Trudeau's PMO worked to frame Freedom Convoy as "insurrection"

From the very beginning of Canada's Freedom Convoy, the Prime Minister's Office was trying to frame it as a January 6th-style "insurrection".

Trudeau Adviser Worked to Frame Media ‘Narrative’ on Freedom Convoy Before Trucks Arrived in Ottawa | Epoch Times - Noé Chartier: 

October 31, 2022 - "An adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked with the public safety minister’s communications director to shape media coverage of the Freedom Convoy before it arrived in Ottawa, text messages reveal, saying they could employ a similar tactic to messaging used for the Jan. 6, 2020, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

"'I think there could be an opportunity to get in on this growing narrative of the truckers,' said Trudeau advisor Mary-Liz Power in a message to Alexander Cohen, communications director to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. The text messages from around Jan. 24 were entered as evidence at the Public Order Emergency Commission on Oct. 31. 

"Power was relaying to Cohen a message she had sent to unidentified members of her team. 'Hi, I just had a chat with Alex [Cohen] at PS [Public Safety] who had a bit of an interesting idea. As you saw in the pod goals chat, the truckers convoy and some of their more extreme comments (IE calling for a Jan 6 style insurrection) are getting more coverage in media,' Power wrote. It’s unclear what 'pod goals' refers to.... 'Alex was surveying whether there’d be interest in his boss [Mendicino] doing some media on this eventually. He was chatting with Mendicino about it right before he went into cabinet retreat....

"'My thoughts of the framing here would be similar to what the PM/Blair said last year when Jan. 6th occurred,' wrote Power [to Cohen], in reference to Trudeau and Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair. Some of those talking points included supporting the right to peaceful protest and saying that 'Some of the calls that organizers of these events are making are concerning, and we’re taking them seriously (would need something to back this up).'

"Power then remarked they should be careful not to be portrayed as telling police what to do. The Trudeau adviser told Cohen her ideas had been welcomed by her unidentified team members and asked him if Mendicino was on board as well.

"'I had an initial chat with my boss and he’s supportive, but wants to wait a day or two. There’s a danger that if we come down too hard, they might push out the crazies,' Cohen replied. 'I think that’s fair. Apparently global & others are working on stories, maybe we see how those land,' wrote back Power.

"A few days after this coordination between Power and Cohen, Mendicino gave an interview to CBC’s Power & Politics. Mendicino proceeded to paint the Freedom Convoy in a negative light. He said some organizers wanted to 'overthrow the government through violence' and that some expressions 'fall very much in the category of extremism.' 'That is not a convoy that is about freedom,' he said....

"The negative narrative woven by the federal government and some media was challenged during the Public Order Emergency Commission. 

'I was concerned by comments made publicly by public figures and in the media that I believed were not premised in fact,' said Supt. Pat Morris, head of the OPP’s Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau, on Oct. 19. 'So when I read accounts that the state of Russia had something to do with it, or that this was a result of American influence, either financially or ideologically, or that Donald Trump was behind it, or that it was un-Canadian, or that the people participating were un-Canadian and that they were not Canadian views and they were extremists, I found it to be problematic.' 

"Morris testified before the commission he had been tracking the convoy from its early stages and said there had been no 'intelligence that was produced that would support' a concern for serious violence."

Read more: https://www.theepochtimes.com/trudeau-advisor-worked-to-frame-media-narrative-on-freedom-convoy-before-ottawa-arrival_4832080.html

Examples of the media 'narrative' Power is referencing: 

Obamas' new Netflix series is stupid propaganda

Netflix Teams Up With the Obamas To Produce Big Government Propaganda | Reason - John Stossel:

October 19, 2022 - "The latest Obama documentary series is The G Word. "G" for government. As Netflix documentaries go, this one is remarkably stupid. It's big government propaganda.

"Obama begins by claiming that he does his own income taxes, saying, 'It's actually easy'.... But that's just silly. It's so complex that millions of us pay to get help.

"Obama's series is hosted by silly comedian Adam Conover. Conover, correctly, calls himself 'an idiot.' He uses his time with the former president of the United States to make lame jokes and, at one point, to make sandwiches. He compliments Obama on how well he cuts the bread. It's not funny.

"The series occasionally covers some serious issues — meat inspection, for example. But instead of honest reporting, actors do a skit suggesting that, without government, meat companies would sell us dead poisoned rats. 'Food regulation was unbelievably successful,' concludes Conover. But food is largely safe today mostly because slaughterhouses cleaned themselves up way beyond what government requires.... One company executive showed me how they voluntarily do extra things like treat beef carcasses 'with rinses and a 185-degree steam vacuum.' Also, 'equipment is routinely taken completely apart to be swab-tested.'

"By contrast, for 90 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspected meat with a crude process called "poke and sniff." Inspectors stuck spikes into carcasses and smelled them. They kept using the same spikes, so they sometimes spread disease. The government only stopped poke and sniff in the 1990s.

"A few times, Obama's series admits that government agencies mess things up. Conover mocks the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 'not a name you normally hear after the words "did a great job."' No, but he then claims FEMA fails because it's underfunded.... That's ridiculous. FEMA doesn't fail because it lacks resources. U.S. disaster relief funds have increased by billions. FEMA fails because it's a government bureaucracy, and bureaucracies do wasteful things, like bring bottles of water to hurricane victims but then leave them at an airport. 

"The private sector is more efficient. The G Word sneers at what it calls 'this philosophy that the free market should be trusted over the government.' But Walmart donates supplies much more efficiently than FEMA. They employ sophisticated weather tracking that helps them determine what assets are needed where. They get things to people because they lose money if they don't.

"Obama's series smears those of us who are skeptical of government handouts. 'In the wake of the civil rights movement,' claims Conover, 'some Americans began to resent the fact that the government was now providing assistance to black and brown citizens.' What? We didn't resent welfare because we're racists. We objected because it created a new permanent underclass. Handouts, President Ronald Reagan explained correctly, 'discourage work'....

"Obama's documentary depicts Reagan as a vicious surgeon cutting valuable government agencies, throwing them into a bucket labeled 'free market.' But government wasn't cut under Reagan. Federal spending went up during his terms. It always goes up.... It only grows. Today it's bigger than ever.

"That's fine, says Conover, because Washington rescued us during the COVID shutdowns with 'stimulus checks, small business loans, and corporate tax breaks!' They don't mention how much of that money was stolen or that their spending orgy brought 8 percent inflation.

"For three hours, Obama and his sidekick say government should do more. Whatever the problem, their answer is always more government and more money. Maybe someday a president will point out that government has no money of its own and that spending more than you have is a road to ruin."

Read more: https://reason.com/2022/10/19/netflix-teams-up-with-the-obamas-to-produce-big-government-propaganda/

Emergencies Act use looking like overreach

It's becoming clear the federal government overreached to shut down Freedom Convoy | National Post - John Ivison: 

October 26, 2022 - "Ottawa Police Services superintendent [Robert Bernier] led the mission that finally cleared the Freedom Convoy in February, and on Wednesday was being grilled by the counsel for the Public Order Emergency Commission, Frank Au, on the impact the government’s proclamation of an emergency had on his plans. Bernier said the invocation of the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 for the first time in Canadian history did not significantly impact the planning process for the operation that cleared the streets of protesters around Parliament Hill four days later. 'The plan I was developing was based on existing authorities,' he told the commission. 'I was satisfied we were going to have all the authorities we needed to take action.'

"Was it helpful to have the additional measures in the Emergencies Act? Au asked. 'Anything that contributes to mission success is a benefit,' Bernier replied. Was the invocation of the act necessary? Au persisted.... Bernier answered the question by opting for an evasion worthy of the House of Commons. 'It’s hard for me to say since I did not get to do the operation without it,' he said.

"Yet, it is clear from much of the testimony we have heard so far that, while useful, the events in Ottawa in February did not constitute a national emergency that required the use of legislation designed to address the most urgent and critical of situations. We have heard virtually nothing that bolsters the government’s case that the circumstances met the legal and constitutional bar. The closest thing to support for the government’s actions came from acting Ottawa police chief Steve Bell, who said it provided 'a very stable platform' for the execution of the police plan. But even he reiterated Bernier’s point — that there was a plan ready to go, regardless of the Emergencies Act.

"Police have said that the new powers were helpful in streamlining the swearing-in of police members from across the country and compelling some tow truck companies to remove vehicles from streets. But Bernier said there were already 34 tow trucks available for use before the act was invoked.

"It will be up to the government to convince Commissioner Paul Rouleau that there was a clear and present danger to national security. Lawyers for the convoy organizers have already said that will be difficult when there is no evidence protesters engaged in sabotage or serious violence, were manipulated by foreign agents or attempted to overthrow the government.

"Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino justified the use of the act by saying a small, organized group 'driven by ideology' was trying to subvert the government. Yet, the inquiry so far has heard only the opposite. Supt. Pat Morris of the Ontario Provincial Police operations intelligence bureau said that at no point during the protest did he receive reliable intelligence that led him to believe there was a risk that would rise to the level of a potential threat to national security. In documents submitted to the inquiry, Morris wrote that the RCMP’s integrated national security enforcement team (INSET) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) concurred that there were no national security concerns.

"In another document, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said she did not believe police had employed 'all the available tools' to break up the protest prior to the invocation of the act. In an email to Mendicino’s chief of staff just after midnight on Feb. 14, Lucki said that those other tools had already been factored into a plan to end the protest. All of this testimony suggests the government overreached.....

"When we do hear from government ministers, they will lean heavily on section 6(1) of the Emergencies Act — that invocation is justified if the government believes 'on reasonable grounds' that a public welfare emergency exists. The government must hope that the commissioner takes a similarly flexible view of what constitutes an emergency because what is becoming clear is that the Freedom Convoy was not a serious threat to sovereignty, security or the territorial integrity of Canada, and it could have been dealt with effectively by existing laws."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/john-ivison-its-becoming-clear-that-the-federal-government-overreached-to-shut-down-the-freedom-convoy

Consevative MPs Raqhel Dancho and Jamie Schmale on Emergencies Act use:

Coronavirus likely leaked from lab, US GOP Senate report concludes

Bombshell Senate report concludes that COVID 'most likely' leaked from lab - as lawmakers point the finger at Beijing | MailOnline - Connor Boyd: 

October 27, 2022 - "The Covid pandemic was most likely the result of a lab leak, according to a bombshell Senate report. Policymakers said there was 'substantial' evidence of an accident at a research facility — while evidence for a natural spillover is 'still missing'. The interim report concluded that China 's unwillingness to cooperate or open up the lab in question meant it 'no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt'.

"GOP members of the Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions reviewed hundreds of studies into the origins of Covid and interviewed 'several dozen' experts over the past 15 months. Writing in the report, they conclude: 'Based on the analysis of the publicly available information, it appears reasonable to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic was, more likely than not, the result of a research-related incident'.... But 'the lack of transparency and collaboration' from China 'prevents reaching a more definitive conclusion', the senate committee adds....

"[T]he report found there had been at least six research-related incidents involving Covid at biosecurity labs in China, Taiwan and Singapore. It also cites claims the 1977 H1N1 flu outbreak was the result of a research-related incident, which remains a theory but has the backing of many scientists. "The committee writes: 'In short, human errors, mechanical failure, animal bites, animal escapes, inadequate training, insufficient funding, and pressure for results can lead to an escape of virulent pathogens, which could, in turn, infect animals and humans and lead to a release of a virus from a lab.'

"Questions about the Wuhan Institute of Virology located just eight miles away from the wet market where early cases were clustered - remain unanswered. Chinese officials were found to have wiped crucial databases from the lab and stifled independent investigations into the facility. Researchers who fell ill with a mysterious flu-like virus months before the official Covid timeline were silenced or disappeared. 

"The WIV specialized in dangerous viruses and one of its chief scientists was nicknamed the 'Bat Lady' for her extensive work on coronaviruses like Covid. It received funding from the [U.S.] federal Government to conduct gain-of-function research, which involves tinkering with viruses to make them more infectious or deadly to get ahead of future outbreaks. WIV researchers actively sampled bats in Southern China and mainland Southeast Asia where the SARS-related coronaviruses most similar to SARS-CoV-2 have been collected and identified. Viruses collected from these regions are up to 97 per cent similar overall to the Covid virus that spread around the world.

"The Senate report found staff at the WIV wore 'inadequate levels of personal protective equipment while handling bats' after analyzing film and photo footage years before the pandemic.... The lawmakers behind the report detailed evidence of biosafety and mismanagement concerns at the high security biocontainment labs, which had an expansive collection of coronaviruses including more than 1,400 samples of bat viruses from the wild....Efforts by the WIV to bolster their biosafety protocols were repeatedly stymied by what officials called the 'stranglehold problem,' which meant a lack of access to advanced foreign biosafety technologies and materials....

"The committee also enumerated the unique qualities of the coronavirus and the way it spread early on in the pandemic that suggests the pathogen was not a product of natural spillover. 'A research-related incident is consistent with the early epidemiology showing rapid spread of the virus in Wuhan, with the earliest calls for assistance being located ... near the WIV’s original campus in central Wuhan,' the report said....

"Scientists who support the theory that the coronavirus jumped from animals to humans argue that an intermediate host was probably necessary to increase the virus’ chances of being able to infect and replicate in humans so effectively. But scientists have yet to identify that intermediate host, which authors of the report said pokes a hole in the zoonotic spillover theory. The senators concluded, 'Advocates of a zoonotic origin theory must provide evidence ... as was demonstrated for the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak. There needs to be verifiable evidence that a natural zoonotic spillover actually occurred, not simply that such a spillover could have occurred.'"

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11362165/Covid-likely-leaked-lab-explosive-Senate-says.html

Court orders NYC to reinstate unvaxxed workers

A state Supreme Court judge has ordered New York City to reinstate city workers fired under its vaccine mMandate, and pay them back pay – but the workers remain fired while the city government appeals the ruling.

Court orders reinstatement of unvaccinated workers in New York | Human Resources Director - Dexter Tilo:

October 26, 2022 - "The Supreme Court of the State of New York has ordered the reinstatement of sanitation workers who were terminated by the government for failing to comply with the city's vaccine mandate. In its decision, the court said that the commissioner of health's vaccine order is 'arbitrary and capricious,' stressing that the commissioner does not have the power and authority to permanently exclude the petitioners form their workplace.

"'It is clear that the Health Commissioner has the authority to issue public health mandates. No one is refusing that authority,' the decision read. 'However, the Health Commissioner cannot create a new condition of employment for City employees. The Health Commissioner cannot prohibit an employee from reporting to work. The Health Commissioner cannot terminate employees.'

"The court also cited the declaration of President Joe Biden that the pandemic is over, as is the COVID-19 state of emergency in New York. It also took into account how Mayor Eric Adams lifted the vaccine mandate for some athletes and entertainers as an exemption. 'The city employees and private sector employees were treated entirely differently from athletes, artists, and performers,' read the decision. 'Granting exemptions for certain classes and selectively lifting of vaccination orders, while maintaining others, is simply the definition of disparate treatment.' 'The vaccination mandate for city employees was not just about safety and public health; it was about compliance,' the court added. 'If it was about safety and public health, no one would be exempt. It is time for the City of New York to do what is right and what is just.'

"In addition to reinstating the terminated sanitation workers, the court also ruled that they’re entitled to back pay in salary from the date of their termination. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the city's Law Department told the media that they 'strongly' disagreed with the ruling....

"New York City first implemented a vaccine mandate in October 2021 for public sector workers, before expanding it to private businesses in December. In September this year, the city government announced it is lifting its vaccine requirement for private businesses starting November 1. Its vaccine mandate for public sector workers, however, will remain in place."
Read more: https://www.hcamag.com/ca/specialization/employment-law/court-orders-reinstatement-of-unvaccinated-workers-in-new-york/425308

Fired NY firefighter upset by NYC appeal halting unvaccinated workers' reinstatement | Washington Examiner - Heather Hamilton:

October 26, 2022 - "A fired Staten Island firefighter’s joy quickly changed after he learned that a New York City appeal would halt a state Supreme Court ruling ordering workers fired over not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to be reinstated. Timothy Rivicci ... told Fox & Friends Wednesday that he was thrilled to think about returning to work. 'I thought it was great,' Rivicci said. “I was excited to be back, been out of work for just about a year now. We’ve been struggling. We haven’t been getting paid, obviously. It’s difficult paying the mortgage, our bills. Just terrible what the city is putting us through.'

"On Tuesday, New York City appealed the state ruling that found the ... mandate ... 'violated the petitioners' equal protection rights as the mandate is arbitrary and capricious.' 'The city strongly disagrees with this ruling as the mandate is firmly grounded in law and is critical to New Yorkers’ public health. We have already filed an appeal. In the meantime, the mandate remains in place as this ruling pertains solely to the individual petitioners in this case" ... said the New York City Law Department, according to WABC....

