong of Blessed Homes Real Estate at Landpower Real Estate Ltd, Brokerage.
The documentary did not include members of a separate network of preachers that participated in convoy occupations in Ottawa and blocked US-Canada borders, Liberty Coalition Canada.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1561485691984392192
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1561452314509987840
Watch Video in Link Below:
https://pressprogress.ca/the-freedom-convoy-is-turning-into-a-christian-nationalist-revival-movement/
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Trudeau sees lowest approval rating, new poll finds
About 34 per cent of Canadians approve of the Trudeau government's performance, with a 51 per cent disapproval rate, a national poll from Abacus Data found.
This is the highest number recorded since Trudeau was elected in 2015, and since the SNC-Lavalin controversy in 2019.
In addition, Justin Trudeau's approval rating is the lowest number ever recorded, with a 31 per cent positive impression of the prime minister.
Compared to his Conservative counterparts, Trudeau (-21 net score) has a low approval score: Pierre Poilievre (-7) and Jean Charest (-5).
Unsurprisingly, 65 per cent of Conservative Canadians have a very negative view of the prime minister, which is nearly double the national average of 34 per cent.
The poll findings also show that among former Liberal voters in 2021, only 39 per cent of Canadians held negative views of Pierre Poilievre.
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/trudeau-see-lowest-approval-rating-new-poll-finds-5644658
Justin Trudeau is sure addressing Canada's most pressing problems huh?
The federal government unveiled what it described as a historic first on Sunday as it announced a five-year, $100-million plan to support 2SLGBT communities across the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the strategy, dubbed "Canada's first Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan," at a news conference on Sunday ahead of the Pride parade in Ottawa — the first in-person march after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
Trudeau touted the plan as the first such federal initiative of its kind, and said it demonstrates the government's commitment to fighting discrimination and supporting diversity.
"This will guide our ongoing work to fight discrimination, break down barriers, to advance rights and to build a future where everyone in Canada is truly free to be who they are and love whom they love," Trudeau said on Sunday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-action-plan-lgbtq-1.6564977
Qanon might be on to something with this guy.
All a dude has to do is put on a skirt and voilà ...go anywhere and do everything that girls do.
What is a 2slgbtqi+ anyway? Sounds complicated.
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America’s Inflation Reduction Act just gave Canada’s economy a shot in the arm
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/08/22/opinion/america-inflation-reduction-act-just-gave-canadas-economy-shot-arm
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Concerns as convoy-connected group establishes in Ottawa neighbourhood
The stark red banners hanging from St. Brigid’s church on Saint Patrick Street are nearly impossible to miss; the white insignia of a tree adorned with maple leaves offering neighbours little indication as to who is behind the new developments at the deconsecrated church.
The group is known as The United People of Canada, a self-described federally incorporated “not-for-profit social enterprise organization.”
Corporate documents show three members on the group’s board of directors: Kimberley Ward, William Komer, and Diane Nolan.
Social media posts show all three have close ties to the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation.
Ward has previously told CTV News she is an advisor to Tamara Lich, and gave interviews to multiple media outlets in March when Lich was originally released on bail, saying at the time “she’s happy., everybody’s happy, we did it.”
Ward and Komer can be seen in multiple photos on social media with Lich’s husband, Dwayne Lich, who has also posted significantly about the new organization, as early as this spring.
For her part, Nolan took part in the occupation, live-streaming from the downtown core several times throughout.
In one Jan. 30 livestream, Nolan appears on Parliament Hill and can be heard saying, “Wow, it’s for real. Enough is enough, we’re standing for freedom, we’re standing for what God intended for this country right from the beginning.”
Lowertown residents say they’re concerned with the group’s appearance at the church, and plans to create what TUPC calls “The Embassy;” a downtown location described by the organization’s social media as a “Forum of the People, where all voices have the opportunity to be heard, regardless of how niche the thought, opinion, expression, or belief.”
“I did hear about it being an HQ, an embassy, an office, that kind of thing. That’s the part makes me a little uncertain,” Mohamed Elmekki said.
City officials and community organizations in the area say they’ve been inundated by residents concerned about the usage of the space.
“We’ve looked online at who the group is, tried to find out what their objectives are, so we’re concerned, not terrified, but we’re in a fact finding mission right now, just trying to get a little more information,” Sylvie Bingras, President of the Lowertown Community Association said.
The building, a designated heritage site, is private property and currently listed at a sale price of $5.95 million.
In an email, Komer told CTV News the group plans to “restore and adaptively reuse surplus and under utilized institutional properties into vibrant community spaces.”
CTV News reached out to the owner of the property to inquire about the potential sale, but did not get a response by deadline.
Sources tell CTV News there has been interest from TUPC in the property.
Neighbours say they’re worried the groups connections to the Freedom movement could bring back the tensions of the convoy occupation.
“It’s not a good feeling, not good memories. It was really terrible for a lot of people,” Lise Letellier, who walks past the church almost everyday, said.
“We are still very fragile in terms of having gone through a very difficult time last February, many of our residents went through really difficult - I have sons who live in Lowertown who were harassed, intimidated,” Bingras said.
“I find myself in a very challenging position saying this is a privately owned property yet we’re here from a city point of view we have to maintain public safety and we have to be accountable and responsible to residents concern,” Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury said.
CTV News reached out to each of the directors of The United People of Canada for an interview but did not get a response by deadline.
In an email, Komer wrote “it is unfortunate that our social enterprise organization…has been subject to such hateful, untrue, and defamatory statements as have been circulating on social media recently."
“I find myself in a very challenging position saying this is a privately owned property yet we’re here from a city point of view we have to maintain public safety and we have to be accountable and responsible to residents concern,” Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury said.
CTV News reached out to each of the directors of The United People of Canada for an interview but did not get a response by deadline.
In an email, Komer wrote “it is unfortunate that our social enterprise organization…has been subject to such hateful, untrue, and defamatory statements as have been circulating on social media recently.
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/concerns-as-convoy-connected-group-establishes-in-ottawa-neighbourhood-1.5994659
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PM Trudeau to visit Kitchener Tuesday
He will first participate in a roundtable discussion on housing affordability, then make a housing announcement
https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news/pm-trudeau-to-visit-kitchener-tuesday-5754719
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JustinTrudeau @JustinTrudeau
Sat down with Premier @FordNation today. Whether it’s making housing more affordable, strengthening health care, investing in infrastructure, or meeting the growing demand for electric vehicles, we’ll keep making progress on our shared priorities and delivering for Ontarians.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1564746566409375744
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Next week, Cabinet will be meeting in Vancouver for two days. From making housing more affordable, to tackling climate change and creating jobs, to building safer communities, we’re going to be focused on building a better future for you.
More here: https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1565053460583776261
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
We’re making child care more affordable. In Manitoba, we’re cutting fees down to $10 a day by next year – saving families up to an average of $2,691 per child per year. For the parents I met at the Stanley Knowles Children’s Centre today and others like them, that’s great news.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1565499643861078017
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Karina Gould @karinagould
We know how important affordable and accessible child care is for families here in #BurlON and across the country.
With our #childcare system, parents in Ontario will see fees reduced by 50 percent on average by the end of this year, saving an average of $6,000 per year.
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https://twitter.com/karinagould/status/1565799820694093827
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Anita Anand @AnitaAnandMP
It was great to kick off Labour Day weekend by welcoming Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau to our community. We visited the Ontario Sheet Metal Workers Training Centre to see first-hand the important work that they do right here in Oakville.
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https://twitter.com/AnitaAnandMP/status/1565827818604400640
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Majority of Albertans opposed to ‘freedom convoy’ despite vocal minority: survey
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A majority of Albertans did not support the so-called “Freedom Convoy,” according to a recent survey.
And still fewer supported their methods like invading downtown Ottawa or blockading border crossings like at Coutts, Alta.
An online survey of 2,224 Albertans done by Pollara for the University of Alberta’s political science research group Common Ground found 61 per cent of Albertans opposed the convoy’s objectives, and 67 per cent disagreed with how they tried to achieve those objectives.
The convoy blockades in Ottawa and Coutts cleared out in mid- to late-February. The survey was conducted between April 8 and May 9, 2022.
“We did that pretty strategically because we wanted to sample people after the dust had settled,” U of A political science assistant professor Feo Snagovsky told Global News.
“We wanted to sort of see what are the lasting implications once people had a time to think a little bit about the lessons that they thought the convoy had taught them or what they thought the implications for Canadian politics and government.”
Support was split along urban-rural and political affiliations.
Seventy per cent of Edmontonians surveyed were against the convoys, but 53 per cent of Red Deerians and 53 per cent of respondents outside the Calgary-Edmonton corridor backed the convoys.
“This aligns with a trend where rural communities feel disenfranchised or left out from government decision-making, and helps explain why support for the Freedom Convoy was higher in non-urban areas,” Common Ground’s report reads.
More than half of those surveyed who identified as United Conservative Party supporters – 56 per cent – said they supported the convoy’s objectives. Only 14 per cent of Alberta NDP supporters backed the convoys.
“We didn’t find necessarily any evidence that the convoy had particular resonance among rural folks.
When it came to action, very few Albertans did anything. Only two per cent contributed money to the convoys, only four per cent flew a Canadian flag, and only four per cent participated in a rally, the survey showed.
And when it came to social media, “supporters were a vocal minority,” the report said.
"For a certain period of time, the national discussion was really dominated by what this small vocal minority had to say. So it might have created the impression that there was an overwhelming amount of support for the convoy’s objectives and methods, and that’s not the case,” Snagovsky said.
“It’s just the case that the small group of people who do support the convoy were really motivated to support the convoy.”
With anti-government protests continuing through the year, Snagovsky and his team plan to continue to track anti-government sentiment like the freedom convoy’s.
The most recent report on hate, extremism and terrorism in Alberta and Canada from the Organization for the Prevention of Violence noted an increase in anti-authority ideology.
"After years of stagnation, or in some cases a decline in activity in Canada, the anti-authority movement has experienced a reinvigoration, partly as a reaction to public health measures enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic and the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories,” the report reads.
Snagovsky said citizens still look up to leaders – elected and otherwise – and follow their example.
“We know that most people look to their leaders for cues on what they should believe and how they should act. So if political elites are encouraging people or giving them sly nods or dog whistles that this kind of behavior is acceptable, people will continue to do it,” he said.
“It may seem electorally-advantageous to hop on the zeitgeist in the moment, but in the long run, it’s almost certainly going to bite them.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/9101185/majority-albertans-opposed-freedom-convoy-survey/
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VW and Mercedes-Benz ink agreements with Canada for raw materials vital to US battery manufacturing
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Following last week’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, German legacy automakers Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have sealed agreements with the Canadian government to acquire raw materials for EV battery manufacturing at their US facilities. This move could help EVs from both automakers qualify for US tax credits under the revised terms of the recently signed bill.
Last week, President Biden officially signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law after months of back and forth among Congress. While the dust is still settling on this bill that includes revamped federal tax credits for EV purchases for another decade, there remains a lot of confusion on what vehicles will or will not qualify.
In addition to being assembled in North America, the new terms of the federal tax credit require a majority of battery components come from North America, as well as a certain percentage of raw battery materials come from the US or its free trade partners.
