Friday, February 11, 2022

46% of Canadians sympathize with trucker convoy, but many disagree with their tactics: poll

WATCH: Ipsos Public Affairs CEO Darrell Bricker shares results of a poll about Canadians’ support for the trucker protests occupying Ottawa. While many Canadians don’t support the blocking of infrastructure, the truckers’ message against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and frustrations, resonates with roughly 46 per cent of Canadians – especially the younger demographic and those less affluent.

The trucker convoy protest movement against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions that has paralyzed the Canadian capital and spilled over to key Canada-U.S. border crossings has the sympathy of many Canadians, according to a new poll.

An Ipsos poll published Thursday and conducted exclusively for Global News showed that nearly 46 per cent of Canadians say they “may not agree with everything” the trucker convoy says or does, but the frustration of protesters is “legitimate and worthy” of sympathy.

This sympathy has risen to 61 per cent particularly among Canadians aged 18 to 34, according to the poll.

READ MORE: Canadians less trusting of governments as COVID wears on for second year: poll

On the other hand, 54 per cent of Canadians who participated in this poll believe that people taking part in the protests do not “deserve any of our sympathy” and that what they “have said and done is wrong.”

“It’s not that people are tired. They’re very frustrated,” Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos public affairs told Global News. “And what’s happened is that this protest has become a lightning rod for that frustration.”

Bricker said the results of the poll show that Canadians don’t necessarily agree with the blocking of Parliament Hill in Ottawa or the Nazi imagery popping up in some protests, but most are frustrated with the COVID-19 mandates.

“Canada has one of the highest levels of vaccination, so Canadians have listened and complied…yet we’re still stuck. They feel they’ve done whatever it is that they were asked to do and they feel that we still haven’t gotten back on track,” Bricker said.

“That’s where the (general population and the truckers) align,” said Bricker.

As of Thursday, the protesters have been encamped in Ottawa for 14 days.

Trucker protests: Demonstrators gather at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport

The protest initially sprung up in response to a federal rule that all Canadian truckers seeking to cross the border from the United States would need to be vaccinated in order to avoid a 14-day quarantine. That mandate went into effect on Jan. 15 — and the United States’ own vaccine mandate for truckers was imposed a week later.

READ MORE: Liberal MP tells Trudeau to ‘stop dividing Canadians’ with COVID-19 approach

But as the trucks rolled towards Ottawa, their message became increasingly muddied. Organizers were found to have made hateful comments and one had ties to a hate group. Some participants extended the goal to an end to all public health mandates. Some have called for Trudeau to resign.

As the frustration continues to connect with the Canadian population, Bricker said the level of support for the convoy protesters will also continue to grow.

As far as political inclinations go, the polling showed 59 per cent of Conservative voters agree with the frustration expressed by the convoy protesters, while 44 per cent of Bloc, 43 per cent of NDP and 30 per cent of Liberal voters are aligned with the view that the convoy protesters deserve sympathy.

Fredericton braces for COVID-19 protest convoy

“What we’re seeing in the numbers is that it’s younger people who are most interested in the message of the people who are occupying downtown Ottawa…so their belief in all of this is that this is less about the politics and more about genuine suffering that’s taking place among a group of the population that they can sympathize with,” Bricker said.

He added that as far as politics are concerned, there isn’t “unanimity in any political party at the moment.”

For this poll, Canadians were also asked whether or not they agreed with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau choosing not to negotiate with the truck protesters.

READ MORE: Trudeau: Ottawa residents need their ‘lives back,’ won’t commit to negotiate with truckers

On Feb. 3rd, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the people living in Ottawa deserve to get their lives back as the so-called “freedom convoy” continues to occupy downtown streets, but gave no sign that he’s willing to negotiate.

Results show that 53 per cent agree that he shouldn’t negotiate with them.

“The other half of Canadians say that he should be at least giving it a try. So the level of support behind the government in terms of the position that they’ve taken regarding these protests is not strong. It’s quite divided and fragile, and where it seems to be going is against what the government’s position is,” said Bricker.

“So saying that you’re not going to negotiate…is something that’s going to be difficult to sustain over time,” he added.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between Feb. 8-9, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

BREAKING 
Canada's Ontario province declares state of emergency amid trucker protests
A person holds a Canadian flag as truckers and supporters continue blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, in protest against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada February 11, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Kanishka Singh and Ismail Shakil
February 11 2022 

Canada's Ontario province declared a state of emergency on Friday, amid the ongoing trucker protests against Covid mandates, Premier Doug Ford told reporters.

"I will convene Cabinet to use legal authorities to urgently enact orders that will make crystal clear it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and service along critical infrastructure," Ford said in a press briefing.

Ford also pledged new legal action against protesters, including fines and potential jail time for non-compliance with the government's orders.

Read More

State of emergency declared in Ottawa due to anti-vaccine mandate convoy

The latest comes as the Canadian government is coming under increasing pressure from the United States to resolve anti-vaccine mandate protests that are impacting the economy in both countries with border blockades, including a 5-day shutdown of the vital Ambassador Bridge.