"Rivicci’s lawyer Christina Martinez said ... 'These mandates are destroying lives. People need to understand that when they read headlines that everyone is being reinstated, that’s not how it is playing out for these city workers,' Martinez said. 'These are the people that laid their lives on the line while we were all sheltering in place. They got up, put their uniforms on, and put their lives on the line for the people of New York City, and now their lives are destroyed — no means of providing for their family, no health insurance, they are ineligible for unemployment.... Mayor Adams needs to lift this mandate, get these heroes back to work, and end these discriminatory policies.'"
Read more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/fired-ny-firefighter-upset-nyc-appeal-halting-reinstatement

New Alberta premier cuts tie with WEF

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she distrusts World Economic Forum, province to cut ties | CBC News - Dean Bennett, Canadian Press: 

Oct 24, 2022 - "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she is cancelling a health consulting agreement involving the World Economic Forum — an agency at the centre of global domination conspiracy theories — because she won't work with a group that talks about controlling governments. 

"'I find it distasteful when billionaires brag about how much control they have over political leaders,' Smith said at a news conference Monday after her new cabinet was sworn in. 'That is offensive…the people who should be directing government are the people who vote for them. Quite frankly, until that organization stops bragging about how much control they have over political leaders, I have no interest in being involved with them.'

"The United Conservative Party premier said she is in lockstep with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has stated he and his caucus will having nothing to do with the World Economic Forum.

"The deal with Alberta Health Services sees the province share ideas with health researchers at Harvard University and the Mayo Clinic under the forum's umbrella. The high-profile conference of global political and business leaders has been the focus of conspiracy theories from both sides of the political spectrum. A decade ago, it was accused by the left-wing of conspiring to cut pensions and slash environmental programs. It became the focus of attacks from the right during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it promoted a 'great reset,' calling for ideas on how to better organize global society post pandemic....

"Smith, on a livestream interview Friday, announced the deal was ending but didn't say why. At a news conference Saturday, she declined to respond to two questions on the forum. The premier was asked by a reporter Monday if she has concerns about the forum 'because you accept the online conspiracy theory that WEF is a front for a global cabal of world leaders bent on using the pandemic to destroy capitalism and install a socialist dysfunctional dystopia.'

"Smith declined to answer. 'I think it makes sense to make health decisions based on health experts,' she said. 'The group [WEF] and the person at the helm of it [Klaus Schwab] — I don't think he's a medical doctor. I don't think he's a nurse, and I don't think he's a paramedic and I don't think he's a health professional. I am going to be taking advice from our front-line nurses, doctors, paramedics and health professionals to fix the local problems that we have.'

"NDP health critic Shannon Phillips said in a statement said Danielle Smith's 'bizarre fixation' on the World Economic Forum does nothing to repair health care, create jobs or lower the cost of living for Alberta families."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ucp-world-economic-forum-smith-edmonton-calgary-1.6628294

Danielle Smith interview, Rebel News, May 30, 2022:

Why the Bank of Canada is losing money

Counter-intuitive as it seems, the Bank of Canada is losing money due to rising interest rates, and may need a government bailout to cover its 2022 losses. 

Jules Boudreau: The feds are about to bail out the Bank of Canada | The Hub - Jules Boudreau:

October 19, 2022 - "Between April 2020 and December 2021, the Bank of Canada added $360 billion of bonds to its balance sheet as part of its quantitative easing (QE) program. It mostly bought Canadian government bonds, but also provincial bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Outside of the first few months of the crisis, when it helped prevent Canadian financial markets from seizing up, QE probably had a negligible effect on the Canadian economy. Swapping one type of government debt (government bonds) for another (bank reserves) did not cause the current surge in inflation. But it did have a major impact on the state of government finances going forward. 

"We will have a preview of this 'QE bomb' on public finances when the Bank reveals it generated a negative net income in 2022 and Ottawa is forced to bail it out. The Bank should be transparent about the upcoming shortfall and add safeguards around the use of quantitative easing policies going forward.

"Prior to 2020, every year the Bank of Canada sent around $1 billion to the government of Canada in remittances. Those steady remittances were 'seigniorage' profits: because the Bank has a monopoly on currency issuance, it can produce bank notes at close-to-zero cost, sell the notes to banks, and use the proceeds to buy bonds. The business of trading bank notes, on which the Bank pays no interest, for interest-bearing bonds allowed the Bank to self-finance its operations..... It would then send the surplus to the government. Seigniorage is the federal government’s golden goose: the feds receive a steady billion annually in exchange for granting the Bank the privilege of issuing currency.

"But in 2020, the Bank ditched its ingenious zero-reserves 'corridor' monetary system, in which commercial banks send funds to each other to manage their liquidity needs, for a 'floor' system, in which commercial banks hold reserves at the central bank. Think of reserves as central bank money, on which the Bank pays interest. The implementation of this new system, combined with pandemic QE, means that bank notes — the golden goose — today only make up 28 percent of the Bank’s liabilities, down from 78 percent in 2019 (chart 1). Bank notes are now eclipsed on the Bank of Canada’s balance sheet by interest-bearing reserves and reverse repos. When the Bank hikes its policy rate, it increases the interest payments it makes to banks and other financial institutions. 

Chart 1. Graphic credit: Janice Nelson

"With one hand, the Bank receives interest from its bond holdings. With the other, it sends interest payments to banks. The problem is that government bonds offer a fixed interest rate, while the interest paid by the Bank on reserves scales with the Bank’s policy rate. And with Canadian rates surging, the Bank’s interest expense is about to exceed its interest revenue (chart 2)....

Chart 2. Graphic credit: Janice Nelson

"Because the Bank does not have sufficient capital to cover the losses, the government will have to bail it out with a loan or transfer. Based on market expectations for Bank of Canada rates, I estimate the shortfall to be $1 billion in 2022, $4 billion in 2023, and $2 billion in 2024. Instead of receiving $3 billion over three years from its golden goose, the federal government will have to cover a shortfall of $7 billion, the equivalent of two percent of annual government revenues.... The Bank of Canada is clearly aware of the issue. It just stopped paying interest on government deposits at the Bank, an accounting trick to reduce the end-of-year shortfall....

"When the government sells a bond to finance its spending, it chooses the optimal maturity of the bond to issue. If it wants to 'lock in' an interest rate to protect itself from future changes in borrowing costs, it will issue a long-term bond, for example, a 30-year bond. But what happens to the government’s balance sheet if the Bank of Canada purchases the 30-year bond? That long-term bond is replaced by an ultra short-term bond: bank reserves, on which the Bank — and by extension the government — pays the overnight rate....The data shows that the impact on consolidated government debt profile is immense. When we factor in the Bank of Canada’s holdings of Government of Canada bonds, the average weighted maturity of the government’s debt drops from 6.7 years to 4.7 years, rendering government borrowing costs about 30 percent more vulnerable to a rise in interest rates.... 

"Should the unelected Bank of Canada have such an impact on the government’s debt profile? Especially since, outside of periods of acute liquidity shocks like April 2020, QE’s effects on the economy are debatable. Hindsight is 20/20, and we can’t blame the Bank for emptying the cupboard in unprecedented times. But going forward, the Bank should install safeguards around the use of its balance sheet to gobble up government debt. The Bank of Canada should also commit to eventually returning to its previous corridor system to reduce its footprint in the government bond market."

Jules Boudreau is an economist in the Multi-Asset Strategies Team at Mackenzie Investments, a Canadian asset manager.

Read more: https://thehub.ca/2022-10-19/jules-boudreau-the-federal-government-is-about-to-bail-out-the-bank-of-canada/

Canada's Emergencies Act was misused

Canada's Trudeau government misused the Emergencies Act, writes a Disaster and Emergency Management professor and consultant.

How our federal government misused the Emergencies Act | Toronto Sun - Alex Vezina:

October 23, 2022 - "I’ve talked to a number of senior people in emergency management, disaster risk reduction and business continuity who do high-level consulting on strategies to safeguard the public, about the Trudeau government’s use of the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 to disband the so-called Freedom Convoy. Not one of them thinks it was necessary or a good idea.

"From a professional emergency management perspective, here is what happened in Ottawa. An extended mass gathering of three weeks occurred, which resulted in a large number of mostly bylaw infractions, which is the responsibility of the local city government to enforce. The relevant public safety response should have come from the Ottawa police, but that exposed some serious problems.