As a result, a list of qualifying EVs that was previously in the hundreds has now been dwindled down to dozens… at least for now. There will be plenty more to join the list as American automakers and foreign companies with US facilities pivot their production practices to qualify for credits.
Two German automakers with US footprints are already making moves with our neighbors to the north, as Volkswagen Group and Mercedes-Benz Group have each signed supply agreements with the nation of Canada for materials vital to EV battery manufacturing on US soil.
VW, MB jump on supplies to ensure US battery manufacturing
As reported by Automotive News Europe, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were in attendance Tuesday when both automakers signed memorandums of understanding with Canada to secure access to raw materials vital to battery manufacturing, including nickel, cobalt, and lithium.
Volkswagen Group states that its agreement with Canada is designed to shorten its supply chains to its current facilities in the US in order to avoid certain tariffs and tax regulations. A spokesperson for the German automaker said Biden’s latest bill played a key part in the steadfast supply agreement, and its dedicated battery business PowerCo will begin ramping up manufacturing in the US with its new “reliable and sustainable supply chains.”
Volkswagen is already planning to erect six battery manufacturing facilities in Europe alone and has long been considering a new battery cell plant in the US near its Chattanooga manufacturing facility where the ID.4 is now being built. The company’s previous plan was to source cells from SK Innovation and its massive plant being built in Georgia.
Mercedes-Benz Group is working with fellow automaker Stellantis, to implement eight new battery manufacturing facilities around the globe and is already manufacturing batteries in the US at its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Mercedes declined comment on its latest supply agreement with Canada or elaborate and how it plans to use the raw battery materials.
https://electrek.co/2022/08/23/vw-and-mercedes-benz-ink-agreements-with-canada-for-raw-materials-vital-to-us-battery-manufacturing/
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Announced today: We’re investing in Sen̓áḵw, a net-zero development project owned and operated by Squamish Nation. Together, we’re building nearly 3,000 homes – including rental units and affordable units – and creating hundreds of good jobs.
More here: https://bit.ly/3BjDxqB
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1567314202762567680
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Yesterday, we joined Squamish Nation to break ground on Sen̓áḵw – a residential and commercial development project. Learn more about how we’re working together to build nearly 3,000 homes, create jobs, advance reconciliation, and tackle climate change:
http://bit.ly/3BjDxqB
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1567603100940222474
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
It was with the heaviest of hearts that we learned of the passing of Canada’s longest-reigning Sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was a constant presence in our lives – and her service to Canadians will forever remain an important part of our country’s history.
As we look back at her life and her reign that spanned so many decades, Canadians will always remember and cherish Her Majesty’s wisdom, compassion, and warmth. Our thoughts are with the members of the Royal Family during this most difficult time.
Please read my full statement:
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1567957547512115201
Statement by the Prime Minister on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II:
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we learned of the passing of Canada’s longest-reigning Sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“For most Canadians, we have known no other Sovereign. Queen Elizabeth II was a constant presence in our lives. Time and again, Her Majesty marked Canada’s modern history. Over the course of 70 years and twenty-three Royal Tours, Queen Elizabeth II saw this country from coast to coast to coast and was there for our major, historical milestones.
“She would proclaim ‘it was good to be home’ when returning to her beloved Canada. She was indeed at home here, and Canadians never ceased to return her affection.
“Her Majesty vowed to devote her life to the service of the Commonwealth and its people. On behalf of all Canadians, I thank Queen Elizabeth II for honouring this vow and for a lifetime of service.
"Her Majesty’s reign spanned so many decades – a period when we came into our own as a confident, diverse, and forward-looking country. It is her wisdom, compassion, and warmth that we will always remember and cherish.
“Today, a page has not only been turned, but a chapter in our shared history has drawn to a close. I know Her Majesty’s service to Canada and Canadians will forever remain an important part of our country’s history. The coming days will be a period of mourning for Canadians, as it will be for all Commonwealth citizens, ending with a national day of mourning when a commemorative service will be held to mark the passing of our Sovereign.
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I express our heartfelt condolences to members of the Royal Family during this most difficult time.”
https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2022/09/08/statement-prime-minister-passing-her-majesty-queen-elizabeth-ii
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Canadian ceremony to proclaim accession of King Charles to be held Saturday
OTTAWA (Reuters) -A ceremony to proclaim the accession of Britain's King Charles will take place on Saturday in Ottawa, the office of Canada's governor general said on Friday.
The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the British-appointed governor-general, who acts on behalf of the monarch.
Charles, 73, automatically became king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms, including Canada, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth, died on Thursday at age 96.
Although Canada ceased being a colony of Britain in 1867, it remained in the British Empire until 1982, and is still a member of the Commonwealth of former empire countries that have the British monarch as head of state.
© Reuters
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The CPQ in Canada are just like MAGA in America. They are against law and order and support overthrowing the government.
They also claim to be "pro life" but they have proven they are not with their outrage over mandates which saves life.
The whole point of the mandates was to keep a deadly virus from spreading but these far right wing radicals did not care. They wanted people to be unmasked and unvaccinated to spread a virus making others sick. So, when unvaccinated workers infected each other, it messed up the supply chains and as a result inflation occurred. Then these same right wing radicals who did not want mandates, viciously attacked Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden over supply chain problems when it was their own demanding of "no mandates" that caused this mess to begin with. If more people were masked and vaccinated, there wouldn't have been a virus surge that caused these issues.
Now it turns out that these far right wing CPQ candidates donated to this illegal convoy occupation of Ottawa that cost the city billions of dollars in lost revenue. This is just another reason to keep these right wing extremists out of government.
Conservative Party of Quebec candidates donated to Freedom Convoy
CPQ candidates donated money, left messages of support on crowdfunding platform
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Five candidates of the Conservative Party of Quebec (CPQ) donated money to support the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID-19 measures that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for weeks during the winter, Radio-Canada has learned.
The donations were made at the height of the crisis on GiveSendGo, shortly after the popular site GoFundMe ended payments to convoy organizers due to concerns about violence and harassment at the large demonstration.
The protest lasted from Jan. 29 to Feb. 23.
Radio-Canada consulted a list of 93,000 donors linked to the crowdfunding campaign on GiveSendGo. The list leaked by Distributed Denial of Secrets — also known as DDoSecrets — an American whistleblowing organization.
The five CPQ candidates, who are running in ridings in Montreal and Laval, contributed amounts ranging from $20 to $125.
The crowdfunding campaign netted a total of more than $10 million in donations for the protest, which lasted three weeks and featured thousands of demonstrators — many of whom parked their heavy trucks near Parliament Hill.
As a result of the protest, the province of Ontario declared of state of emergency. On Feb. 14, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act.
'Useless' COVID-19 measures
Along with her $125 donation, Louise Sexton, who is running in Montreal's Maurice-Richard riding, left a written message on the website that described COVID-19 measures as "useless." She also said they threatened to erode freedoms.
Stefano Piscitelli, who is vying for the seat in Laval's Vimont riding, donated $85 and left a message on GiveSendGo that read "Hold the line," in an apparent show of support to the protesters.
Chakib Saab, a CPQ candidate in Jeanne-Mance–Viger wrote "We love you," to go along with his donation of $20.
"For me, for you, for them, for freedom. Lots of love," wrote Carmel-Antoine Bessard, who is running in Montreal's Bourassa-Sauvé riding. She donated $50.
The CPQ told Radio-Canada it has no intentions of asking the candidates who donated to the convoy protest to step down.
"As long as a protest remains peaceful, for us, the right to protest is part of freedom of expression and is essential to our democracy," said Cédric Lapointe, a spokesperson for the party.
"Our candidates did not act violently by participating in the truckers' protest in Ottawa."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/donations-freedom-convoy-conservative-quebec-1.6575829
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Intelligence memo flagged possible 'violent revenge' after Ottawa protest shutdown
OTTAWA - Newly disclosed documents show federal intelligence officials warned decision-makers that the police dispersal of "Freedom Convoy" protesters in Ottawa last winter could prompt an "opportunistic attack" against a politician or symbol of government.
The Feb. 24 "threat highlight," marked Secret/Canadian Eyes Only, also advised that extremist "influencers" would leverage the outcome of the protests for continued recruitment and propaganda, regardless of whether COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were relaxed.
Ideologically motivated extremists would likely use police enforcement "to encourage violent revenge or as further evidence of government 'tyranny,'" the four-page assessment said.
The partially redacted memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, was among several Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre analyses produced before, during and after the protests that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for three weeks beginning in late January.
The centre, overseen by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, brings together security and intelligence professionals from various agencies to draft terrorism threat assessments, based on classified and open-source information, to share with partners at home and abroad.
The aim is to provide senior decision-makers with the latest and most detailed information to assess the overall threat and risk level.
Protesters, many with large trucks, occupied central Ottawa streets to rail against COVID-19 health measures and Justin Trudeau's Liberal government. The influx, including some participants who had roots in the far-right movement, prompted many businesses to shut their doors and aggravated residents with noise, diesel fumes and harassing behaviour.
On Feb. 14, the government invoked the Emergencies Act, which allowed for temporary measures including regulation and prohibition of public assemblies, the designation of secure places, direction to banks to freeze assets and a ban on support for participants.
Authorities towed away trucks, arrested more than 200 people and laid hundreds of charges.
Extremist ideologues portrayed the police response as "brutality" and the use of the Emergencies Act as further evidence of federal "tyranny," comparing the government tactics to those of foreign dictatorships, the Feb. 24 assessment noted. It added that several online incitements to violence had surfaced, with some implying that direct action against politicians, police and even their families was the only option left.
"That's something that typically happens with these sorts of movements," said Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University.
"When you push back against them, they use that as yet more evidence that they're the ones under attack, that their assessment is right, that they are being silenced, that they are the ones being marginalized and threatened by that tyrannical state, as they like to call it."
The "Freedom Convoy" and related protests at government buildings and border crossings fuelled anti-authority sentiments among adherents of ideologically motivated violent extremism, or IMVE, the Feb. 24 assessment said.
"The perceived notion that societal resilience is fragile, or that the government/police response justifies violent resistance, could inspire a lone actor or small group inspired by IMVE to conduct an opportunistic attack against a political figure or symbol of government," the analysts concluded.
"Supporters of IMVE will continue to encourage, and capitalize on, anti-government sentiments and protest movements, whether related to the pandemic or other issues, in an attempt to degrade public confidence and social cohesion, and to attract vulnerable individuals to their ideological cause."
The future loosening of public health restrictions might calm the protest movement, but people who embrace violent extremism, particularly those "wanting to accelerate the demise of current social and political orders, are unlikely to be placated," the assessment said.
"IMVE threats to political figures and government symbols will persist into the foreseeable future."
The national capital would see followup protests, including a late June procession that included many of the figures involved in the winter events.
"They've really set the stage and drawn more people in around a broader distrust of government, science, academics, media — all of those institutions," Perry said. "So, I think they'll continue to find ways to exploit those anxieties, exploit those grievances that they've helped to create, or at least exacerbate."
The terrorism assessment centre began tracking the truck convoy headed to Ottawa as early as Jan. 26, producing a secret assessment that flagged the possibility of opportunistic violence on the margins of the protest.