The "Freedom Convoy" by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, mirrored by the U.S. government, began with the occupation of the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The truckers then blocked the Ambassador Bridge earlier this week, and shut down two other smaller border crossings.


People walk with Canadian flags as truckers and supporters continue blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, in protest against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada February 11, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

The closure of the bridge, North America's busiest international land border crossing and a key supply route for Detroit's carmakers, has halted some auto output and left officials scrambling to limit economic damage.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Friday said she has been pushing the Canadian government to get the protest under control and that the bridge blockade was hurting her state.

"The Canadian government has to do whatever it takes to safely and swiftly resolve this," Whitmer told CNN in an interview.

The Biden administration on Thursday urged Canada to use federal powers to ease the disruption.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was working with municipal leaders to end the blockade. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said federal police forces would be deployed to Windsor, near the bridge, and to Ottawa.

Mendicino is scheduled to speak with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday, his office confirmed. Ontario's provincial government was also expected to make an announcement about the protests on Friday.

Police in Windsor, Ontario, which borders Detroit, said they had received additional resources from outside jurisdictions to "support a peaceful resolution to the current demonstration at and near the Ambassador Bridge."

In Ottawa, the epicenter of the protests, police were waiting on Thursday for a request for provincial and federal reinforcements to be completed. They have made 25 arrests so far. City police chief Peter Sloly expects the reinforcements to arrive in the next 48 hours ahead of a potential rise in protesters in the city over the weekend.

"This is an entirely sophisticated level of demonstrators. They have the capability to run strong organization here provincially and nationally, and we're seeing that play out in real time," Sloly told reporters.

Truckers and supporters continue blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, in protest against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada February 11, 2022. 
REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Canada sends 75pc of its exports to the United States and the bridge usually handles 8,000 trucks a day, representing a quarter of all cross-border trade, or about C$500 million ($392.56 million) per day.

About C$100 million worth of auto parts cross the border each day, with many shipments timed to arrive just as manufacturers need them.

General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Chrysler parent Stellantis and Toyota Motor Corp have been impacted by the blockades.

While officials at the federal, provincial and municipal levels have held regular meetings, they have had limited impact on the ground.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has sought an injunction from the Ontario Superior Court to have the protesters at the bridge removed, adding that he was striving to resolve the issue peacefully and ensure that nobody gets hurt.

As many pandemic-weary Western countries near the two-year mark on coronavirus restrictions, copycat protests have spread to Australia, New Zealand and France, although the wave of infections caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant has begun to subside in some places.

Ontario government gets court order cutting off donations meant to fund truck protestors
Author of the article: Elizabeth Payne
Publishing date: Feb 10, 2022 • 
The "Freedom Convoy" continued on Wellington Street in Ottawa, February 10, 2022. PHOTO BY JEAN LEVAC /POSTMEDIA

The Ontario government moved to choke off funding to convoy protesters Thursday, successfully seeking a court order preventing anyone from using the millions of dollars raised for the convoy through the fundraising platform GiveSendGo.

In a statement, Ivana Yelich, spokesperson for Premier Doug Ford, said the province’s attorney general brought an application in the Superior Court of Justice for an order of restraint “prohibiting ay person from disposing of, or otherwise dealing with, in any manner whatsoever, any and all monetary donations made through the Freedom Convoy 2022 and Adopt-a-Trucker campaign pages on the GiveSendGo online fundraising platform.”

The order was issued by the court Thursday afternoon.

“It binds any and all parties with possession or control over these donations,” the statement said.

The move was met with anger by convoy protest organizer Chris Barber, who warned it would create a backlash that would bring in more protesters.

“Bring it on. This is making it worse. It is going to blow up in their faces because we are not going anywhere.”

He said the movement has growing support and has funds coming in from various sources.

Barber claimed 3,000 more trucks are coming from western Canada and the court order will bring more protests.

“Border crossings shut down. Auto plants are laying off. What do you think is going to happen?”

Emilie Taman, one of the lawyers working on the proposed class-action lawsuit that resulted in a court injunction barring convoy truckers from honking their horns, called the restraint order involving the money raised through GiveSendGo significant.

To get such a court order the provincial attorney general would have to satisfy a judge that indictable offences had taken place, she noted.

This is the second time massive fundraising efforts in support of the movement that has seen protesters occupy Ottawa and now block the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor have been shut down.

Convoy organizers quickly moved to secure a new funding source last week after the popular GoFundMe platform closed off access to $10 million in donations raised through its website.

Since adopting GiveSendGo as their new fundraising platform, which bills itself as the leader in Christian fundraising, the convoy organizers have raised USD $8,413,569 as of Thursday evening.

GiveSendGo has previously hosted fundraising efforts conducted on behalf of the Proud Boys, a neo-facist group deemed a terrorist organization by the Canadian government.


In a video on the GiveSendGo website, Tamara Lich, a key organizer of the truckers’ protest, said GoFundMe had frozen the bulk of its funds after releasing $1 million.

