Recently, the Commissioner of the OPP, Thomas Carrique stood before the House of Commons Public Safety Committee and advised the Committee that they were aware the Freedom Convoy was a threat to national security some 7 days prior to the Federal Government’s invoking of the Emergency Act. Within the same meeting, he also advised that the Committee was not the appropriate forum to discuss the specifics of the intelligence, or in other words, he did not provide information to support that statement.

According to the Windsor Star, Commissioner Carrique also advised that protests held across the country “required ‘unprecedented national collaboration’ to prevent injury, preserve life and protect critical infrastructure.”
We are not aware of any such threats or incidents that occurred during the Freedom Convoy.

We are aware:

– of the reduced crime rate and no riots, injuries or deaths as stated by then Police Chief Peter Sloly, who testified at the municipal Police Services Board
– of the trampling of two people by police on horseback, one of which had been speaking to cameras moments earlier about peacefully protesting so her grandchildren could grow up in peace and love.
– of a reporter with her credentials visible and microphone in hand being struck with a baton in the chest by riot police and subsequently being shot in the leg at dangerously close range with a tear gas canister.
– that member of the convoy had assisted in cleaning restaurants, the Terry Fox Statue and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; maintaining open routes for emergency vehicles; and erecting inflatable bouncy castles for the children. In addition, those involved in media releases for the convoy arrived with lawyers and requested open dialogue with the government.

Despite the wide acceptance of the mainstream media’s coverage of the incident as gospel, multiple articles have since been retracted including allegations of suspicious funding for the convoy which was clarified as untrue by the CEO of GoFundMe himself.

Rumours and myths about firearms present at the convoy were also laid to rest, by the Interim Chief of Ottawa Police Steve Bell.
Given this non-exhaustive list of information, we are all aware of the government’s response to the exercising of citizens’ rights to peacefully assemble as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

We, at Police on Guard, support this right and all others as laid out by the Charter and believe it is long overdue for transparency from our government concerning their actions in response to the Convoy.