A Feb. 3 analysis said a co-ordinated terrorist attack or a planned storming of Parliament Hill or other federal locations were unlikely.
"The most likely IMVE-related scenario involves an inspired lone actor using available weapons and resources such as knives, firearms, homemade explosives and vehicles in public areas against soft targets, including opposition groups or members of the public."
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/intelligence-memo-flagged-possible-violent-revenge-after-ottawa-protest-shutdown-1.6030232
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
To mark the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, September 19th will be a National Day of Mourning in Canada. On the same day, there will also be a national commemorative ceremony to honour Her Majesty’s life and service.
More details here: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/09/13/national-day-mourning-canada-honour-her-majesty-queen-elizabeth-ii
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1569800361346580483
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'It's now Pierre's Convoy Party of Canada': CUPE, PM Trudeau blast Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's 'dog whistles and careless attacks'
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/pierre-poilievre-conservative-party-canadian-union-of-public-employees-cupe-justin-trudeau-prime-minister-145001623.html
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CanadianPM @CanadianPM
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II embraced her role as Queen of Canada, and we came of age under her reign. Watch as PM Justin Trudeau pays tribute to one of his favourite people in the world, Her Majesty, thanking her for her counsel, thoughtfulness, curiosity, and sense of humour:
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1571502730253852677
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Decision on eviction of Freedom Convoy-affiliated group from Ottawa church not expected until late September
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/freedom-convoy-affiliated-group-faces-eviction-hearing-in-ottawa-church-dispute-1.6073765
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Windsor police officers face misconduct charges for allegedly donating to 'Freedom Convoy'
Two Windsor police officers are facing misconduct charges and a civilian employee will be disciplined for allegedly donating money to the “Freedom Convoy” that occupied downtown Ottawa and choked off access to the Ambassador Bridge.
“We hold our members to the highest standards of conduct and those who fail to maintain those principles must be held accountable for their behaviour,” said Deputy Chief Frank Providenti. “By choosing to support an illegal blockade at our country’s busiest border crossing, these members demonstrated a complete disregard for our city’s economy and reputation as well as for the safety of their own colleagues who were dealing with the volatile situation.”
Constables Jason Michael Brisco and Brooke Fazekas are both facing charges. Following an investigation by the Windsor Police Service’s professional standards branch, a civilian employee will also be suspended without pay for one day.
“The Windsor Police Service condemns the actions of two sworn members and one civilian employee who made donations to support the Freedom Convoy that blocked access to the Ambassador Bridge earlier this year,” said Providenti.
There was a brief Zoom hearing Monday morning for Brisco — who was placed on leave without pay when the police service implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate — who is charged with discreditable conduct under Ontario’s Police Services Act.
Brisco did not appear at the virtual meeting, where a hearing officer, a Windsor police inspector acting as prosecutor, and a representative of the Windsor Police Association discussed the case. The hearing was adjourned until October.
The Police Act hearing for Fazekas has not started yet.
According to a leaked list of donors, Brisco allegedly donated $50 to the so-called “Freedom Convoy.” There was also a comment with the donation, given under the name “Officers for freedom.”
“Thank you fellow Canadians for fighting for freedom at the base of Sauron’s Tower. The world is watching… and we see Trudeau’s true colours.”
Fazekas allegedly donated $40, according to the leaked documents.
Hackers targeted GiveSendGo in February, revealing the names, emails, postal codes, dollar amounts and country of origin for about 93,000 people who hackers say donated more than US$8.4 million in support of protests against government COVID-19 mandates.
According to the report leaked by hackers, 274 people from the Windsor West and Windsor Tecumseh areas donated a total of $35,277 to the protests. Thousands more dollars came from people elsewhere in Essex County.
The protesters turned to GiveSendGo, a U.S.-based Christian crowd funding service, after GoFundMe shut down a similar campaign that had raised more than $10 million.
Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice ultimately froze the GiveSendGo funds at the request of the provincial government.
Protesters occupied the streets of downtown Ottawa for three weeks and blocked access to several border crossings.
The Ambassador Bridge, North America’s most important economic corridor, was shutdown for nearly a week. Huron Church Road was also shut down, wreaking havoc in Windsor’s west end, until Windsor police, RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and officers from several other jurisdictions moved in to push out the protesters.
The bridge blockade stalled billions of dollars in trade. It also cost the City of Windsor nearly $5.7 million, mostly for policing, including overtime, road barriers, housing and feeding more than 500 out-of-town officers, and a $130,000 bill from the London Police Service.
https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/windsor-police-officers-face-misconduct-charges-for-allegedly-donating-to-freedom-convoy
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Trudeau to attend assassinated Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's state funeral in Tokyo
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/trudeau-to-attend-assassinated-japanese-pm-shinzo-abes-state-funeral-in-tokyo
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
It’s time – if you’re eligible for your booster, get it. Let’s keep taking action to fight COVID-19, and let’s make sure our vaccinations are up-to-date. That way, we can continue to do the things we enjoy with the people we love.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1573043547984609284
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1573043547984609284
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Justin Trudeau @ JustinTrudeau
We, @G7 leaders, condemn Russia’s sham referenda. They have no legal effect or legitimacy, and clearly breach the United Nations Charter and international law. We will never recognize the outcome – and we will continue to stand with Ukraine.
Our statement: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2022/09/23/g7-leaders-statement
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1573444468405161995
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Trudeau: Russia ‘failing and flailing’ in Ukraine war
https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-general-assembly-russia-ukraine-putin-justin-trudeau-d0892fa72f94bcf03c19fee5a07b0b6c
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Trudeau says military will aid Nova Scotia cleanup, cancels trip to Japan
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fiona-military-help-japan-trip-cancelled-1.6594784
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Ian Shugart was also appointed Canada’s newest Privy Councillor today. His support and professionalism, and the leadership he provided supporting Canadians throughout the pandemic, was invaluable – and this recognition is well-deserved.
More here: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/09/26/prime-minister-announces-appointment-ian-shugart-privy-councillor
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1574503960123170838
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Canada ‘will not ever’ recognize ‘sham’ referendums, Trudeau reaffirms to Zelenskyy
https://globalnews.ca/news/9162293/russia-ukraine-referendums-zelenskyy-trudeau/
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CANADA’S ‘FREEDOM CONVOY’ HAS TAKEN A CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST TURN
The movement is increasingly adopting the rhetoric and tactics of the Evangelical ‘revivalists’ to advocate for the overthrow of the Canadian government.
https://therealnews.com/canadas-freedom-convoy-has-taken-a-christian-nationalist-turn
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Justin Trudeau @ JustinTrudeau
Today, @POTUS and I covered plenty of ground. We spoke about growing our economies, creating good jobs for the middle class, supporting the Ukrainian people, fighting climate change, continuing to strengthen the partnership between Canada and the United States, and more.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1639350168129617921
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Justin Trudeau @ JustinTrudeau
We’re taking action to make life more affordable for Canadians. We’re increasing the federal minimum wage, permanently eliminating interest on Canada Student Loans, boosting Climate Action Incentive rebates, and more – and that’s all in effect as of today.
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Read Here: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2023/04/01/new-support-available-today-make-life-more-affordable-canadians
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1642269080412454914
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Hundreds of dollars in support for 11 million people across the country. That’s what we’re delivering with the new Grocery Rebate. And that’s what I spoke about with people in Val-d’Or today. More here: https://bit.ly/43dyyUq
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1642958138868375552
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Now at the #USCanadaSummit: I’m speaking about the partnership between Canada and the United States, the critical issues we’re tackling together, and our made-in-Canada plan to invest in people and create good jobs.
Tune in here: https://bit.ly/3nOfOKF
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1643373015705571338
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
With #Budget2023, we’re building Canada’s clean economy of the future – today. This made-in-Canada Plan is going to create more good jobs, grow our economy, and fight climate change. http://bit.ly/3ZIrUCy
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1643780584043433985
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1643780584043433985
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Trudeau Was Right to Use Emergency Powers to End Blockade, Report Says
The judge who wrote the report found the decision “regrettable,” but said that the government was left with no choice to end the protest that paralyzed Canada’s capital.
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OTTAWA — One of the biggest political issues in Canada in recent years has been whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abused his authority by imposing never before used emergency powers to end protests against Covid regulations that had paralyzed the capital and shut down a border crossing that disrupted billions in trade.
On Friday, a public inquiry concluded that Mr. Trudeau was justified in imposing the sweeping measures because it was the only way to restore order and safety and protect the country’s economy.
At the same time, the judge who oversaw the inquiry said the need to apply such drastic action was the result of a breakdown in policing and a failure of coordination among politicians across various levels of government.
“It is a tool of last resort,’’ the judge, Justice Paul Rouleau of the Ontario Court of Appeal, told reporters following the release of his five-volume report. “But that circumstances evolved to the point where cabinet reasonably considered it necessary to invoke the act is regrettable because, in my view, the situation that led to its use could likely have been avoided.”
The judge’s finding, which followed hundreds of hours of testimony over 36 days last year, is a vindication for Mr. Trudeau, a Liberal, who has been widely criticized for using the law by conservative opponents who considered it constitutional overreach.
Mr. Trudeau, on Friday, said the government would examine the report’s findings and acknowledged that using the act had not been an ideal solution.
“It was unfortunate, it was undesirable, we didn’t want to do it,” he told reporters, “but we had gotten to a place where there was no other choice to keep Canadians safe".
The Emergencies Act, which was adopted in 1988 to address security emergencies as well as natural disasters, gave Mr. Trudeau’s government broad powers, including freezing the bank accounts of protesters without a court order, banning certain public protests and freeing resources to help the police remove demonstrators.
In late January 2022, the streets in the heart of Ottawa, the capital, began filling with trucks, cars, farm tractors, tents and even a bouncy castle and an inflatable hot tub.
Many truckers who participated were angered by regulations requiring that drivers crossing into Canada from the United States be vaccinated against Covid-19. Their numbers were swelled by protesters angry over other government Covid measures. The demonstrations also attracted right-wing separatists and extremists from Western Canada who shared anti-government sentiments.
The protesters were finally driven away on Feb. 20 following a two day effort by police officers from across Canada. More than 190 people were ultimately arrested, 500 charges were filed and dozens of vehicles used by demonstrators were confiscated by the police.
The protesters and their supporters characterized the blockade as a peaceful celebration of freedom and condemned the use the of the Emergencies Act as an assault on constitutional freedoms and an unnecessary government overreach.
Justice Rouleau found that the protest grew in magnitude because it reflected the hardships that many people believed Covid rules were causing.
“While public health measures had impacted each of them differently, their common frustration brought the organizers together and attracted supporters,” he wrote.
But the judge disputed testimony from protesters who said that their actions were protected by Canada’s constitution.
“The charter provides a robust protection for protest activities,’’ he wrote in the report. “But like all rights in Canada, protest rights are subject to reasonable limits.”
During the inquiry, Ottawa residents described sleepless nights from round the clock blowing of truck air horns, being harassed for wearing face masks and deep frustration at being denied access to their streets.
Downtown businesses, including a shopping mall that serves the city and surrounding region, were forced to close for four weeks after being swarmed by protesters and cut off by blocked roads.
