“Criminalizing Dissent”

Emergencies Act: Canada ‘Freedom Convoy’ power struggles laid bare

The Public Order Emergency Commission is examining whether the Trudeau government was justified in invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the anti-vaccine mandate and anti-government protests that gridlocked the country’s national capital and blocked vital border crossings, costing the economy millions of dollars a day.

Over six weeks, the inquiry has offered a rare glimpse behind the curtain into how Canadian officials handled the unprecedented protests that drew the global attention – and revealed plenty of frustration, “intemperate” text messages, and finger-pointing as they sought to bring an end to the blockades.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent", Canada

Jamie Sarkonak: Jon Kay’s legal victory exposes Canadian Anti-Hate Network’s anti-conservative agenda

This is a politically motivated group that has no qualms about accusing mainstream conservatives of being racist and using the legal system to try to silence them

A recent decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has given Canadians yet another reason to question the federal government’s relationship with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN).

On Nov. 10, the court dismissed a defamation lawsuit launched by lawyer Richard Warman, also a board member of CAHN. Warman sued journalists Jonathan and Barbara Kay for tweets that criticized CAHN’s links to the Antifa movement in the United States, which has been covered by C2C Journal and The Federalist (the Kays did not name Warman himself in their tweets). In the end, the judge ruled that the tweets weren’t defamatory, which meant the Kays wouldn’t be liable.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Cancel Culture", "Criminalizing Dissent", "Peak Woke"

Freeland’s Office Distributed Blacklist of Trucking Companies Who Participated in Freedom Convoy

A blacklist of 201 trucking companies that took part in the Freedom Convoy protest early this year was distributed by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office in February, records show.

“Please find attached an excel sheet detailing which companies whose trucks are participating in Ottawa convoy demonstrations,” wrote an unidentified staffer in an email distributed from Freeland’s office, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

That’s one apple that didn’t fall far from Grandpa’s tree.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Don’t bet on the Emergencies Act inquiry hurting Trudeau

The inquiry into whether Justin Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act was justifiable has a rather peculiar look.

Inquiries normally investigate something that went wrong. Not this one. This one is probing an action that worked, that went off with few hitches, that was met, for the most part, with public acceptance.

The issue of whether the Prime Minister had the right to go so far is a big deal with anti-vaxxers and constitutional scholars and, naturally, the Conservative opposition.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent"

Inquiry commissioner dismisses requests by Freedom Convoy lawyer for executive to testify

OTTAWA – “A fishing expedition”, “little foundation in evidence”, “purely speculative” and a “very significant distraction”.

Those are some of the words used by Emergency Act inquiry commissioner Paul Rouleau in a ruling that sternly dismissed a series of requests by a lawyer for Freedom Convoy organizers relating to government document redactions, a truck license plate and suggestions that a public affairs firm executive was a Liberal “provocateur” who carrried a Nazi flag at the protests in Ottawa.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent"

Mendicino says Lucki warned him of ‘urgent’ threat of violence in Alberta before Emergencies Act was invoked

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says the head of the RCMP shared with him sensitive police information the day before the government decided to invoke the Emergencies Act — and warned him that some protesters in Alberta were “willing to go down with the cause.”

“This was a threshold moment for me. There is no doubt about it,” Mendicino told the Public Order Emergency Commission Tuesday.

The minister said he spoke with Commissioner Brenda Lucki on Feb. 13. During that conversation, he said, Lucki updated him on plans to execute a police operation at the blockade near Coutts, Alta.

The question remains … How many RCMP informants were part of this band of revolutionaries?

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent"

Mendicino’s Spokesperson Was ‘Encouraging’ Journalists to Find Dirt on Convoy Protesters, Text Messages Reveal

According to text message exchanges summitted to the Emergencies Act inquiry, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s communications director was “encouraging” journalists to investigate who the convoy protesters were before their arrival and where their crowd-sourced funds came from, apparently without knowing if there were any particular concerns to be unearthed.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, Canada's Government Owned News Media

Firm says claim executive carried Nazi flag at Freedom Convoy is ‘absurd,’ threatens lawsuit

OTTAWA – Public affairs firm Enterprise Canada says it is considering suing the Freedom Convoy organizers’ lawyer at the Emergencies Act inquiry for making what it called an “absurd and despicable” allegation that one of its senior executives carried a Nazi flag during a Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa.

But Freedom Corp. lawyer Brendan Miller says he is protected by privilege from being sued and he wants two Enterprise Canada executives to testify at the Public Order Emergency Commission about the sighting of Nazi and a Confederate flags during the first weekend of Ottawa protests last winter.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent", Canada, WTF?

Carson Jerema: Canada, where traffic violations bring the country to the brink of collapse

Even the lower standards of Justin Trudeau and his advisers for invoking the Emergencies Act were not met

CSIS Director David Vigneault is the latest senior bureaucrat who seems to believe that it does not matter what the Emergencies Act actually says. What’s written in legislation can be safely ignored if doing so helps the government of the day expand its powers. The act of proposing, amending and passing laws through Parliament is just so tedious.

With a Public Service as partisan as Canada’s all outcomes are predetermined.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Lawyer for ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers kicked out of Emergencies Act inquiry

OTTAWA — A lawyer for some organizers of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests was ejected from the Emergencies Act inquiry on Tuesday after repeatedly interrupting the judge who is chairing the process.

Commissioner Paul Rouleau raised his voice and called on security to remove Brendan Miller, a lawyer for a charity created by protest leaders including Tamara Lich.

Miller was expressing frustration about how documents provided by the government had redactions, and demanding that a staff member in the office of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino be called to testify.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent"

RCMP monitored hostility from anti-vaccine movement against Trudeau since election

OTTAWA — The RCMP worried that after arriving in Ottawa, participants in the “Freedom Convoy” would try to pinpoint Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s location, documents suggest — just as demonstrators had tried to do during last year’s election campaign.

The concerns are outlined in assessments by the national police force’s intelligence personnel that were tabled as part of evidence presented at a public inquiry probing the Trudeau government’s use of the Emergencies Act in response to last winter’s protests.

The weeks-long demonstrations, which blockaded downtown Ottawa and several border crossings, were driven by opposition to COVID-19 restrictions such as mask and vaccine requirements. Many participants voiced their opposition to the federal government in general and Trudeau himself.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent", "Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, RCMP

Durham officer docked 60 hours pay for post which took aim at chief over wife’s ‘Freedom Convoy’ video

A Durham Regional Police officer has been ordered to work an additional 60 hours after taking aim at the police chief on Instagram.

The decision follows an Oct. 5 disciplinary hearing where Constable Clayton Harnum pled guilty to one count of discreditable conduct.

The charge stems from an Instagram post he shared earlier this year in support of his wife, Const. Erin Howard, who is also a Durham police officer. Around Jan. 24, Howard posted a video of herself to social media. In the video, she appears in uniform while delivering a message of support for the “Freedom Convoy” which occupied downtown Ottawa.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent"

John Ivison: CSIS elastic interpretation of Emergencies Act puts Trudeau on firmer ground

The warm front that passed across Ottawa on Monday morning was caused by a collective sigh of relief emitted by a number of senior ministers and government staffers, after Canada’s top spy revealed in testimony that he advised the prime minister to invoke the Emergencies Act last February to break up the Freedom Convoy.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent"