John Paul Tasker -
Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber said Tuesday the anti-vaccine mandate protest that gripped Ottawa for weeks last winter was beset by "conflict" among different factions pushing their own agendas.
Barber, a Saskatchewan trucker and small business owner, testified at the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) investigating the convoy that he and Brigitte Belton, an unvaccinated Alberta trucker, were the first to pitch a cross-country drive to protest a vaccine mandate for cross-border workers.
Tamara Lich, a former Western Canadian separatist, then joined the team to help organize the trek.
This trio then "organically" aligned with other groups also keen to take on the Liberal government and its COVID-19 policies, Barber said.
A self-described "internet troll," Barber said he connected with these disparate groups through social media platforms such as TikTok — where he has tens of thousands of followers who flocked to his account during the worst of the pandemic as he attacked COVID-related policies.
"The word started to spread. It was completely organic — everything just fell right into place," Barber said. "A bunch of different groups came together and had input in the planning."
The result was a "power struggle" between his group of mostly Western Canadian truckers and other elements like Canada Unity, an outfit opposed to mask mandates and vaccine passports. Canada Unity produced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) calling for the overthrow of the Liberal government.
The group's founder, James Bauder, called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be arrested and "charged with treason."
Barber said he never actually read the MOU and didn't support a movement to seize power in Ottawa.
"I believe I just ignored it. I have no clue what's in the document. I wasn't into that sort of thing," Barber said.
Barber said that had he known at the outset that Bauder and his organization would join the convoy while calling for the government's overthrow, he would have "promptly told them to go home."
Barber, who testified that he is vaccinated, said he only came to Ottawa to protest border restrictions — policies he said hurt his business because he employed unvaccinated drivers who couldn't travel to the U.S.
"I remember calling on Mr. Bauder and having him renounce the MOU part of the way through the convoy," Barber testified.
Related video: City of Ottawa, police were warned about convoy protesters’ plans
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"There was too much highlight, too much spotlight on this document that we didn't have anything to do with."
"We had a little bit of conflict between Canada Unity and Taking Back Our Freedoms," he said, referring to a group led by former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Brian Peckford.
Pat King, left, poses for photos in front of Parliament Hill as truckers and their supporters protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa on February 16, 2022.© Patrick Doyle/Reuters
Barber said he also occasionally clashed with Pat King, a far-right organizer with a history of incendiary social media posts.
King, who amassed a large following on Facebook, encouraged people to flock to Ottawa to join the movement.
"Pat and I had a power struggle between each other — that was evident. It was a power struggle back and forth over control," Barber said.
Barber said the original convoy organizers felt "some concern" when the media reported on King's previous violent and racist comments. While he said he was bothered by some of the bad headlines King's comments had generated, Barber added he never actually asked King to leave the convoy.
Text messages tabled at the commission Tuesday show the convoy organizers were worried about losing King-aligned supporters if he was removed.
Freeland received a death threat
Barber testified that all he wanted was a peaceful protest against mandates he perceived as unfair. But the government of Canada's lawyer tabled documents before the commission Tuesday that showed the Barber-Lich faction disseminated "daily event and safety report" flyers to their contingent offering questionable information about Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and her association with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The WEF has been the focus of multiple bogus conspiracy theories throughout the pandemic.
The day after one flyer about Freeland was disseminated among some in the convoy, she received a death threat from someone named "Larry Jenkins."
Jenkins said Freeland would "get a bullet to the head" for "lying about COVID-19."
Barber said he "unequivocally" denounces such violent threats.
He said he played no role in writing the flyers that cited Freeland and the WEF.
"I was purely here for the mandates. My job was truck safety, truck issues, making sure everyone was looked after. My main job was working with law enforcement," Barber said, speaking of his role as liaison with police who were trying to maintain order.
Barber also was forced to account Tuesday for his past anti-Muslim and racist social media posts. He's also previously displayed a Confederate flag — a holdover from the U.S. Civil War that is often associated with racist and far-right elements — in his truck shop.
Barber said he's a changed man.
"I can honestly say that if anyone learned anything or grew during the convoy, it was me. I was a different person nine months ago. Coming out here and seeing the amount of love, all different colours, all different races ... it changed me," he said.
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