A smaller blockade of truckers shut down North America’s busiest border crossing — between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit — a move that affected about $4 billion in trade.
In Western Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducting searches of trailers in Coutts, Alberta, linked to a border blockade there seized 13 long guns, handguns and a large quantity of ammunition.
Testimony during the inquiry revealed that Mr. Trudeau and his cabinet received conflicting views about invoking the law.
The Ottawa Police Service, whose officers had allowed the trucks into the city center but then became overwhelmed when they would not leave, supported taking the step. But senior officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ontario Provincial Police testified that they had sufficient force to clear the streets without the emergency powers.
Mr. Trudeau, who testified for several hours during the inquiry, firmly defended invoking the act, saying that the government was concerned about violence or that demonstrations would erupt in other parts of the country.
“I am absolutely, absolutely serene and confident that I made the right choice,” Mr. Trudeau testified in November.
The Emergencies Act replaced a previous law used in 1970 by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the father of the current prime minister, after a terrorist group in Quebec kidnapped a British diplomat and a provincial cabinet minister, who was later assassinated.
Under the new law, a public hearing must be held after its use, one of several measures meant to ensure that it does not unreasonably limit civil liberties.
The inquiry also showed widespread rifts among politicians and law enforcement officials. Some elected leaders expressed exasperation over the seeming inability or unwillingness of the police to clear Ottawa’s streets.
As the demonstrations grew, the Ottawa Police Service, whose chief resigned during the blockade, failed to “develop an overall operational plan to resolve the protests,” Justice Rouleau wrote.
The inquiry also included testimony from protest organizers and supporters showing that the blockade lacked any clear coordination or common goals. During the protest, one organizer, James Bauder, championed a plan to remove Mr. Trudeau from office for "treason and crimes against humanity.”
Mr. Bauder, who along with other organizers faces several criminal charges stemming from the protests, emphasized that none of the convoy members were calling for violence.
Throughout the report, Justice Rouleau paints the blockade as a low point in Canada’s history.
“It is regrettable that this situation across Canada deteriorated to the point where its cabinet reasonably believed that the use of the act was necessary,” he told reporters on Friday. “We can all hope that such an exceptional confluence of events and circumstances does not occur again.’
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/canada-trucker-protests-trudeau.html
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Trudeau’s Crude Pipeline Set to Provide Boost for Canadian Oil
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-10/trudeau-s-crude-pipeline-set-to-provide-boost-for-canadian-oil#xj4y7vzkg
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
I’m at the First Nations University to hear from the next generation of Indigenous leaders – and to take questions from the people of Regina. Watch live: https://bit.ly/40byOjQ
Live from Regina: I’m talking about #Budget2023, the new Grocery Rebate, and how we’re making life more affordable for Canadians.
Tune in here: https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1646565065162620965
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
With the Climate Action Incentive rebate, which goes out today, we’re putting more money in the pockets of millions of Canadians – and fighting climate change. And while Conservative politicians want to take away this rebate, we’ll keep working to make your life more affordable.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1646884743781154819
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1646884743781154819
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Federal budget, transit on the agenda as Trudeau visits Manitoba
https://globalnews.ca/news/9617611/prime-minister-trudeau-manitoba-federal-budget/
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Some politicians prefer to exploit fears. We prefer to provide solutions, deliver results, and move forward. So that’s exactly what we’ll continue to do.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1648679520759865345
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1648679520759865345
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advances concrete climate action at the Major Economies Forum
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participated virtually in the fourth Leaders-level meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate, aimed at accelerating collective efforts toward keeping a 1.5-degree Celsius limit on climate warming within reach. The event set the tone for an ambitious year for climate action in the lead up to COP28.
At the Forum, hosted by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, the Prime Minister joined leaders from the world’s major economies: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, European Commission, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. His Excellency António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and representatives from China, France, India, Italy, and Saudi Arabia were also in attendance.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister highlighted Canadian climate ambition and leadership, including on pollution pricing. As the G7 country with the largest percentage of emissions reduction since 2019, Canada is demonstrating a clear path to deliver good jobs and economic growth, while fighting the climate crisis. The Prime Minister invited other countries to join these efforts and join Canada’s Global Carbon Pricing Challenge.
Prime Minister Trudeau also underlined other action that Canada is taking to address the climate crisis while growing the economy, including accelerating progress on zero-emission vehicles. Additionally, the Prime Minister expressed support on work to help grow clean energy resources, end deforestation globally, and reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions.
The Prime Minister announced that Canada is joining the Methane Finance Sprint to raise funding ahead of COP28, to help developing countries tackle this potent greenhouse gas. He also announced that Canada will provide $3.5 million over three years to help two Small Island Developing States in the Pacific – Fiji and Samoa – reduce methane emissions and achieve their Paris Agreement targets.
Prime Minister Trudeau also noted support for the launch of the Carbon Management Challenge and for a robust replenishment of the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund to incentivize early action on hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) reductions. Finally, the Prime Minister took the opportunity to share Canada’s long-standing support for the ongoing efforts to improve the capacity of multilateral development banks to address global challenges, including climate change.
The Prime Minister looked forward to continuing to work with the major economies and make progress toward COP28, and deliver good jobs for citizens, strong economies, and a healthy environment globally.
https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/readouts/2023/04/20/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-advances-concrete-climate-action-major
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A Conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/conversation-prime-minister-justin-trudeau
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Prime Minister Trudeau delivers keynote address at the World Economic Forum
Watch:
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Investing in and delivering better health care for First Nations in British Columbia
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, joined by the Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, and the leaders of the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and the First Nations Health Council (FNHC), on Coast Salish Traditional Territory, announces the signing of a renewed 10-year Canada Funding Agreement with the FNHA in British Columbia, to deliver better health care for First Nations in the province.
Watch:
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Last week, we celebrated the massive electric vehicle battery factory Volkswagen is going to build in St. Thomas, creating thousands upon thousands of jobs – and today, we marked this historic investment with President Steinmeier. Canada and Germany are going to continue working together to create great jobs for workers.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1650601893607907348
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1650601893607907348
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau news conference.
The President's News Conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa, Canada
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-with-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-ottawa-canada
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Justin Trudeau @Justin Trudeau
Live from Ottawa: I’m sitting down with the #Artemis II crew, the @NASA Administrator, and the @CSA_ASC President to discuss the partnership between the agencies, our support for science, and the benefits of investing in space.
Tune in here: https://bit.ly/3HdsZfd
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1650980404789141505
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
They’re going to the moon next year, but they were in Canada today. To the #Artemis II crew: Congratulations! The work you’re doing is inspiring to so many, and we’ll continue to be here to cheer you on.
Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just about four astronauts. And it’s not just about one mission. It’s about how investments in space lead to innovation that benefits everyone. Just look at the NeuroArm, the world’s first robot capable of operating inside an MRI machine.
It has made previously-impossible surgeries possible, and it was built off the technology developed for the Canadarm. That is what this is about. And that is why we’ll keep investing in space, in science, and in the people who are willing to dream big and aim high.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1651061112853413889
Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Volkswagen’s massive electric vehicle battery factory is a major win for our economy and a vote of confidence in our workers. It’s also a pivotal part of the clean economy we’re building.
More on that here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1651344457151774722
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1651344457151774722
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Volkswagen’s electric vehicle battery plant will create thousands of new jobs
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlights the historic investment with Volkswagen and for Canada’s entire electric vehicle supply chain.
Watch:
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Canadian prime minister slams rise of ‘authoritarianism’
In a speech, Justin Trudeau called on ‘like-minded democracies’ to use economic incentives to combat authoritarianism.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has given a speech denouncing the rise of authoritarianism around the world and calling on democracies to live up to their ideals through trade and foreign policy.
“If we don’t step up, other forces will step in. As like-minded democracies, as major economies, we need to work together to meet this moment,” Trudeau said in remarks on Friday to the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank based in the United States city of New York.
His speech took swipes at countries like Russia and China, while encouraging Canada and its allies to strengthen their commitments to human rights through economic incentives.
“We can’t just push back or punish or single out bad actors. We can’t just say, for example, that we want our companies to restrict the amount of critical minerals they buy from China specifically,” Trudeau said.
“Instead, we should simply commit to sourcing our critical minerals from places that ban forced labour. That have safety standards. That pay their workers a living wage.”
He later noted: “The lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive because we don’t use slave labour.”
China is one of the biggest producers of lithium — a metal used in mobile phones and electric batteries — in the world, behind Australia and Chile.
Trudeau also added that, while his administration hopes to cooperate with China on issues like the environment, the Asian country has become “an increasingly disruptive global power” in his estimation.
Tensions have been high between the two countries. Ottawa has accused China of election meddling and establishing overseas “police stations” in Canada, claims a foreign ministry spokesperson denied as “smears“.
In November, video also circulated appearing to show Chinese President Xi Jinping chiding Trudeau for alleged leaks to the media about the contents of their private discussions. The Chinese foreign ministry refuted claims that any criticism had passed between the two leaders, calling their conversation “normal”.
“We are going to be contesting China on the issues of human rights, whether it’s in Xinjiang or Hong Kong or elsewhere,” Trudeau said on Friday, referencing regions where China has been accused of stifling independence movements through repression. China has likewise denied committing abuses in those regions.
Turning his attention to Russia, Trudeau applauded European allies that previously “relied on Russian fossil fuels” for having moved to instead invest in clean energy alternatives. Canadian pro-oil groups had previously been accused of “opportunism” amid calls to ban Russian energy products.
The Canadian government has been an outspoken critic of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, slamming “unprovoked and unjustifiable aggression” that has resulted in “atrocities against Ukrainians”.
“War has returned to Europe and authoritarianism is on the rise,” Trudeau said on Friday. “Antagonistic states around the world are using our economic interdependence for their own geopolitical advantage.”
Later, in a question-and-answer segment with the think tank’s president Richard Haass, the prime minister emphasised more specifically Canada’s support for Ukraine, highlighting its training of Ukrainian forces and calling for an increase in defence spending.
“It’s not just, ‘Oh, war has come back to Europe and we all have to be worried about that’. It’s the underpinning of our system that is being directly challenged by an authoritarian state that must not succeed,” he explained. “That’s why as much as it takes, as long as it takes, until the folly and the mistake of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s decision is clear for everyone.”
Trudeau also offered a vision for the end of the war in Ukraine. “We know this doesn’t end militarily. This only ends with a political resolution of some sort. But Ukraine needs to be able to decide that.”
While the Canadian prime minister reserved praise for his US audience, he also called on the country and its allies to step back from isolationism and address poverty and inequality within their own borders.
“We talked up the superiority of our system but turned a blind eye to the authoritarianism, worker exploitation and environmental degradation on the other side of the world — and that our prosperity relied on,” Trudeau said.
“And that prosperity? Those in charge were not making sure it was being shared across the board at home either. We were not living up to the promise of progress.”
AFP
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In New York, Canada's Trudeau takes veiled swipe at Trump
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WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he was worried about the future of American democracy, taking a veiled swipe at former U.S. President Donald Trump during a visit to New York.
"You guys are the greatest democracy in the world," Trudeau said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "Right now, it's not just that it's being taken for granted by so many citizens, it's actually being devalued."
Canada's Liberal prime minister did not refer to Trump by name but had harsh criticism for policies and practices closely identified with the former president, from isolationism to stoking voter anger.
In 2021, Trudeau blamed Trump as having incited his supporters to wage the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Friday, he said similar forces were running rampant in Canada and other democracies, with people feeling the system was rigged, and politicians were tapping into that anger and anxiety aimed at government and democratic institutions.
"Because amplifying anger is a very effective short-term mobilization policy, strategy for politics," Trudeau said. "The tougher challenge is to figure out how to roll up your sleeves and solve it."
Trudeau praised President Joe Biden, the Democrat who beat Trump in 2020 as working to address economic and other factors behind the political unrest that marked his predecessor's tenure.
Trump, a businessman turned reality television host, left behind a more polarized U.S. when he vacated the White House in January 2021, with the economy badly damaged and political violence on the rise after his false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Abroad, Trump often invoked his "America First" agenda by dismantling or disrupting multilateral pacts, which alienated allies and spawned distrust in Washington's promises.
Trudeau acknowledged that people were left behind in the economic boom that followed global free trade pacts. He stressed it was politicians' responsibility to fix that, "not to burn it all down to attack our institutions to be isolationist protectionist, nativist."
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-canadas-trudeau-takes-veiled-swipe-trump-2023-04-28/
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Man who threw gravel at Justin Trudeau set to be sentenced today
The 26-year-old was charged after police alleged he threw gravel at Trudeau, who was boarding a campaign bus in London, Ontario
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A sentencing hearing is expected to take place today for an Ontario man who pleaded guilty after being accused of throwing gravel at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a September 2021 campaign stop.
Shane Marshall of St. Thomas, Ont., pleaded guilty in March to a lesser charge of common assault after first facing a charge of assault with a weapon.
The 26-year-old was charged after police alleged he threw gravel at Trudeau, who was boarding a campaign bus after a stop in London, Ont., that was disrupted by a protest.
The People’s Party of Canada has previously said it removed a man by the same name as riding association president after reviewing video clips of the incident.
The prime minster, who was campaigning at the time as Liberal party leader, was not hurt.
Today’s court hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/man-who-threw-gravel-at-justin-trudeau-set-to-be-sentenced-today
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Creating and securing good manufacturing jobs in Nova Scotia
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces that the Government of Canada is partnering with tire manufacturer Michelin to secure and create jobs and build a healthier future.
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Conservative politicians have no plan to make your life more affordable, and they’re voting against measures in #Budget2023 that will – like dental care for uninsured Canadians. We’ll stay focused on growing the middle class, and we’ll keep supporting Canadians when they need it most.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1653922189261807617
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Justin Trudeau @ JustinTrudeau
Ten years ago, I promised Canadians I would begin, spend, and end every day working hard for them. I’ve done that and I’m going to keep doing that – because there’s so much more work to do. Tune in as I speak about that work and more at #Lib2023: https://bit.ly/3p1rsCE
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1654285356798300166
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Canada's Trudeau vows to run in next election at Liberal party convention
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-justin-trudeau-may-be-struggling-he-still-commands-his-party-2023-05-04/
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Canadians are counting on our positive vision for the future. Because the Conservative Party’s populism, slogans, and buzzwords are not serious solutions to the serious challenges we’re facing.
More from my speech at #Lib2023: https://twitter.com/i/status/1654578632839385091
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
More than 2.6 million Canadians lifted out of poverty since 2015. 1.8 million homes built and renovated. More than 1 million jobs created. 139 long-term drinking water advisories lifted. 1,500 models of assault-style weapons banned. More than 2 million square kilometres of our lands and oceans protected or conserved. We’ve worked hard, with Canadians, to get big things done. And we’re not stopping now.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1655726296641466368
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Update: The Grocery Rebate is officially coming to eligible Canadians on July 5th. 11 million people across the country are going to receive hundreds of dollars in support by direct deposit or cheque. We’ll keep working to make life more affordable for you.
It’s official: Our top-up to the Canada Health Transfer has passed through Parliament and received Royal Assent. We’re providing the provinces with funding to help them alleviate immediate pressures – so they can deliver the quality care you expect and deserve.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1656823001826881539
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
President @SanduMaiaMD and I sat down this afternoon and spoke about the humanitarian, economic, and security pressures Moldova is facing because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I thanked her and the Moldovan people for the work they have done to help Ukrainian refugees, I reiterated Canada’s support for Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and I announced new support to increase the ability of Moldova’s National Police to provide security. More details here: https://bit.ly/3BgUUaT
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1656754880298512405
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Trudeau says Canada ready to partner with South Korea on critical minerals, security
https://www.reuters.com/world/trudeau-says-canada-ready-partner-with-skorea-critical-minerals-security-2023-05-17/
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Authoritarianism gaining ground, Trudeau tells South Korea’s National Assembly
'Antagonistic countries' are taking advantage of economic interdependence to their own geopolitical advantage, Trudeau says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says authoritarianism is gaining ground in an address to South Korean National Assembly Wednesday morning.
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The prime minister is in Seoul for his first official visit to South Korea and as Canada vies to strengthen ties between the two countries, and become “the best of friends.”
In his address, he says “antagonistic countries” are taking advantage of economic interdependence to their own geopolitical advantage.
Trudeau’s visit to South Korea follows on commitments from both countries to strengthen economic and military ties to counterbalance the influence of China.
Trudeau goes on to tell parliamentarians the “world is facing a moment of uncertainty” as countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, while economic anxiety and climate change add stress to people’s lives.
He argues Canada and South Korea can be partners in addressing climate change, which he says is also a way to safeguard against geopolitical instability and build more resilient economies.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/authoritarianism-gaining-ground-trudeau-tells-south-koreas-national-assembly
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Canada PM Justin Trudeau arrives in Japan to attend G7 Summit
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on May 18 arrived in Hiroshima, Japan for G7 Summit. The G7 Summit is scheduled to take place from May 19 to May 21. Japan is chairing the 49th G7 Summit. Japan, US, UK, Italy, Germany, France and Canada are member nations of G7.
Watch:
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Justin Trudeau @ JustinTrudeau
The @G7 Leaders’ Summit is starting. I’m here to work with leaders from the world’s most advanced economies and strongest democracies – together, we’ll confront issues being felt by people around the world. There’s more to come over the next few days, so stay tuned.
The friendship between Canada and Korea is special. This has been true for the past 60 years, and it'll continue to be true for decades to come. More on how we're working to strengthen that partnership, and the progress we’ve made over the past few days. https://bit.ly/3MjV6ek
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1659222461429301248
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Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau arrives in South Korea to discuss trade, North Korean challenge
https://news.yahoo.com/canadian-prime-minister-trudeau-arrives-111557678.html
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Announced in Hiroshima: We’re imposing sanctions on individuals and entities linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and information to Russia’s armed forces, individuals and entities involved in Russia’s ongoing human rights violations, and more.
Our message is clear: Canada and our G7 partners are committed to working together and applying pressure on Russia to end its war of choice. Click here to learn more about the sanctions we’re imposing and the actions we’re taking in support of Ukraine: https://bit.ly/3Mk1fan
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1659663798326771712
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
In my one-on-one meetings with leaders – including @GiorgiaMelon and @EmmanuelMacron– and in our @G7 working sessions, we’ve been focused on making life more affordable, building a cleaner future, creating jobs, and growing stronger economies. As we continue this work over the next few days, I’m going to make sure we're delivering results for you.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1659675688713048065
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
On Saturday in Hiroshima, our @G7 meetings expanded to include outreach countries – Australia, Brazil, Comoros, the Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, Korea, and Vietnam. Our commitment to working together – and addressing the global challenges of our time – remains steadfast.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1660046867676241922
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Canada is committed to providing Ukraine and its people with the military, financial, and humanitarian assistance they need. That commitment has not changed – and it is never going to. Today in Hiroshima, I made that clear to President @ZelenskyyUa.
When we sat down, we spoke about the new sanctions in support of Ukraine that I announced yesterday, and President
@ZelenskyyUa provided an update on the situation on the ground. In person or on the phone, we’ll stay in touch as Ukrainians continue to bravely defend themselves.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1660110668924690432
The @G7 Leaders’ Summit has ended and we’re on our way back home, but we’re not done working with partners from around the world. We’ll continue to do that – to make your life more affordable, to create good jobs for Canadians, and to build a clean economy and a better future.
To learn more about the work we got done over the past few days, and the work we’re committed to continuing when we’re back home, click here: https://bit.ly/3pYr0Wk
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1660291610020839425
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Canada will keep training Ukrainian soldiers, maybe pilots, Trudeau says
https://www.reuters.com/world/canada-will-keep-training-ukrainian-soldiers-maybe-pilots-trudeau-2023-05-21/
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
In Hiroshima, one thing was clear: We’re more united than ever. Take a look back at the work we got done at the @G7, and learn more about the progress we’re making together: https://bit.ly/3pYr0Wk
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1661154973382504450
Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
The Independent Special Rapporteur, the Right Honourable David Johnston, has released his first report. We’ll take the steps needed to implement his recommendations – and we’ll continue to take action to strengthen and protect our democracy. More here: https://bit.ly/45stZqf
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1661136312492015619
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Canada inquiry into China election meddling claims ruled out
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65688455
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
My message to @FCM_Online today: Canadians are counting on us to work together as partners and deliver on affordable housing, resilient infrastructure, and accessible transit. That’s why I have made a point of attending this conference every year – and why I always will.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1662148940467257348
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Today, during Iceland’s first State Visit to Canada in more than two decades, @PresidentISL and I worked on our shared priorities. Together, we’ll continue to support research and innovation, advance green energy, promote sustainable Arctic development, and more.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1663267650670153728
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Today, we gathered for the Crown-Métis Nation Summit. Seven years ago, I promised that our government would work with the Métis National Council and Governing Members to continue to advance our shared priorities.
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1664407834627387392
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Why repost endless stories and pictures about Trudeau to this forum? Is there some point to this? It strikes me as extremely weird that anyone would invest so much time and energy just reposting news stories about Trudeau onto a JFK assassination forum. And without any comment or obvious purpose. Just hundreds of pictures of him shaking hands or standing around. It's creepy.
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Prime Minister addresses the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea and celebrates the strong relationship and ties between the two countries.
Watch:
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
This wildfire season has already been devastating for communities across the country. We’re taking action to keep people safe, to support those affected, and to make sure the provinces and territories have the assistance they need. Here’s the latest on the work we’re doing:
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1666139418770407425
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1666139418770407425
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
This wildfire season has already been devastating for communities across the country. We’re taking action to keep people safe, to support those affected, and to make sure the provinces and territories have the assistance they need. Here’s the latest on the work we’re doing:
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1666139418770407425
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1666139418770407425
LOL.
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Prime Minister Trudeau delivers remarks after the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concludes his participation at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan and holds a media availability.
Watch:
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At least Trudeau can now blame his blackface on all the smoke. The leftists have literally brought the world to the brink of ruin with their disastrous policies and incompetence.
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WATCH: Trudeau gives update on the wildfires spreading smoke across Canada and U.S.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/watch-live-trudeau-gives-update-on-canadian-wildfires-spreading-smoke-across-canada-and-u-s
Biden speaks with Trudeau about Canadian wildfires as air quality issues persist in US
President Biden on Wednesday spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and offered federal support to respond to wildfires burning in Canada, which have caused widespread air quality issues across the eastern United States.
Biden directed his administration to deploy “all available Federal firefighting assets that can rapidly assist in suppressing fires impacting Canadian and American communities,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
The U.S. has deployed more than 600 firefighters and support personnel to date, the White House said, and other equipment to respond to the fires. Biden and Trudeau discussed how to have continued coordination to prevent wildfires and address the resulting health impacts.
Canada is experiencing what NASA has described as an “unusually intense” start to its wildfire season that included fires in the province of Quebec that were caused by lightning.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aerosol Watch said that the fires “grew uncontrollably” over the weekend and brought “code red” and “code orange” air quality to the U.S. states of Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.
As the fires have burned, smoke has blown into the U.S., affecting more than a dozen states. NBC News reported that parts of 18 states were under air quality alerts as of Wednesday.
An EPA spokesperson told The Hill in an email that the agency estimates that more than 100 million people are being impacted by air quality alerts on Wednesday, including as far west as Chicago and as far South as Atlanta.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4039834-biden-speaks-with-trudeau-about-canadian-wildfires-as-air-quality-issues-persist-in-us/
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WATCH: Trudeau gives update on the wildfires spreading smoke across Canada and U.S.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/watch-live-trudeau-gives-update-on-canadian-wildfires-spreading-smoke-across-canada-and-u-s
Biden speaks with Trudeau about Canadian wildfires as air quality issues persist in US
President Biden on Wednesday spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and offered federal support to respond to wildfires burning in Canada, which have caused widespread air quality issues across the eastern United States.
Biden directed his administration to deploy “all available Federal firefighting assets that can rapidly assist in suppressing fires impacting Canadian and American communities,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
The U.S. has deployed more than 600 firefighters and support personnel to date, the White House said, and other equipment to respond to the fires. Biden and Trudeau discussed how to have continued coordination to prevent wildfires and address the resulting health impacts.
Canada is experiencing what NASA has described as an “unusually intense” start to its wildfire season that included fires in the province of Quebec that were caused by lightning.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aerosol Watch said that the fires “grew uncontrollably” over the weekend and brought “code red” and “code orange” air quality to the U.S. states of Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.
As the fires have burned, smoke has blown into the U.S., affecting more than a dozen states. NBC News reported that parts of 18 states were under air quality alerts as of Wednesday.
An EPA spokesperson told The Hill in an email that the agency estimates that more than 100 million people are being impacted by air quality alerts on Wednesday, including as far west as Chicago and as far South as Atlanta.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4039834-biden-speaks-with-trudeau-about-canadian-wildfires-as-air-quality-issues-persist-in-us/
Too late. Old Joe is always having to react to the disasters on his watch. He is a force multiplier of incompetence and weakness.
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It's refreshing to see two great nations working together again during a natural disaster to end the disaster more quickly. Competent leadership is what it's all about.
President Biden @POTUS
I spoke with PM @JustinTrudeau to offer additional help putting out these fires, particularly those in Quebec that have severe impacts on American communities.
I've also directed @NIFC_Fire to continue to promptly respond to Canadian requests for additional firefighting support.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1666889091810508800
Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Hundreds of American firefighters have recently arrived in Canada, and more are on the way. On the phone today, I spoke with
@POTUS Biden about this critical support – and I thanked him for all the help Americans are providing as we continue to fight these devastating wildfires.
We’re seeing more and more of these fires because of climate change. These fires are affecting everyday routines, lives and livelihoods, and our air quality. We’ll keep working – here at home and with partners around the world – to tackle climate change and address its impacts.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1666586128554549248
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It's refreshing to see two great nations working together again during a natural disaster to end the disaster more quickly. Competent leadership is what it's all about.
President Biden @POTUS
I spoke with PM @JustinTrudeau to offer additional help putting out these fires, particularly those in Quebec that have severe impacts on American communities.
I've also directed @NIFC_Fire to continue to promptly respond to Canadian requests for additional firefighting support.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1666889091810508800
Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Hundreds of American firefighters have recently arrived in Canada, and more are on the way. On the phone today, I spoke with
@POTUS Biden about this critical support – and I thanked him for all the help Americans are providing as we continue to fight these devastating wildfires.
We’re seeing more and more of these fires because of climate change. These fires are affecting everyday routines, lives and livelihoods, and our air quality. We’ll keep working – here at home and with partners around the world – to tackle climate change and address its impacts.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1666586128554549248
Talk about propaganda! Trudeau mismanages the situation to allow this disaster. Old Joe does absolutely nothing until the situation is completely out of hand. These leftists created the disaster and simply allowed it to play out. They are weak, incompetent and corrupt. The results speak for themselves.
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Canada stands united with Ukraine. I’m in Kyiv to reaffirm that commitment to President
@ZelenskyyUa and the Ukrainian people as they maintain their resistance against Russia’s brutal war. More updates to come – stay tuned.
As the Russian regime continues – and escalates – its attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, I announced additional measures and investments to support the Ukrainian people and government. Here’s some of what we’re doing:
We’re providing new funding for military assistance and extending Operation UNIFIER – Canada’s military training and capacity building mission in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – to 2026. We’re also moving forward with seizing Russian assets, and imposing more sanctions.
On top of that, we’re providing support in response to the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam – and we’re helping organizations that are responding to the needs of people affected by the resulting floods. We’re also committed to assisting with post-flood reconstruction.
We’ll continue to make sure the people of Ukraine have the support they need as they defend themselves. To learn more about the support Canada is providing, click here: https://tinyurl.com/3mnr8v7a
Ukrainians are fighting for their homes, their culture, their language, and their identity. But they’re also fighting for the future of us all. I spoke about that fight – and our support for them – at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Watch my address here:
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1667696203977334786
Prime Minister delivers an address at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers an address at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and reaffirms Canada’s unwavering support for Ukraine and its people.
Watch:
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Too late. Old Joe is always having to react to the disasters on his watch. He is a force multiplier of incompetence and weakness.
Talk about propaganda! Trudeau mismanages the situation to allow this disaster. Old Joe does absolutely nothing until the situation is completely out of hand. These leftists created the disaster and simply allowed it to play out. They are weak, incompetent and corrupt. The results speak for themselves.
With Halifax-area wildfires 100% contained, some evacuees return home
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-area-wildfire-100-contained-says-province-1.6865172
How did Prime Minister Trudeau "mismanage" the situation when the Halifax fire is already 100% contained and he has successfully deployed resources to battle the other fires?
Are you claiming "leftists" created the climate crisis?
Funny how Biden and Trudeau can be both "weak" and also "corrupt" at the same time, according to you.
Let's see....in less than 3 months, Donald Trump was found guilty in civil court of sexual assault, indicted in New York on 34 felonies, and indicted by the Feds in Miami for espionage on 37 felony counts.
But you say Biden and Trudeau are the corrupt ones. :D :D :D
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Trudeau makes surprise visit to Ukrainian capital
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, where he committed $500 million in new funding for military assistance. He also announced new sanctions as the country's war with Russia continues.
Watch:
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Trudeau brings more military support on Ukraine visit
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced more military support for Ukraine in a surprise visit to Kyiv. It comes as Ukraine ramps up a much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia across a front line that stretches more than 1,000 kilometres.
Watch:
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Could you post some more random pictures of Trudeau? That is very informative. LOL. How about some of him in blackface? He can claim it is from all the smoke as his country burns.
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Remarks for the annual Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy deliver remarks for the annual Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner.
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Canada and Ukraine are united against Russia’s attacks and aggression – and President @ZelenskyyUa and I are committed to working together and holding the Russian regime to account. Last week, when I visited Kyiv, we released this declaration: https://tinyurl.com/2mbvhm2y #TBT
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1669495186303381504
Anita Anand @AnitaAnandMP
As I said this morning at @NATO HQ, Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine. We’ve already donated tanks, artillery, ammunition, and more. To help Ukraine defend itself, we’re investing an additional $500 million in new military assistance. Canada’s support is unwavering.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1669433932041842688
https://twitter.com/AnitaAnandMP/status/1669433932041842688
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Trudeau government seeks collaboration at first meeting with new Alberta premier
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trudeau-govt-seeks-collaboration-first-meeting-with-new-alberta-premier-2023-06-15/
Canada’s top court upholds ‘Safe Third Country’ refugee agreement
The Supreme Court ruling shores up Trudeau’s immigration stance
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OTTAWA, Ont. — Canada’s top court upheld the Safe Third Country Agreement, delivering a win for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government despite the law’s severe restrictions on a person’s ability to claim refugee status in Canada.
Refugee advocates, human rights groups and the left-wing New Democratic Party have long called for the nearly two-decade old Canada-U.S. pact to be scrapped.
The Federal Court found the law to be unconstitutional in 2020 for violating their right to life, liberty and security since they are deflected back to the U.S. and wind up in detention, sometimes under solitary confinement or inhumane conditions, and can face deportation to the countries they are fleeing.
But the Trudeau government, which has opted for a politically risk-averse, centrist approach to refugee policy, appealed and it made its way to Canada’s Supreme Court.
The pact sets out that claimants must file in the first “safe” country they arrive in, allowing the country to turn asylum seekers back from Canada-U.S. border checkpoints.
But many have gotten around it by entering Canada through unofficial crossings, where they can claim asylum once they are caught by authorities. That grew into a hot-button political issue in recent years, particularly in the province of Quebec.
Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden negotiated an update to the agreement during their bilateral meeting in March to address that.
Speaking ahead of the ruling, Christina Clark-Kazak, associate professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa, said an outcome like this would help Trudeau to solidify his political position on the agreement.
It could lend the government the “traction” and the credibility that it “sorely needs” after it invested “a lot of political capital” into keeping the agreement alive through legal appeals and a lengthy process of revising it with the U.S.
In the wake of the ruling, immigration advocates involved in the case expressed disappointment it was not struck down and called on the government to suspend the law.
Gauri Sreenivasan, one of the leaders of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said the pact endangers the “lives of people seeking protection and tarnishes Canada’s identity as a compassionate and welcoming nation.”
And it can send them into the arms of smugglers to get into the country, or they may try to enter at dangerous border crossings.
But Immigration Minister Sean Fraser swiftly defended the agreement and its recent expansion.
“We’re not engaged in a conversation internally about suspending the agreement we achieved with the United States through significant months and in fact years of work immediately after the Supreme Court confirms its validity.”
Canada’s highest court did, however, open the door for another challenge.
It referred a lower court to examine whether the agreement violates people’s right to equality under Canada’s constitution.
Rights groups argued it does violate that right, since the U.S. does not consider gender-based persecution as a reason to make a refugee claim.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/16/canada-upholds-safe-third-country-refuge-agreement-00102392
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Brian Mulroney praises Trudeau's leadership, omits any mention of Tory leader
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/brian-mulroney-praises-trudeaus-leadership-151408500.html
Canada's Conservative's fail to gain ground on Liberals in interim votes
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's ruling Liberal Party won two of four seats up for grabs in by-elections to fill empty spots in the House of Commons, and performed better in a riding won by rival Conservatives than in 2021, preliminary results showed on Tuesday.