"First, the Ottawa police did not have the resources to manage the hazard. Keep in mind that any large group of people is a potential hazard, irrespective of their motivations. Simply put, the more people there are to manage, the more resources are required to manage them. Second, the protesters included people who had worked in safety operations, with military and police training. This meant protesters could be internally advised on what behaviour was acceptable and what wasn’t. If the protesters didn’t give police genuine reasons for clearing them out then except for the bylaw infractions, they basically weren’t doing anything wrong. That is, before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act.

"Toronto handled the situation differently, by using prevention and mitigation strategies, such as blocking protest vehicles from getting to their preferred locations.... Toronto police pre-emptively limited the ability of the protest to grow. Compare that to Ottawa, where there appeared to have been little advance planning with regard to an influx of trucks and other vehicles rolling into the city’s downtown. Once those vehicles were parked and the bouncy castle and hot tub set up, ending the protest became much more difficult.

"Police can forcibly remove demonstrators from an area to protect critical infrastructure for reasons of public safety. That happened with the blockade at the Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge, using Ontario’s state of emergency legislation and an injunction to end the trucker blockade the evening before the Trudeau government invoked the federal Emergencies Act.

"While this may sound counterintuitive, critical infrastructure was not being disrupted in Ottawa. Measures were taken to keep Parliament operating, and many politicians and civil servants were working from home due to COVID-19. Finally, the reduced number of people entering Parliament were able to do so safely.

"From the perspective of national security today, if a government cannot operate while there is a loud but for the most part peaceful protest outside, then either the national security agencies or the government, or both, are incompetent. In these circumstances, invoking the Emergencies Act to end a largely peaceful protest should be an international embarrassment and risks legitimizing protestors’ claims about government overreach. Claiming the Ottawa protest was violent is ridiculous.... In Ottawa, a few people ... waving confederate and swastika flags yelling 'we took over the country,' does not mean they actually took over the country, nor does it mean they spoke for all the protesters.

"Using the Emergency Act in this way to break up a loud and noisy but essentially peaceful demonstration against the government that could have been handled by competent policing and bylaw enforcement, sets a dangerous precedent. It undermines the entire concept of emergency planning and what qualifies as an actual emergency in Canada."

Vezina is the CEO of Prepared Canada Corp. and teaches Disaster and Emergency Management at York University. He can be reached at info@prepared.ca.

Read more: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/vezina-how-our-federal-government-misused-the-emergencies-act

No national security threat from Freedom Convoy

The head of the Ontario Provincial Police intelligence unit has testified to the Rouleau Commission on the Emergencies Act that the OPP, CSIS, and the RCMP all found no evidence that the Freedom Convoy posed any threat to national security.

OPP saw no evidence Freedom Convoy posed direct threat to national security: intelligence officer | National Post - Christopher Nardi & Catherine Lévesque:

October 19, 2022 - "The Ontario Provincial Police intelligence unit never found evidence demonstrating that the Freedom Convoy posed a direct threat to national security before the unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act was invoked by the federal government. The head of the OPP’s Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau (POIB) Superintendent Pat Morris testified in front of the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) that at no point during the protests did he receive reliable intelligence that led to believe there was a risk that would rise to the level of a potential threat to national security.

"During cross-examinations by different parties’ lawyers, he also agreed with the assertion that intelligence he saw never pointed to extremism. 'Everybody was asking about extremism. We weren’t seeing much evidence of it,' Morris said. As the convoy settled in to Ottawa, so-called 'Project Hendon' reports, shared with other police forces (named after an ongoing surveillance operation) started warning that the protest posed a real potential 'public safety and officer safety threat.' But those concerns were always about a spontaneous event or actions from a 'lone wolf.' Midway through the protests, POIB noted that they had 'not identified any concrete, specific, or credible threat with regard to the Freedom Convoy protest' or similar events. 'However, the situation remains potentially volatile. The possibility that a lone actor or group of individuals could enact a threat with little or no warning cannot be excluded.'

"The Emergencies Act, which was invoked on Feb. 14, can only be used in a national emergency when a situation 'seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada' and cannot be dealt with [by] any other law in the country....

"Morris said during his testimony on Wednesday that OPP 'found no credible intelligence of threats' in terms of producing intelligence and even said that 'the lack of violent crime was shocking' in Ottawa with only a few charges laid for violent crimes, most of them against police officers. Morris also said he found it 'problematic' to hear certain unidentified politicians and members of the media claim the protests were being influenced by Russian or American sources or even former President Donald Trump when he never saw proof of that."
Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/opp-sent-ottawa-police-intelligence-warning-freedom-convoy-would-stay-long-term

CSIS and RCMP Didn’t See Freedom Convoy as National Security Threat, Says OPP Intelligence Chief | Epoch Times - Noé Chartier:

October 20, 2022 - "Whereas the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) intelligence arm assessed at one point that the Freedom Convoy of last winter had the potential to become a 'national security threat,' the OPP Intelligence chief Supt. Pat Morris says CSIS and the RCMP did not see it meeting that threshold. 'I spoke about that with colleagues from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and with the [RCMP] Integrated National Security Enforcement Team [INSET], and they did not see things that reached their threshold in terms of what would be deemed a threat to the security of Canada,' Morris told the Public Order Emergency Commission on Oct. 19.

"Morris addressed the topic while being questioned by a commission counsel about a Feb. 7 situation report produced by his outfit, the OPP’s Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau (POIB). 'The situation in Ottawa remains volatile and represents a public safety threat; an officer safety threat; and, potentially, a national security threat,' says the report.... Morris said they had raised it as a potential national security threat due to actions such as border blockades, including the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, and the capacity of protesters to remain in Ottawa for a long time. Pointing to CSIS and the RCMP-INSET not deeming it a national security threat, Morris said 'we were an anomaly in that regard. But we’ve raised that as a potential.'

"The day after the POIB published that assessment, Morris wrote to his team members and shared that he was uncomfortable with the wording surrounding national security, according to an email of his entered as evidence before the commission. 'In terms of national security, the wording in HENDON assessment concerned me slightly,' wrote Morris. 'I agree with the potential for officer safety and public safety but INSET and CSIS concur that there are no national security concerns. Confirmed today. If we have access to something they don’t, we can meet them to discuss, but I am not aware of it.'

"RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki is expected to testify before the commission at a later date, and so is CSIS Director David Vigneault. A briefing given by Vigneault to government officials from different levels on Feb. 6 during a teleconference was entered as evidence earlier this week. Vigneault said there was no foreign component or support to the protests, calling them 'primarily a domestic issue.'"
Read more: https://www.theepochtimes.com/csis-and-rcmp-didnt-see-freedom-convoy-as-national-security-threat-says-opp-intelligence-chief_4809648.html

NZ farmers' convoys protest 'burp tax' on livestock

Farmers convoys are gathering in New Zealand cities and towns to protest a planned methane emissions tax on livestock.

New Zealand farmers protest world’s first livestock ‘burp tax’ | Al Jazeera - Dean Purcell/New Zealand Herald via AP:

October 20, 2022 - "Travelling in convoys of tractors and pickup trucks, farmers in New Zealand have gathered in cities and towns across the country to protest against the government’s plan to be the first country in the world to tax emissions from farm animals. Lines of tractors and other farmyard vehicles disrupted traffic in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and other cities on Thursday, with the protesting farmers demanding that the country’s centre-left government back away from the so-called 'burp and fart' tax.

"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled plans last week for the world’s first levy on agricultural gases and biogenic methane, which mainly comes from burps produced by New Zealand’s estimated six million cows and 26 million sheep. Ardern has argued that the tax is needed to slow global warming and could even benefit farmers if they can command a higher price for more climate-friendly meat. However, New Zealand’s farmers are up in arms, with thousands of agricultural workers joining Thursday’s protest.... 

"Bryce McKenzie, cofounder of Groundswell New Zealand, which organised the protest, said the tax threatened the viability of local farmers. 'The government’s ideological commitment to punitive and counterproductive emissions taxes on food production is an existential threat to rural communities,' McKenzie said. While the government hopes the tax will reduce livestock emissions by 20 percent, McKenzie argues that any 'reductions will be replaced by less efficient foreign farmers'.

"Methane is less abundant and does not linger as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, but it is a much more potent warming agent. Scientists believe methane is responsible for roughly 30 percent of the global rise in temperatures despite being a fraction of the greenhouse gas mix.

"Local farmer Mark Chandler told state broadcaster Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that the level of compliance related to the proposed livestock emissions levy was punitive. 'There’s a whole raft of things that are coming in that are just making life impossible,' he told RNZ. 'For a small-to-medium farmer you’re going to have to do weeks and weeks of administration and compliance, and it just doesn’t work'....

