“Criminalizing Dissent”

Ottawa’s former police chief says the force needs to confront bias and right-wing extremism in order to repair trust with its citizens in the aftermath of the “Freedom Convoy” protest.

Peter Sloly is continuing his testimony at the public inquiry investigating the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.

A lawyer representing downtown businesses and community members asked Sloly this afternoon if he was aware of a double standard being applied to left-wing protests like Black Lives Matter in comparison to the treatment of convoy protesters who occupied the city for weeks.

Sloly but surely he’s blaming everyone but himself.

Newly released text messages show how the federal government was planning its communications strategy before the arrival of “Freedom Convoy” protesters in Ottawa back in late January.

Messages between a senior member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s staff and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s press secretary on Jan. 24 have been released by the inquiry investigating the government’s use of the Emergencies Act.

Sparks fly in cross-examination of ex-chief Peter Sloly at Freedom Convoy inquiry

Former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly denied, deflected or debated most negative assertions about his performance during the Freedom Convoy protests made by the force’s lawyer during a very testy cross-examination at the Emergencies Act inquiry.

The Ontario Provincial Police’s intelligence efforts during last winter’s convoy protests included preparing a detailed profile of a provincial politician who was advocating against pandemic restrictions, along with similar profiles of a former RCMP sniper, a far-right group, several convoy organizers and others, newly released documents show.

OTTAWA – It was a scene of chaos and confusion in the upper tiers of the police service and local government when a convoy of big rigs and protesters arrived in Ottawa to demand an end to pandemic restrictions last winter.

That’s the picture witnesses have painted over the first couple of weeks of hearings at the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is investigating the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act in February to bring an end to the weeks-long demonstration.

The inquiry also heard about the plight of the capital’s downtown residents, who recounted their suffering as lawlessness and around-the-clock blaring truck horns took over their community, and businesses that were forced to shut down.

A text message exchange between the RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and her Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) counterpart suggests the federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair asked Lucki to express support for the Emergencies Act a few days after its invocation.

As the second full week of hearings by the Public Order Emergency Commission winds down, it’s becoming increasingly clear just how weak the government’s rationale appears to be for invoking the Emergencies Act. As I wrote last week, key witnesses, including the OPP’s intelligence chief Supt. Pat Morris, shredded the federal narrative that the protesters were a violent and dangerous fringe who posed an imminent threat to the nation’s capital. Morris’s point of view was reconfirmed by OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, who asserted categorically that there was no “credible threat” to national security posed by the Freedom Convoy.

I’ll be joining @JasonLavigneMP at the 1pm lunch break to discuss Ex-Chief Peter Sloly who testifies today at the Emergencies Act Inquiry.

They have been blaming Sloly for weeks. When the bell rings will he come out of his corner as a brawler, sniper, or victim? https://t.co/lCS94qkd3J

— DonaldBest.CA * IT ENDS WHEN WE DO NOT COMPLY (@DonaldBestCA) October 28, 2022

Commissioner Lucki Contemplated Dressing Soldiers in RCMP Uniforms During Freedom Convoy: Text Messages

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki told OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique on Feb. 13 that she was thinking about dressing military personnel in RCMP uniforms to increase police resources, according to text messages filed as evidence at the Public Order Emergency Commission.

“It’s funny you say that, because I was thinking maybe we use CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] but in our uniforms as unarmed Auxiliaries or Spl. Csts. [special constables] to supplement us.. in teams,” Lucki wrote.

Embattled and rattled, Premier Doug Ford is feeling the heat over his refusal to testify at the federal Emergencies Act inquiry — and losing his cool.

Ford said it was “unreal” for Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser to criticize him for going to court to avoid appearing at the hearings probing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s actions to end the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests in Ottawa.

“As the public saw, I was out there non-stop speaking to the people … he was hiding in his basement,” Ford said Thursday after Fraser reminded him former premiers Mike Harris, Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne testified at various inquiries and court cases.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki told her counterpart in the Ontario Provincial Police that the federal government could ask them for a letter of support for the Emergencies Act after it had been invoked.

Text messages between Commissioner Lucki and OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique were tabled at the inquiry studying the use of the sweeping legislation on Thursday.

… Commissioner Lucki’s texts also show that she twice asked Commissioner Carrique about using a different messaging app that she said does “not store deleted messages.”

OPP head defends comments that ‘Freedom Convoy’ was national security threat

Carrique testified at the public inquiry Thursday, where he clarified that he agrees there were no credible national security threats. He said the word “threat” was used to indicate that something could potentially happen, and that the situation called for further analysis.

“This is talking from a strategic level: What are the risks that need to be taken into consideration when making decisions and developing plans?” he said.

“The word ‘potential’ is almost immaterial. It’s like saying that there’s a threat of rain today. Does it change the situation when you say there’s a potential threat of rain today? I would suggest to you it does not. What is required is further analysis of that threat.”

Not much of a defense.