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won resounding victories for the Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount seat in Montreal - where Conservatives came in third - and Winnipeg South Centre in Manitoba, and clawed back some 10 percentage points in the traditionally Conservative riding of Oxford, Ontario, versus the 2021 vote.
This was one of the first tests for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who took over the party last year. He sought to capitalize on fatigue with Trudeau, who has been in power for almost eight years.
"Tonight's results once again showed Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives failing to make any significant gains with Canadian voters," said Azam Ishmael, the Liberal Party national director, in a statement.
Conservatives won back votes in a traditional stronghold, but made no significant gains against Liberals in other places.
Trudeau has won three elections, starting in 2015, but Poilievre has often led in national opinion polls since he became leader of his party last year amid high inflation and a housing shortage.
Poilievre celebrated the party's two wins on Twitter, saying: "After 8 years of Trudeau, Canadians are ready to stop the inflationary spending."
Since Liberals and Conservatives held onto their seats, there was no change in the balance of power in the House of Commons, where Trudeau governs with the external support of the New Democrats.
While Poilievre fell short in Quebec and lost ground in Ontario, his party won decisively (64.9%) in the Portage-Lisgar riding in Manitoba, where the right-wing People's Party of Canada (PPC) had taken home almost 22% of the vote in 2021, railing against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
PPC leader Maxime Bernier won 17.2% in Monday's vote, and Conservatives boosted their support by more than 10 percentage points versus 2021 to 64.9%.
While no election is due until 2025, Trudeau can call one earlier if he wants.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/canadas-liberals-tout-performance-over-130959161.html
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Remarks at the Atlantic Economic Forum
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers remarks on the growth of the Atlantic Canadian economy at the Atlantic Economic Forum.
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Canada's Economy Is Winning and Nobody Realizes It
Is it a coincidence that a country that embraces immigrants is outpacing the rest of the G-7 and has a soaring stock market?
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-06-22/canada-s-economy-is-winning-under-justin-trudeau-and-nobody-realizes-it-lj7mdyof#xj4y7vzkg
Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
I spoke with President @ZelenskyyUa today. We discussed the security situation in Russia, the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the importance of continued support. Volodymyr, Canada is committed to standing with Ukraine and providing Ukrainians with the support they need.
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1673048107033001986
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Prime Minister strengthens partnerships with Nordic countries
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today concluded his visit to Iceland, where he met with the leaders of Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland to continue strengthening ties and advancing key mutual priorities. The Nordic leaders focused on security in Europe and the Arctic, and reform and reconstruction in Ukraine, while fighting climate change, driving economic growth that benefits everyone, creating good middle-class jobs, and making life more affordable for people. The Prime Minister was invited to attend as a special guest.
While in Iceland, the Prime Minister endorsed a joint Canada-Nordic Leaders’ statement focused on enhancing co-operation in priority areas, including peace and security, climate action, and democracy and human rights. As transatlantic partners, the Nordic countries and Canada share inherent interests in our region and beyond as like-minded partners and friends.
In the face of the evolving internal security situation in Russia, the Prime Minister and the Nordic leaders reiterated their continued support for Ukraine. As the world continues to face the consequences of Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable invasion, Canada and the Nordic leaders affirmed their shared unwavering commitment to standing up for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders for as long as it takes. They welcomed the agreement on the new International Centre for Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) in The Hague. The leaders expressed support for the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s investigations, as well as the Core Group’s ongoing work, to explore establishing a tribunal for the crime of aggression.
Prime Minister Trudeau underlined Canada’s efforts to strengthen democratic resilience and address challenges such as foreign interference, cyber incidents, online harms, disinformation, assaults on democracy, and emergency management. The Prime Minister highlighted Canada’s leadership of the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism, which fights misinformation and disinformation, and our efforts to support media freedom and advance responsible business conduct for Canadian companies operating abroad, and our joint efforts through the Freedom Online Coalition. He stressed the importance for Canada and Nordic countries to continue to work together to counter cyber threats, promote stability in cyberspace, uphold the rules-based international order, and impose costs on those who engage in malicious cyber activity.
The Prime Minister emphasized the need for increased collaboration to better protect our oceans. Canada is an advocate for oceans through our work to set high standards for ocean conservation. The Prime Minister highlighted Canadian conservation efforts, including advocating for a high-level of ambition on ocean conservation through the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), where Canada played a key role, and advancing the recognition and use of nature-based solutions to address both climate change and biodiversity loss.
Canada and the Nordic leaders committed to continue to work together to advance global climate action to grow our economies and create good middle-class jobs. They agreed that pollution pricing is a very efficient way to do just that. The Prime Minister reiterated Canada’s call for all countries to adopt carbon pricing and work toward a collective goal of covering 60 per cent of global emissions by 2030 as outlined in the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge.
The Prime Minister emphasized Canada as a like-minded partner for the Nordic Region. We share many of the objectives outlined under the Nordic’s Vision 2030, including the commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. He positioned Canada as a trading partner of choice, particularly because of our growing clean economy, robust trade agreements, commitment to diverse and inclusive trade, and responsible business conduct abroad. Prime Minister Trudeau underscored Canada’s interest in responsibly and sustainably developing natural resources, while moving to a low-carbon economy. He highlighted Canada’s interest in partnering in the research and development of advanced technologies in carbon capture and storage and clean hydrogen, and on best practices for accelerating energy system transformations that cut emissions. He also underlined the Sustainable Critical Minerals Strategy as Canada’s blueprint to fostering resilient supply chains in the critical raw materials required to produce electric vehicle batteries and other clean technologies.
Quote
"Canada and Nordic countries are united in our values, friendship, and shared priorities. As we face an increasingly challenging and uncertain world, we must work together to strengthen our partnership and advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, human rights, protecting the environment, and finding new economic opportunities for our businesses and workers. Above all, we put people at the centre of everything we do, and I look forward to building on our partnerships for the benefit of all our countries.”
The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Quick Facts:
- Prime Minister Trudeau is the first Canadian Prime Minister to attend a Nordic Prime Ministers’ Meeting (NPMM).
- The Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson.
- Canada’s objectives in the Arctic are advanced through the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework (ANPF), which was co-developed with Canadian territorial, provincial, and Indigenous partners.
- During the NPMM, the leaders’ agreed that their foreign ministers will meet in a Nordic-Canada strategic dialogue format in the near future.
- The Prime Minister toured Carbfix, a woman-led Icelandic company that has developed a novel and cost-effective approach to capturing and storing CO₂, where he held in-depth discussions to learn from Iceland’s clean energy expertise, and underscored Canada’s commitment to building a clean energy economy.
- Canada has welcomed several significant investments from the Nordic region over the past year and Canadian businesses are investing in the Nordics, creating more opportunities for Canadian and Nordic businesses and enhancing the resilience and security of our supply chains. For example, last year, Finnish tech company Nokia announced plans to expand its Ottawa facility, which was also supported with funding from the federal government.
- In 2021, Canada launched the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge. This partnership aims to expand the use of pollution pricing by strengthening existing systems and supporting emerging ones. The Challenge also serves as a forum for dialogue and coordination to make pricing systems more effective and compatible and to support other countries in adopting carbon pricing and cutting emissions on the path to net-zero by 2050.
- Iceland holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2023.
- Canada has longstanding ties and shared values with all the Nordic countries.
- Close to 1.3 million Canadians identified as being of Nordic descent in the 2021 census.
- Combined, the Nordic countries are the world’s 12th largest economy ($2.42 trillion GDP) and 7th most affluent.
Merchandise trade between Canada and the Nordic countries was $13.6 billion in 2022. Total trade, including services, was $17.3 billion.
https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2023/06/26/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-strengthens-partnerships-nordic-countries
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Remarks at the Atlantic Economic Forum
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers remarks on the growth of the Atlantic Canadian economy at the Atlantic Economic Forum.
Watch:
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Way to go Biden and Trudeau. American cities continue to be shrouded in smoke. A great metaphor for the disastrous liberal policies of these incompetents. Trudeau can at least claim his blackface is now the product of smoke.
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Canada's economy regains momentum, leaving July rate hike on table
Growth on track to beat expectations in second quarter
Canada’s economy regained momentum in the second quarter, reinforcing the case for a July rate hike even as inflation slowed last month.
Preliminary data suggest gross domestic product expanded 0.4 per cent in May, Statistics Canada reported Friday in Ottawa, led higher by manufacturing, wholesale trade and real estate.
That followed a flat reading in the previous month, missing expectations for a 0.2 per cent increase in a Bloomberg survey of economists, in part due to a federal workers’ strike. March growth was revised upward to 0.1 per cent.
The economy is now on track to expand at a 1.4 per cent annualized rate in the second quarter, if June output is flat. That’s faster than the 0.8 per cent pace expected by economists in a Bloomberg survey and the Bank of Canada’s forecast of 1 per cent.
The report shows Canada’s economy continuing to defy expectations of a coming slowdown and adds to a string of firm data that already prompted an interest-rate hike in June. While consumer price gains reached the weakest pace in two years in May, the Bank of Canada may need to raise rates again to squeeze out excess demand.
Governor Tiff Macklem and his Bank of Canada officials raised borrowing costs to 4.75 per cent earlier this month after a five-month pause, saying monetary policy wasn’t sufficiently restrictive to bring supply and demand into balance. Policymakers were also worried that inflation could remain stuck above the 2 per cent target given recent economic momentum.
April’s output data, while flat, backed up some of those concerns as rate-sensitive sectors expanded. The real estate sector grew for a sixth straight month, rising 0.5 per cent, the largest growth rate since December 2020 on higher home sales. Construction activity grew 0.4 per cent, accommodation and food services rose 0.6 per cent, and retail increased 0.2 per cent.
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction also grew, jumping 1.2 per cent, in the fourth straight month of expansion. Transportation and warehousing was up 0.4 per cent.
The public sector contracted 0.3 per cent in April, the first decline since January 2022. A strike by federal workers resulted in a 4.3 per cent contraction in federal public administration excluding defence.
Wholesale trade contracted 1.4 per cent, the third consecutive monthly decline, and manufacturing declined 0.6 per cent, the first time in four months.
https://financialpost.com/news/economy/canada-gdp-leaves-july-interest-rate-hike-on-table
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Remarks at the Canada Day Daytime Ceremony
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends and delivers remarks at the Canada Day Daytime Ceremony in Ottawa.
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Delivering on our promise of high-quality, inclusive, and affordable child care for families
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces the establishment of the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund, which will help child care providers deliver affordable child care by funding the cost of physical infrastructure needed to create more spaces.
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Prime Minister Trudeau heads to NATO summit, where leaders face critical decisions
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to the NATO leaders' summit in Lithuania this week, where Canada is likely to play a larger-than-usual role in two critical discussions: the alliance's expanding membership and its efforts to refocus on collective defence.
Trudeau is expected to depart for Riga, Latvia, from Ottawa on Sunday evening. He is due to meet with that country's leaders on Monday before heading to the Lithuanian capital for the first day of the NATO summit on Tuesday.