"A counterprotest was also held in Wellington on Thursday by locals who said the agricultural sector needed to do its part to address climate change."

Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/new-zealand-farmers-protest-worlds-first-livestock-burp-tax

Liberals blame Ford for their Freedom Convoy problem

Testimony and evidence from Tuesday's Rouleau Commission hearings show Liberals Justin Trudeau and Jim Watson blaming Doug Ford for their Freedom Convoy problem.

Watson wanted to protect Trudeau, embarrass Ford during convoy | Toronto Sun - Brian Lilley:

Oct 19, 2022 - "If you thought partisan politics disappeared in the middle of a crisis, say like Ottawa’s reaction to last winter’s trucker convoy, think again. What we’ve seen in testimony at the Emergencies Act inquiry is an attempt to score political points. On Tuesday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said that all three levels of government failed in their response. Yet he went out of his way several times to single out the province – not the city or federal government – on specific failures. 

"It’s important to remember the partisan stripes of those involved in all of this. Watson is a Liberal who served as a cabinet minister at Queen’s Park under former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty. He’s been a vocal booster of the current Liberal prime minister.... By comparison, Doug Ford leads a Progressive Conservative government, and despite Ford saying as recently as Monday that he doesn’t deal in partisan stripes, Watson most definitely does. The two men have had an uneasy relationship during Ford’s time in office.

"On Tuesday, Watson opened his testimony by falsely claiming the convoy had shown up in the nation’s capital to protest against the province. 'They were upset with the mask mandates, which were primarily, as you know, a provincial matter,' Watson said. That’s patently false and Watson knows it. While plenty of people involved in the convoy also didn’t like masks, the whole reason for the convoy in the first place was to protest the cross border vaccine mandates that were imposed just weeks earlier. That was in story after story, briefing after briefing and there is zero chance that a politician as accomplished as Watson didn’t know it....

"We also see two distinct incidents that happened on Feb. 8 that show Watson is reluctant to do anything to embarrass the Trudeau government or put them in a bad light but happy to call out the Ford government. These two incidents clearly illustrate that partisan politics was still on Watson’s mind even as he sought help from other levels of government.

"In his testimony Monday, Ottawa’s city manager, Steve Kanellakos described approaching Watson after being asked to meet with convoy organizers, a meeting that eventually took place. Kanellakos said that Watson didn’t like the idea because of the position it might put the Trudeau government in.... 'His initial reaction was we shouldn’t and thought that doing that was going to put pressure on the federal government in terms of, you know, if we meet with them, someone else would have to meet with them,' Kanellakos said.

"That conversation with Kanellakos happened the same day as a phone call between Watson and Trudeau – two Liberals discussing how they don’t think Ontario’s Progressive Conservative premier is doing enough.

"'Doug Ford has been hiding from his responsibility on it for political reasons,' Trudeau said according to a readout of the call submitted into evidence at the inquiry. 'If they keep dragging their feet, I’m happy to call them out on it,' Watson replied. On the same day, Ottawa’s mayor is worried about how his actions will affect the Liberal PM, ... he’s 'happy' to put public pressure on the Conservative premier.

"Watson’s goal Tuesday was clear, deflect as much blame as possible to Ford, not Trudeau. Perhaps there is a senate appointment in the future for the soon to be unemployed Watson, perhaps it’s just partisan loyalty. That politicians act in a political way is hardly shocking and Watson won’t be the only one to do so while testifying. The public just needs to be aware of this, know that what is coming out of their mouths is equal parts evidence, spin and self-preservation."

Read more: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-watson-wanted-to-protect-trudeau-embarrass-ford-during-convoy 

Ontario police: Emergencies Act was unnecessary

The Ontario Provincial Police has told the Rouleau Commission investigating the Trudeau government's use of the Emergencies Act that "there was sufficient legal authority" without the Act "to deal with the protest activities".

Emergencies Act wasn’t needed to quell convoy protests, Ontario police force says | Globe and Mail - Marteke Walsh and Marsha McLeod:

October 13, 2022 - "The sweeping powers triggered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to quell February’s convoy protests were not needed, the Ontario Provincial Police said at the first day of hearings in a public inquiry to determine whether the federal government contravened the law in its use of the powers.

"The provincial police force’s brief opening statement on Thursday focused on the legal requirements the government had to meet before it could invoke the federal Emergencies Act. OPP lawyer Christopher Diana said Thursday in Ottawa that while the emergencies legislation provided useful tools, 'there was sufficient legal authority in their absence to deal with the protest activities that took place over this period of time.'

"The federal government, which initially said invoking the act was done on the advice of law enforcement, later clarified that they had asked for the powers in the act, not for the law directly. OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique told a parliamentary committee in March that the tools available through the act 'made our operation very effective, and in the absence of having those tools, we could have not have been as effective.'

"Mr. Diana’s comments followed introductory remarks from inquiry commissioner Justice Paul Rouleau, who said the focus of the Public Order Emergency Commission will be on the federal government’s decision-making. According to the Emergencies Act, a public order emergency can be declared only when threats to the security of Canada are so serious that they constitute a national crisis that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other existing law....

"Nearly 20 parties with standing in the commission also spoke briefly, outlining arguments they will advance as the commission determines whether the government’s use of the act – in response to the convoy protests in Ottawa over pandemic restrictions and blockades at border crossings – was legitimate.... On one side, a lawyer representing the federal government said invoking the act was a 'reasonable and necessary' decision, while lawyers on the other – including those representing convoy protesters – argued that it was ... unnecessary, lacked justification, and could pave the way for further inappropriate use of the act....

"Robert MacKinnon, one of the lawyers for the federal government, told the commission the act’s invocation was 'a reasonable and necessary decision given the escalating volatile and urgent circumstances across the country.' The government will present evidence that there were “countrywide threats to the security of Canada,” Mr. MacKinnon said. The federal approach was 'proportional, effective and time limited,' he said.

"However, Lakehead University law professor Ryan Alford, who has joint standing with The Canadian Constitution Foundation, challenged Mr. MacKinnon’s assessment. The government’s claim to a 'reasonable basis' for declaring the public order emergency does not mean it had a legal or constitutional basis for 'assuming unprecedented and destructive emergency powers,' he said.

Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-convoy-protests-inflicted-community-violence-and-social-trauma-ottawa/

Libertarian Marc Victor polling at 15% in Arizona

In Arizona, Libertarian Party Senate Candidate Polls at 15 Percent | Reason - J.D. Tuccille:

October 14, 2022 - "Are Americans getting tired of the 'choice' between dictatorial Democrats and control-freakish Republicans? Many of us would like to think so, and evidence from the crucial Arizona U.S. Senate race suggests that at least some voters are looking for an option that doesn't represent a competing brand of authoritarianism. In that contest, Libertarian Party nominee Marc Victor is polling at 15 percent and may get a further boost from his appearance in a well-timed televised debate.

"'Live and let live. That's my position on every issue,' Marc Victor introduced himself during his opening statement at the October 6 debate, which was broadcast by PBS. 'Live your life however you choose, just let other people do the same thing'.... In a phone conversation this week, Victor expressed disappointment that he didn't get as much airtime as incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (the Democrat in the race) and Republican challenger Blake Masters. But his appearance was enough for The New York Times to note 'he held his ground Thursday night, insisting that the moderator allow him to answer all the same questions as Mr. Kelly and Mr. Masters.' 'There could be a receptive audience for that message,' Jennifer Medina and Jack Healy added for the Times. "Roughly a third of Arizona's voters are not registered as Republicans or Democrats, and many view themselves as moderates or describe themselves as leaning libertarian." 

"In appealing to those voters, Victor, who also represented the Libertarian Party in the 2012 Senate race ultimately won by Republican Jeff Flake, emphasized the inclusive 'live and let live' message with which he opened.... 'We have the best message,' Victor told me. 'There's absolutely no question in my mind that if you are interested in freedom, in peace, in raising standards of living, we have the right message. So, I sit and scratch my head and say I've been a libertarian 30 years, why are we still in the minority?...  So, my mission, as a libertarian, has been to reboot the libertarian message. And I've done that, I've reformatted it into what I call the live-and-let-live message.'

"Ironically, one prominent Libertarian Party figure was turned off anyway. During the debate, Victor complained that 'our big problem with voting is that everything is up for a vote' and pointed to age of consent laws along with legislative representation as examples of the few issues that should be subject to political decision making. In response, Dave Smith, widely considered a contender for the 2024 Libertarian Party presidential nomination as part of the now-dominant Mises Caucus, endorsed one of Marc Victor's opponents. 'JFC,' tweeted Smith. "This guy is a clown who has absolutely nothing to do with us. He went outside the party and got the signatures to be on the ballot. Stupid AZ laws. I support Masters'....

