Indeed:
Dean French, who negotiated with leaders of the Freedom Convoy earlier this year, said the Liberal government didn’t give enough time for a peaceful resolution to transpire before invoking the Emergencies Act to have the protesters removed by force, even though an agreement for the convoy to leave was reached.
“This was a black mark on Canadian history. History will show this was a total overreaction … and the inquiry is going to show that as well,” French told CBC’s Vassy Kapelo in an interview on Aug. 17.
The public hearings part of the inquiry are set to take place next month to look into the unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act, invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 14, to clear the demonstrations in downtown Ottawa that began late January and called for an end to federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.
French, the former chief of staff to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, said negotiations for a peaceful resolution were carried out under a “very tight timeline,” with him speaking to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson on Feb. 10, and the convoy leaders, including Tamara Lich and convoy lawyer Keith Wilson, on Feb. 11.
But recently released documents show that the government had been discussing the possibility of invoking the act as early as Feb. 10.
The documents include minutes from a cabinet meeting held on Feb. 13 in which Trudeau told his cabinet that he and the Incident Response Group—a committee of ministers and senior officials—were weighing a response to the convoy protest, and had “explored measures to enhance the powers of law enforcement agents on the ground to enhance actions, relieve Canadians and distressed communities and address the disruptions to the economy.”
During the cabinet meeting, Trudeau’s national security and intelligence adviser, Jody Thomas, told cabinet members that “there was potential for a breakthrough” in negotiations with the protesters.
French, who was trying to broker a deal for the trucks to leave the residential area in downtown Ottawa, said he was “surprised” that the wording from the national security adviser to the cabinet “wasn’t a little bit more direct,” since Mayor Watson had reached an agreement with the protesters on Feb. 11.
“I think the words should have been ‘there is an agreement,’ because Tamara’s own words in her letter—it’s a one-page letter from the mayor and one-page letter from Tamara … her final quote was, ‘we will do our best to start on Monday,’ which they did,” he said.
“We were done the deal that night, essentially.”
“Why wouldn’t Trudeau’s cabinet have waited on the Sunday night [Feb. 13] to say: Mayor Jim Watson, a very credible, respected mayor, has an agreement. Let’s just wait two or three days to see if this peaceful resolution works. If it doesn’t, if it’s not real, then let’s put down the hammer,'” French said.
Why didn't Justin wait?
Because Justin isn't simply a pants-wetting coward who is afraid of crowds and women, he is also a petty, angry, vain, self-important tyrant who knows that once his financiers tire of him, he will still be the unaccomplished nobody living off of his family's money and being forgotten by the day.
He is a megalomaniac. It is too dangerous to leave him in power.
**
A charity that promotes constitutional rights through litigation says it has successfully defended a Freedom Convoy protester who faced multiple offences, including up to 45 days in jail if convicted.
In a press release on Aug. 15, The Democracy Fund (TDF) said its legal team succeeded in having multiple charges suspended for a client who attended the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa in January.
The Freedom Convoy, which began on Jan. 29 and ended on Feb. 20, started out as a demonstration by truck drivers opposing the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border travel but grew exponentially when supporters from across the country joined in to call for an end to various COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.
“The client was peacefully exercising his rights in Ottawa when he was arrested and charged with mischief under $5,000, disobeying a court order, and obstructing a peace officer,” the charity said.
“TDF represented the client during several court appearances, subsequent to which the Crown agreed to stay the charges on August 9, 2022.”
TDF lawyer Adam Blake-Gallipeau said the client had difficulty securing legal representation for his case prior to the charity’s involvement.
“TDF recognized that he had a strong case,” said Blake-Gallipeau in a statement. “As with all our clients, we compelled the Crown to meet its onus.”
According to the press release, the client—whose family had experienced political repression in a former Soviet-bloc country prior to moving to Canada—said he was relieved.
The process is the punishment, however.
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