At last year's summit in Madrid, NATO leaders identified Russia as "the most significant and direct threat to allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area" in a strategic concept document that set out their intent to strengthen deterrence and defence in the region.
That came after a meeting in Brussels in March 2022, when leaders agreed to deploy four new multinational battle groups on the eastern flank in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, adding to those in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
The alliance has drafted a new defence plan that leaders will be asked to approve in Vilnius, one that is being described as a return to its Cold War stance.
"What we're seeing now is really a return to NATO's core business," said Tim Sayle, a NATO historian and professor at the University of Toronto.
He said this likely also means a return to more challenging negotiations among members as they decide on defence policy and procurement, at the same time as they are debating whether to allow Sweden and Ukraine to join. And on both topics, he said, allies will be looking to Canada.
"Rarely are there summits where Canada would be a focus of any elements, but I do think (it) is here," Sayle said.
"Canada has a decision to make about its role in the discussion about Ukraine, but it also has this decision to make about Canadian defence spending and just what kind of ally Canada is going to be."
Adm. Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO's military committee, told media at a July 3 briefing that the new defence plan is split into three parts: the southeast region including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the central region from the Baltics to the Alps and the High North and Atlantic region.
Once the plans are approved, the real work begins. "Then we have to go and do our work to reach the higher number of forces with a higher readiness, we need to exercise against the plans, we need to buy the capabilities that we require," Bauer said.
That will require more money. Only about a third of NATO members are meeting the agreed-upon target of spending two per cent of their GDP on defence -- which includes a pledge to dedicate one-fifth of that funding to equipment.
Bauer said he expects two per cent will be the spending floor, instead of the target, by the time the summit is over.
"There is perhaps a stronger link than ever before between the new defence plans, the new defence investment pledge and the NATO defence planning process," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said at the July 3 briefing.
For the countries that are lagging behind, there will be increasing pressure to step up.
Canada spends about 1.3 per cent of its GDP on defence and has no public plan to get to the current target. Defence Minister Anita Anand has insisted that Canada's contributions to the defence of Ukraine and its leadership in heading up a NATO battle group in Latvia are more important.
Before attending the NATO summit, Trudeau is set to participate in meetings Monday with Latvia's president, Edgars Rinkevics, and its prime minister, Krisjanis Karins.
Trudeau is also expected to meet Canadian Armed Forces members who are part of the country's largest overseas mission.
But even in Latvia, Canada seems to be lagging behind. It's been more than a year since Anand pledged to expand the battle group to a combat-ready brigade, and detailed plans are still being negotiated. Battle groups typically have close to 1,000 troops, while military members in a brigade number about 3,000.
Canada has committed to sending a tank squadron with 15 Leopard 2 tanks and some 130 personnel to Latvia starting this fall, but it is unclear how many more troops will join the 800 Canadians already in place.
Other countries have gone further. Germany has pledged to station a 4,000-soldier brigade in Lithuania. The United Kingdom, which is leading a battle group in Estonia, and the United States, which leads another in Poland, tested their ability to quickly scale up to a brigade earlier this spring.
Leaders in Vilnius are also likely to focus on the status of Sweden and Ukraine, each of which has asked to join NATO.
Last-minute talks aimed at getting Turkiye and Hungary on side with allowing Sweden to become a member have not been successful. Its Nordic neighbour Finland joined most recently, in April.
If Sweden's membership is approved, Bauer said it won't take long to adapt the defence plans.
"Sweden is at the table in the military committee, in the North Atlantic Council every week. So they know basically everything already," he said.
More contentious than that is the issue of when to admit Ukraine.
Some nations are pushing for immediate membership. U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said last month that he hopes to see an expedited process.
Meanwhile, Trudeau has repeatedly stated that Canada supports Ukraine's membership "when the conditions are right," without defining what those conditions are.
Sayle said it's likely that other countries will expect a clearer response this time given the magnitude of the decision: whether to admit a nation that is in the midst of an active invasion to an alliance focused on collective defence.
"I think that what NATO says about Ukrainian membership will impact both the Ukrainian and Russian strategic calculations in this war, and any peace that might follow," Sayle said.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/prime-minister-trudeau-heads-to-nato-summit-where-leaders-face-critical-decisions-1.6472667
PM Justin Trudeau announces doubling of deployment for NATO mission in Latvia – July 10, 2023
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Latvian counterpart Krišjānis Kariņš hold a joint news conference in Ādaži, Latvia, as the Canadian prime minister concludes his official bilateral visit. Trudeau announces a doubling of Canada's deployment to the NATO mission in the country, pledging $2.6 billion over three years and an additional 1,200 in military personnel. The prime minister is heading to Lithuania to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Leaders’ Summit.
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Zelenskyy declares NATO summit victory for Ukraine as Canada, allies pledge more help
Ukraine’s president declared the meetings a success, even though he left without the thing he had most vehemently argued for — an invitation for his country to join the alliance
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VILNIUS, Lithuania — As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other NATO leaders wrapped up their two-day summit Wednesday, they bid farewell to a very different version of Volodymyr Zelenskyy than the one they had met the day before.
Ukraine’s president declared the meetings a success, even though he left without the thing he had most vehemently argued for: a quick invitation for his country to join the alliance.
“The Ukrainian delegation is bringing home a significant security victory for the Ukraine, for our country, for our people, for our children,” he said.
That was a marked change from the man who blasted NATO on Twitter on Tuesday, when he called the leaders’ decision to affirm Ukraine’s eventual membership without setting out a timeline “absurd.”
Wednesday morning, Zelenskyy and Trudeau were full of praise and warm wishes for one another when they met on the sidelines of the summit.
“We need your support, and I’m sure that we will have it,” Zelenskyy said after the pair embraced.
By Wednesday, a line of member states’ flags flanking the main council meeting room already included Sweden’s, after leaders agreed earlier this week to admit the Nordic country into the military alliance.
Later in the afternoon, NATO officials added Ukraine’s blue and yellow to the lineup, as the NATO-Ukraine Council met for the first time.
Then, G7 nations — led by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who attended the day’s North Atlantic Council meeting as a guest _ released a joint declaration that laid the groundwork for each nation to negotiate long-term agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military.
Zelenskyy described it as a bridge toward eventual NATO membership and a deterrent against Russia.
That is not all he took home.
Trudeau announced that the Canadian Armed Forces will welcome Ukrainian officer cadets for an intensive training program, developed in partnership with NATO, at the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.
During a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, he told reporters the Canadian military has helped train almost 40,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel through an operation based in Latvia.
Trudeau had announced the expansion of that mission earlier this week, saying up to 2,200 troops would be stationed there in the coming years as the NATO battlegroup ramps up to become a brigade by 2026.
Canada is expected to spend $2.6 billion over the next three years toward that goal.
“For over 500 days now, Ukraine has withstood Russian brutalities. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin made a grave miscalculation. He underestimated Ukrainians’ courage and he underestimated the strength of the West’s solidarity and resolve,” Trudeau said.
He said the G7 leaders had come together “to provide long-term, multi-year commitments” to Ukraine’s security, and those guarantees would send a stark message.
“Putin wants to wait out and grind down the alliance, grind down Ukrainians, but he’s not going to be able to because we will be there for as long as it takes, and that’s what these security assurances are all about.”
NATO leaders also agreed at this week’s summit to make two per cent of GDP a minimum target for spending on defence, with one-fifth of that money going toward new equipment and research and development.
Canada’s spending on the military currently stands at just under 1.3 per cent of the economy.
Trudeau was asked whether he can commit to reaching the two per cent mark by the end of the decade. He did not set out a timeline or confirm Canada would meet the target.
“We will continue to look to invest more as necessary to keep Canadians safe and to contribute fully around the world and we’ll continue to follow up on the math,” he said.
The prospective spending boost came hand-in-hand with the approval of thousands of pages of new defence plans that reposition NATO’s focus toward collective defence. They will also improve co-ordination among allies on production and procurement.
Canada has also stepped up its diplomatic presence in Eastern Europe, opening a new embassy in Lithuania this week after announcing its intention to do so last year. New embassies are also due to open in Estonia and Slovakia.
https://nationalpost.com/news/world/trudeau-nato-ukraine
Remarks at the joint media availability with the Prime Minister of Latvia
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bilateral visit to Latvia comes to an end, he holds a joint media availability with the Prime Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš, and announces new support for Operation REASSURANCE.
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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
As an Alliance, @NATO is united. As an Ally, Canada is committed to strengthening transatlantic security – and to making significant contributions to our collective defence. At the NATO Summit this week, we worked on that and more.
Get the latest: https://tinyurl.com/yc8z86sm
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F07evJYWYAY_T_S?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1679524617956777989
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Remarks at NATO Summit in Lithuania
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a media availability to conclude his time at the NATO Summit.
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Delivering on our promise of high-quality, inclusive, and affordable child care for families
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces the establishment of the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund, which will help child care providers deliver affordable child care by funding the cost of physical infrastructure needed to create more spaces.
It's too bad that Trudeau didn't pay more attention to his own family since his wife just left him. Hopefully she does not end up in one of those political Gulags where he sent ordinary folks who dared to protest during his COVID mass arrests. And miracle of miracles. COVID is no longer a concern. People are still dying but the leftists no longer need to politicize it. Now it is being treated just like the flu. Just as Trump suggested all along.
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Delivering better public transit for people in Montréal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers remarks at the opening ceremony of the Réseau express métropolitain.
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Delivering better public transit for people in Montréal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers remarks at the opening ceremony of the Réseau express métropolitain.
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Where is his wife? LOL. Canada is still burning. A great metaphor for the leftists. Old Joe was at the beach while Hawaii burned. He had "no comment." What empathy.
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Delivering better public transit for people in Montréal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers remarks at the opening ceremony of the Réseau express métropolitain.
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Canada continues to burn while Trudeau goes on and on. His own wife decided enough is enough with him. Hopefully Canada comes to the same conclusion.
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What a national humiliation for Canada to honor a member of the Waffen SS due to their woke zeal to support Ukraine. "Blackface" Trudeau may be the single dumbest leader in world history. He makes even Old Joe with advanced dementia look like a genius. What a couple of months for Trudeau. His wife left him, his country is literally on fire, and now he has honored a member of the Waffen SS after accusing truck drivers of being Nazis when they beeped their horns in protest to his totalitarian lockdown. Old Joe has advanced dementia to excuse his disasters. Trudeau should resign in disgrace.
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This is unreal. Instead of resigning in disgrace Trudeau deflected blame on others. What a clown to give a standing ovation to a member of the Waffen SS for opposing Russia. Blinded by woke zeal, Trudeau thought that anyone who ever fought against Russia was a hero.
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Of all the woke idiocy coming from Canada including a standing ovation for a member of the Waffen SS for fighting Russia in WWII perhaps none surpasses the dictate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to not refer to Hamas as "terrorists." They just targeted and slaughtered hundreds of innocent civilians. Murdering, raping, cutting the heads off of children, but CBD doesn't want to offend them. Did they extend this nonjudgmental position to other groups? For example, those who opposed Trudeau's COVID lockdowns. They were called "Nazis". All the more ironic given the celebration of an actual Nazi. Shameful.