"'If you want to see what's wrong with the Libertarian Party, look at what's going on now,' Victor told me of Smith's attack, and the prominent Mises Caucus figure's support for the very unlibertarian Masters (at last month's National Conservatism Conference in Miami, Blake Masters sniped 'Libertarianism doesn't work'). 'This is the kind of chaos that we need to get away from, and it only makes me want to separate from the Libertarian Party'....

"But, while Marc Victor is concerned about the political party, he hasn't lost faith in libertarian ideas. 'I'm putting out a very hardcore, pro-libertarian position in a very agreeable, non-threatening kind of a way,' he told me of his efforts through the campaign, which he intends to continue with a separate Live and Let Live organization. 'I think the future of this movement, whether you want to call it classical liberalism, the enlightenment, libertarianism, voluntaryism, anarcho-capitalism, whatever, I think it will be live-and-let-live-ism and that's what I'm trying to promote.'

"Arizonans, at least, seem receptive to that message. 'If the elections were held today, incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly sits at 46% support among likely voters, Republican Blake Masters at 33%, and Libertarian Marc Victor at 15%,' reports the Arizona Public Opinion Pulse Poll conducted by OH Predictive. 'Victor's 9% jump from the previous poll in early September, highly driven by Republican support, could be due to Blake Masters' struggle with his candidate image among likely voters,' add pollsters.

"The latest poll was conducted ... October 4-6, mostly before the televised debate took place.... The appearance should raise his profile, but third-party candidates tend to show up better in polling than they do on Election Day. Still, ballots are already being mailed to voters, and 89 percent of voters chose to vote early during the 2020 general election. That means Marc Victor may be gaining prominence at just the right moment to maximize support in a race that could decide control of the currently evenly divided U.S. Senate."

Read more: https://reason.com/2022/10/14/in-arizona-libertarian-party-senate-candidate-polls-at-15-percent/ 

4 provinces oppose federal gun buyback program

Four Canadian provinces have issued a joint statement opposing the Trudeau government's plans to use 'scarce RCMP and municipal police resources to confiscate more than 100,000 legally acquired firearms from Canadians.'

New Brunswick Joins Prairies in Opposing Use of Police for Ottawa’s Gun Confiscation Program | Epoch Times - Isaac Teo:

October 15, 2022 - "New Brunswick has joined forces with Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to oppose the federal government’s gun buyback program. The Yukon Legislature also recently passed a motion against the measures. In a joint statement on Oct. 14, New Brunswick, together with the Prairie provinces, called on the Liberal government to halt plans to use 'scarce RCMP and municipal police resources to confiscate more than 100,000 legally acquired firearms from Canadians.' 

"The joint statement was issued following a discussion on Ottawa’s firearms buyback program at the “Federal, Provincial and Territorial Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety” in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14. The Prairie provinces had already written to their respective RCMP divisions, indicating that no provincial funding should be used to confiscate legal firearms.... The Epoch Times sought comment from Public Safety Canada, which replied that it had forwarded the request to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office. No response was received by publication time.

"The government’s buyback program comes on the heels of 2020 legislation banning more than 1,500 models of what it termed 'assault-style weapons, including AR-15s. Ottawa has said the buyback program 'will be mandatory' and will require anyone who owns guns banned under the new legislation to sell them to the government at prices determined by the feds, or else have them 'lawfully disposed' of.

"Alberta Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Tyler Shandro said the Liberal government contradicted its earlier claim that it would not have law enforcement administer the program due to high costs.... 'Make no mistake, the federal firearms confiscation program will cost us billions and will not improve public safety,' Shandro said, adding that the Alberta government is 'not legally obligated' to provide the resources and 'will not do so.' Alberta was the first province to announce its opposition to the buyback on Sep. 26. Following Shandro’s announcement, Mendicino said on CTV’s Question Period that Alberta’s attempt to challenge the constitutionality of the federal firearms prohibition is a 'political stunt'....

"Saskatchewan adopted Alberta’s position on Sept. 28. In the joint Oct. 14 statement, Christine Tell, the province’s minister of corrections, policing, and public safety, and Bronwyn Eyre, minister of justice and attorney general, said they are supportive of going after illegal guns, but not guns from law-abiding owners....

"On Oct. 13, the Yukon Legislative Assembly adopted a similar position as the Prairie provinces by passing a motion that 'urges the Yukon government to ensure that territorial policing resources are not diverted to assist in the implementation of the Government of Canada’s gun "buy-back" program.'

"Manitoba, which joined in pushing back on the feds’ buyback program on Sept. 28, said in the statement that the confiscation will have 'little impact' on criminals but will 'further erode' policing resources in the province....

"New Brunswick’s Public Safety Minister Kris Austin wants the RCMP to focus on policing instead of using their 'limited resources' to participate in the buyback program. 'New Brunswick’s bottom line is this: RCMP resources are spread thin as it is. We have made it clear to the Government of Canada that we cannot condone any use of those limited resources, at all, in their planned buyback program,' Austin said."

Read more: https://www.theepochtimes.com/new-brunswick-joins-prairies-in-opposing-use-of-police-for-ottawas-gun-confiscation-program_4798553.html

Rouleau Commission renews call for submissions

Commission renews call for Public Submissions | Public Order Emergency Commission (news release): 

October 4, 2022 - "The Public Order Emergency Commission has renewed its call for Canadians to make a submission to help the work of the Commission. The Commission's public hearings, on matters related to the federal government's decision to declare a public order emergency in February 2022, are scheduled to begin on October 13, 2022.

"Canadians are encouraged to tell the Commission about their experiences, views, observations and ideas about the protests and the Emergencies Act. The Commission is also seeking input on the appropriateness or effectiveness of the measures taken to respond to the declared emergency, any changes that the Commission should recommend to the Act, and any further areas for study or review.

"'The Commission welcomes contributions from all members of the public in order to fully appreciate how these matters affected Canadians,' said Commissioner Paul Rouleau. 'We hope to receive submissions from individuals across the country, whether they participated in the protests, were affected by them, or have views about the protests or use of the Emergencies Act.'

"The Commission has recently added an on-line questionnaire to the dedicated e-mail address launched in August to receive submissions. Guidelines for preparing submissions, along with a link to the questionnaire and instructions for those who wish to share their views are available on the Commission's website (www.PublicOrderEmergencyCommission.ca).   

"Submissions from members of the public can be made in English or in French. Attachments to submissions, including photographs and videos, can be sent by e-mail. Submissions will be accepted until the end of October.

"All submissions will be read and considered by the Commission. Some submissions may be referred to or quoted by the Commission either in a report summarizing public input, or at the public hearings. No identifying information will be used without the express permission of the author of the submission.  

"'It is important for the Commission to receive meaningful public input from a wide range of Canadians, not just those individuals and entities who have been granted standing,' said Commissioner Rouleau. 'This is in keeping with my commitment to conduct an open and transparent public inquiry that provides an opportunity for involvement by all Canadians,' he said.

"Commission counsel and staff have conducted an extensive investigation of the facts related to the Commission's mandate in advance of the public hearings, which will continue until November 25 in Ottawa. With the cooperation of all parties, Commission staff have reviewed thousands of documents and conducted numerous interviews of those with potential knowledge of relevant facts. The public hearings will be streamed live on the Commission's website to allow Canadians to follow the work of the Commission.

"The Public Order Emergency Commission was established by the Governor in Council on April 25, 2022, to conduct an independent public inquiry as required by the Emergencies Act following the declaration of a public order emergency by the Government of Canada on February 14, 2022. The Inquiry must submit its final report to the Government, with findings and recommendations, by February 6, 2023."

www.publicorderemergencycommission.ca
www.commissionsurletatdurgence.ca 

Follow us on Twitter:
@POECommission (English)
@CommissionEDU (Français)

For further information: Michael Tansey, Sr. Communications Advisor,
michael.tansey @poec-cedu.gc.ca, (613) 487-3765 home office, (343) 549-1086 mobile

Emergences Act commission has a herculean task

Opinion: The Emergencies Act was never meant to be used against political opponents | Winnipeg Sun - Joanna Baron & Christine Van Geyn:

October 14, 2022 - "The long anticipated public inquiry into the federal government’s first ever invocation of the Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy protests [is] finally underway in Ottawa. The Public Order Emergency Commission, also known as the Rouleau Commission, commenced hearings Thursday in Ottawa with opening statements from parties and the introduction of overview reports from commission counsel.

"By law, the commission’s final report examining and assessing the basis for the government’s decision to declare an emergency must be laid before Parliament by February 20, 2023. This deadline is set by the Emergencies Act, and cannot be changed or extended. This is a herculean task.... For context, no other public inquiries have had their deadline set by statute. They’ve also had far more time to do their job. Justice Rouleau pointed out that the Air India inquiry took four years to issue a report. The Commission on the Decline of Sockeye Salmon took three years to issue a report, and the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls took more than three years to issue a report. This commission has [130 days - gd] to complete its work.

"Sharp disagreements were immediately apparent in the commission’s opening statements. Counsel for the federal government underscored its view that Canada faced an 'unprecedented and critical situation in the face of ongoing protests and blockades, including threats of ideologically motivated violence and impact on Canada’s trade, international relationships, and reputation. Paul Champ, a lawyer representing the residents of Ottawa underscored the highly disruptive, even 'traumatizing” experience of the protests, with continual honking throughout the night, loose jerry cans on the streets, and general disorder.

"The dismay of the provinces both at the manner and merits of invoking the act was also clear. Counsel for Saskatchewan and Alberta both expressed disapproval for their lack of consultation prior to the invocation of the act.... Saskatchewan also opposed the financial measures, which required banks and other institutions to take significant steps with little guidance from the government. Counsel for Alberta noted that the province was able to deal with the Coutts border blockades under existing ordinary laws, and that none of the powers under the Emergencies Act were necessary, or indeed invoked, in Alberta itself.

"Civil liberties groups, including the Canadian Constitution Foundation and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, noted the sweeping rights implications of the act. The invocation of the act severely restricted the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. The Emergency Economic Measures Order chilled freedom of expression, by mandating banks to freeze bank accounts of those connected to the protests without a warrant. 

"From the CCF’s perspective, the fundamental question is whether the condition in the final clause of Section 3 of the Emergencies Act was met — that the Ottawa protests and border blockades could not be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada, federal, provincial or municipal. This clause codifies the requirement that the Emergencies Act is a last resort, which can only be triggered when all other legal tools fall short. And in the CCF’s view, that condition was clearly not met: as in Coutts and Windsor, the Ottawa protests were cleared using existing police powers. Evidence of former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly recently disclosed confirms that the plan to clear protestors — including bringing 1,800 additional officers from across Canada to Ottawa — was in place without the declaration of the Emergencies Act.

"Counsel for the commission also introduced a number of overview reports.... The reports are not about the merits of the invocation of the Emergencies Act or conclusive, but they are meant to summarize important facts. The report topics included a chronology of the protests, an overview of key events leading up to the invocation of the Emergencies Act, as well as an overview of how the Emergencies Act works and a summary of the statutorily required explanation for its innovation by the government. There was also a report on the COVID-19 backdrop to the protests. However, the Commission’s mandate is not to examine the federal government’s response to COVID-19, but rather, to report on the circumstances which lead to the declaration of the public order emergency, and more importantly, whether the federal government had legal justification to invoke this historic law.

"The act is a successor to the discredited War Measures Act, which was abused during the FLQ Crisis in Quebec. The Emergencies Act — especially the last resort clause — was drafted to ensure that the act could never again be used by a federal government against its political opponents. It’s important for future instances of social disruption — which seem to be increasing, both in Canada and globally — now that the glass has been broken on the extraordinary instrument that is the Emergencies Act, that the commission look soberly at the evidence and circumstances that led up to its invocation."

Joanna Baron is the executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation and Christine Van Geyn is the litigation director at the Canadian Constitution Foundation. The CCF has standing as a party before the Public Order Emergency Commission.

Read more: https://winnipegsun.com/opinion/the-emergencies-act-was-never-meant-to-be-used-against-political-opponents/wcm/96e4977e-6e31-4716-8635-091f1bc21ae1

Provinces not consulted about Emergencies Act

Lawyers for the Saskatchewan and Alberta government told the Rouleau Commission, on its first day of hearings into the Trudeau government's use of the Emergencies Act, that their governments were not consulted about using the Act.

Two provinces say they were blindsided by decision to invoke Emergencies Act | CTV News - David Fraser, Canadian Press:

October 13, 2022 - "Provincial officials in Saskatchewan and Alberta got a Valentine's Day surprise from the prime minister this year when he called to say he was considering invoking the Emergencies Act, a public inquiry heard Thursday. Lawyers representing the two provinces were before the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is looking into the federal government's use of emergency powers to end to weeks of protests at border crossings and in downtown Ottawa.

"'The call (on Feb. 14) was not so much about consulting, it was about telling,' said Saskatchewan government lawyer Mike Morris. 'That phone call was the first time the federal government told the government of Saskatchewan that it was considering invoking the Emergencies Act and declaring a public order emergency.'

"The Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, the first time the law had been used since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988. The move temporarily granted police extraordinary powers and allowed banks to freeze accounts. Saskatchewan and Alberta say they objected to its use and believe the law did not need to be applied across the country.

"Alberta's lawyer, Mandy England, described in her opening statement before the commission how existing laws and police resources successfully ended a protest at the border in Coutts, Alta., where several people were arrested and charged with conspiring to commit murder after a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition was found in nearby trailers. 'None of the powers that were created under the federal Emergencies Act were necessary, nor were any of them used in Alberta to resolve the Coutts blockade,' she said.

"The federal government is planning to argue the opposite. Robert MacKinnon, representing Justice Canada, said the Emergencies Act was 'reasonable and necessary' given the circumstances across the country. The evidence of the government witnesses will detail the facts and events leading to the decision to declare a public order emergency,' he said. That decision came after weeks of what Trudeau called an 'illegal occupation' of downtown Ottawa, and tales of frustration from people living in the area, many of whom were critical of the police response.....

"The Public Order Emergency Commission was established on April 25, and has been collecting documents and interviewing dozens of people. Six weeks of public hearings in Ottawa are planned....

"The City of Ottawa's auditor general has also launched a review of the local response to the convoy, and several groups have initiated proceedings in Federal Court to challenge the government's use of the Emergencies Act. The inquiry is also distinct from the all-party parliamentary committee struck in March to review the Emergencies Act's use. Both the public inquiry and the parliamentary committee, which continues its work, are required under the Emergencies Act."

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/expect-tight-timelines-for-emergencies-act-public-inquiry-commissioner-warns-1.6107262

PHAC: Covid lockdowns & mandates saved 325K lives in Canada

A report by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), published in the PHAC's peer-reviewed journal, claims that public health measures prevented "almost a million deaths" in Canada during the Covid pandemic, with lockdowns and mask mandates saving 325,000 lives and vaccines 360,000.

Report co-authored by Theresa Tam claims Canada's COVID measures avoided 800,000 deaths | National Post - Ryan Tumilty:

October 3, 2022 - "A new paper from scientists at the Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], co-authored by Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, estimates that with absolutely no public health measures and no vaccines, 800,000 people would have died from COVID-19 in Canada.

"The paper was published in the Canada Communicable Disease Report, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by PHAC. The article, which appeared in the July/August edition, presents a series of several counterfactual scenarios, from an approach with no public health measures or vaccines to scenarios where public health measures, like lockdowns and masks [mandates], were simply lifted earlier.

"According to the paper, which had several authors including Tam, the worst-case scenario would have seen 34 million Canadians get the virus had it been allowed to run free. Two million of those people would have ended up in hospital and 800,000 would have died. The paper used information up to April of this year, by which point 150,000 people had been hospitalized and 38,783 had died, a number which rose over the summer and now sits at just over 45,000 deaths....

"In all of the scenarios it looked at, hospitals were overwhelmed with far more patients than they could accommodate with beds....

"'The simulations show that the combination of public health measures and vaccinations that occurred in Canada resulted in far fewer infections, hospitalizations and deaths,' the researchers wrote. 'The earlier measures were lifted, the worse were the outcomes in terms of hospitalizations and deaths.'

"The paper also looked at what would have happened if Canada had used public health measures, but not vaccines and found that would have resulted in roughly 360,000 deaths and close to a million hospitalizations. The estimates show that abandoning all public health measures and relying solely on vaccines would have produced roughly 325,000 deaths and 850,000 hospitalizations. It also looked at other scenarios where public health measures were lifted earlier than they were starting in July 2020 after the first wave was over; that estimate suggested there would be 220,000 deaths and approximately 550,000 people in hospital....

"Isaac Bogoch,* an infectious disease physician and researcher, said there is definitely evidence the pandemic could have been far worse, and the early days of the virus where it was poorly understood and ran rampant are a good indicator.... However, he cautioned PHAC’s numbers, while reasonable, are just estimates....  'We just have to obviously interpret the results with caution and in context.'"

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/without-lockdowns-or-vaccines-covid-would-have-killed-800000-people-phac-study

Read PHAC report: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/reports-publications/canada-communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2022-48/issue-7-8-july-august-2022/ccdrv48i78a01-eng.pdf

* signatory of the John Snow memorandum

Pfizer's Covid vax untested for effect on spread

A Pfizer executive has confirmed to a European Union hearing that their Covid vaccine was not tested for its effect on stopping or slowing transmission.

Bombshell: Pfizer Exec admits COVID vaccine never tested on preventing transmissions | Lynnwood Times - Mario Lotmore:

October 11, 2022 - "During a hearing today on the European Union’s COVID-19 response, Pfizer’s president of international developed markets, Janine Small, admitted that its vaccine had never been tested before its release to the general public on its ability to prevent the transmission of COVID when asked by Dutch politician and a current Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Robert 'Rob' Roos.

“'Regarding the question around did we know about stopping immunization before it entered the market…No.,' Small replied with a smirk when asked by Roos if the Pfizer’ COVID vaccine was ever tested to stop the transmission of the virus before it entered the market. She continued, 'We have to really move at the speed of science to really understand what is taking place in the market.'

"It was not clear from the questioning of Ms. Small if she were referring to the Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine which is authorized under Emergency Use Authorization or Comirnaty which is the FDA-approved vaccine. [BNT162b2 and Comirnaty have the same formulation and are considered interchangeable, according to Health Canada - gd]. Under an Emergency Use Authorization, vaccines cannot be mandated....

"In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU implemented a wide range of health policies with its EU Vaccines Strategy and initiatives, one being EU Digital COVID Certificates which exempted persons from 'free movement' restrictions. The EU implemented 'free movement' restrictions to slow down the spread of coronavirus....

"EU Parliamentarian Roos, exposed an alleged misinformation campaign by Pfizer with the release of his video tweet today.... Below is a transcript of Roos’ Twitter post:

If you don’t get vaccinated, you’re antisocial. This is what the Dutch prime minister and health minister told us. You don’t get vaccinated just for yourself, but also for others. You do it for all of society, that’s what they said. Today, this turned out to be complete nonsense.

In a COVID hearing in the European Parliament, one of the Pfizer directors just admitted to me at the time of introduction, the vaccine had never been tested on stopping the transmission of the virus.

This removes the entire legal basis for the COVID Passport. The COVID passport that led to massive institutional discrimination as people lost access to essential parts of society. I find this to be shocking, even criminal.

This is scandalous. Millions of people worldwide felt forced to get vaccinated because of the myth that ‘you do it for others.’ Now this turned out to be a cheap lie.

Read more: https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2022/10/11/covid-transmission-221011/

New lockdowns in China

China imposes new COVID-19 lockdowns as cases triple ahead of Communist Party congress | CBS News: 

October 10, 2022 - "Chinese cities were imposing fresh lockdowns and travel restrictions after the number of new daily COVID-19 cases tripled during a weeklong holiday, ahead of a major Communist Party meeting in Beijing next week. The latest lockdown started Monday in Fenyang city in northern China's Shanxi province after a preliminary positive case was found in citywide testing the previous day, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

"In the nearby Inner Mongolia region, the capital Hohhot announced that outside vehicles and passengers would be prohibited from entering the city starting Tuesday. Hohhot has recorded more than 2,000 cases over about 12 days.

"China is one of the few places in the world still resorting to harsh measures to keep the disease from spreading. The long-ruling Communist Party is particularly concerned as it tries to present a positive image of the nation in the run-up to a once-in-five-years party congress that starts Sunday.... But the number of new daily cases has still grown to about 1,800 from 600 at the start of the break.

"Leaders don't want a major outbreak to cast a pall over the congress, but their strict 'zero-COVID' approach has taken an economic toll, particularly on small businesses and temporary workers. Many in China hope the pandemic policy will ease after the meeting. 

"Outbreaks have been reported across the country, with the largest in Inner Mongolia and the far-west Xinjiang region. Both have been recording several hundred new cases a day.

"Both Shanghai, where residents endured prolonged lockdowns earlier this year, and the national capital Beijing have had a small but growing number of cases. Two Shanghai districts announced closures of cinemas and other entertainment venues on Monday."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-covid-19-lockdown-cases-triple-before-communist-party-congress/

70,000 sign to put Alabama Libertarians on ballot

How the Libertarian Party stormed back onto the Alabama ballot | Alabama Political Reporter - Jacob Holmes:

October 3, 2022 - "For the past 20 years, the Alabama Libertarian Party has supported just a handful of candidates in each election cycle, with Alabama’s ballot access laws posing a seemingly insurmountable obstacle for third parties in the state. But come Nov. 8, the party will make its presence known with more than 50 candidates running up and down the ballot.... But what led to the party’s sudden resurgence, and why now? 

"Richard Winger, an avid researcher of ballot access laws across the country, said the party’s inability to get a free copy of the voter rolls in 2019 lit a fire to make a change. While the Republican and Democrat parties in Alabama get free copies of the voter rolls, most everyone else has to pay a penny per name, which came out to almost $36,000 in 2019. The Alabama Libertarian Party sued Secretary of State John Merrill in 2019 over the law, but the 11th Circuit Court disagreed that Supreme Court precedent guarantees minor parties equal access.... 'The Supreme Court already settled this,' Winger told APR.... 'But the judges in Alabama are so bad they wouldn’t even give us a victory on that.... That made me so unhappy that I thought, "I’ve just got to do something about this."' So Winger gave $40,000 of his own money to the Alabama Libertarian Party to start a ballot petition....

"Laura Lane, the chair of the Libertarian Party at the time, said Winger approached her after the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Lane recalled hearing from many people at the time who were not members of the Libertarian Party who said they wanted to vote for the national party’s candidate, Jo Jorgensen, for president in 2020. But they couldn’t find her name on the ballot in Alabama — she was there, but listed as an independent instead of a Libertarian.... 

"Alabama’s ballot access laws present a major challenge unlike most any other state in the country. 'A party can stay on with no vote test in Mississippi, the party is on the ballot if it wants to be, and it works fine,' Winger said. 'In South Carolina, they just have to run one candidate every four years. In Florida, there’s no petition, they just turn in a list of state officers and bylaws. In Louisiana, a party can get on the ballot if it has just 1,000 registered members. Alabama’s way out of line with the rest of the country'.

"But the party has met the challenge at least once before in 2000, and they set out to make it happen once again. Soon, the party had petitioners all over the state, looking to hit the magic number of 51,588 signatures, 3 percent of the voters in the previous gubernatorial election. The party petitioned for about a year and a half before submitting the petition to the secretary of state’s office and ended up with more than 71,000 valid signatures to secure ballot access for the 2022 cycle.... 

"Lane said the party hired a professional fundraiser who helped to bring more money in during the campaign and, with the petitioning process already well underway, gained about $100,000 in support from the National Libertarian Party.... Lane said one petitioner in Mobile was 'physically assaulted' by government officials seeking to remove him from the property, although she wasn’t sure if a police report was filed regarding the incident. And she said police were called on petitioners in Baldwin County on multiple occasions, but the officers agreed that the petitioners had a Constitutional right to stay and continue....

"The battle is far from over; the party will need at least one statewide candidate to get 20 percent of the vote to maintain ballot access for the 2024 election. That’s 10 times the national median of 2 percent; the next highest bar for ballot access is Kentucky, which requires a party to get 15 percent of the vote to stay on the ballot.... '[I]t’s a form of voter restriction that’s keeping choices away from voters,' said Gavin Goodman, current chair of the Alabama Libertarians. Winger said 2018 election data gives him hope that the effort to get on the ballot won’t be in vain, as several states saw statewide Libertarian candidates get past that 20 percent threshold....

"'If we don’t make it, it’s going to be quite demoralizing for a number of us, but obviously we have to keep pushing,' Lane said. 'We’re going to keep pushing because we need change. They are hitting our pocketbooks too much. As long as I’m involved, I’m going to be pushing for the party to keep going. There’s too much at stake here.'"

Read more: https://www.alreporter.com/2022/10/03/how-the-libertarian-party-stormed-back-onto-the-alabama-ballot/