Lich said the truckers decided to team with GiveSendGo “which will enable us to get donations into the hands of the truckers much, much quicker while everyone gets the rest of this stuff sorted out.”

This is the second time a court order has been used to impact the protest movement. Earlier this week, an Ontario Superior Court Judge issued an injunction against honking by the truckers, something, the court heard, that was damaging the hearing of nearby residents and making it difficult for people to live and work there.

The protests are entering their third week in Ottawa and an influx of supporters is expected this weekend, as has happened during the past two weekends. The situation has forced businesses, including the Rideau Centre, to close, putting thousands of people out of work and leaving hundreds of businesses unable to earn any money.

This week, protesters shut down the critical Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor with Detroit. The move resulted in auto and other companies closing and laying off workers because they can’t get the supplies they need.

The City of Ottawa has declared a state of emergency and there have been calls for more action to move trucks out of the city centre and away from the bridge.

-With files from Andrew Duffy.

MEET THE WHITE SUPREMACIST PROTESTER

DEMONSTRATORS DIG IN: "I’ll die on the battlefield"


"This is my war and I’ll die on the battlefield. I got nothing left to lose, right?”

Author of the article: Matthew Lapierre
Publishing date: Feb 11, 2022 •
Jamie, a protester who refused to give his last name, is among those camped out at a satellite demonstration site near Bronson Avenue.
 PHOTO BY MATTHEW LAPIERRE /Postmedia

At a small, makeshift camp in a parking lot on Bronson Avenue this week, four men sat around a fire burning inside a steel drum.

Their presence was an act of protest; they were among those who made their way to Ottawa pushing for an end to COVID-19 public health measures.

Among them was Jamie, from Sault Ste. Marie, a bearded veteran who walked with a cane and wore a leather jacket dotted with pins and patches. “NAVY. Here to save your ass, not kiss it,” one patch read. He nursed a cigarette as he spoke, declaring unapologetically that he had no filter. “I have a mouth and I’m going to use it.”

Jamie, and Brian, who is also from Sault Ste. Marie, travelled to Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates, initially. Brian described himself as a life-long conspiracy theorist who was anti-vaccine, though he said he had taken two doses. He has five grandchildren and his mother had passed away after taking a second dose, which he said motivated him to rebel against public health authorities. Neither wanted to give their last name.

“This is the biggest psy-op in human history,” Jamie said of the pandemic, as Brian nodded. “Well, after 9/11 this is the biggest one. I was a weapons tech in the navy and I know thermite when I see it.”

Jamie tossed the stub of a cigarette into the fire. He possessed a fuming hatred for communism, which he blamed on his Cold War military service, and both men distrusted mainstream media, who, they said, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid to lie.

Social media, Jamie said, was designed to make its users dumb and unable to think critically about government decisions. “A person is smart,” he said, “but people are dumb.”

Brian agreed. “Just watch stuff that gets taken down,” he said. “If you can’t find it two hours after seeing something, that’s usually probably truth because they don’t want the truth out.”

But he added that, in his view, the government had been working to keep people unaware and uninformed before the creation of the internet. “That’s why they put the fluoride in the water,” he said. Fluoride is added to drinking water in some jurisdictions as a safe, inexpensive way to improve the population’s dental health, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Dental Association. “That’s what they want you to think,” Brian said. He hadn’t drank tap water in 12 years, instead consuming water from a spring in the woods north of Sault Ste. Marie.


Both Brian and Jamie applied this line of thinking to other subjects. “They” wanted to track the population, Brian said. This was the reason for six-foot social distancing recommendations. “As soon as you have two people close together, they can’t tell one from the other.”

Jamie believed there was a nefarious reason children weren’t being taught cursive writing in school anymore. “What are all our most important documents written in? That beautiful calligraphy,” he said. “And, if you can’t read it, you’ll forget it. If you forget it, you take it away.”

“I truly believe that (Facebook and Meta co-founder Mark) Zuckerberg, though, is a lizard,” he said later, unprompted.  (DAVID ICKE ANTI-SEMITIC TROPE)


Both Jamie and Brian had fallen upon recent hardships. Jamie, who stood with the help of a cane and wore a patch that said “disabled Canadian veteran,” was having trouble receiving care for a lingering back injury. In addition to the loss of his mother, Brian had battled authorities in Sault Ste. Marie in an effort to open a school for children to attend without having to wear masks.

On the surface, their world views were networks of conspiracy theories. But their lack of trust in institutions stemmed from a deeper skepticism born from years of feeling abandoned and neglected — a feeling which, during the pandemic, only seemed to worsen.

Despite his hatred for communism, Jamie entered a tirade about income inequality and the redistribution of wealth, noting, correctly, that the wealth of the richest men on the planet had ballooned since the start of the pandemic.

“Take the 19 richest people on earth, take all their money from them,” Jamie said. “They want to have a Star Trek world where everybody’s living in harmony and nobody’s homeless, nobody’s hungry? Take the money from them bastards. Why do you have to keep coming after the little bastards? People that don’t have enough as it is. If I try to save any money, it’s just gone.”

“Facts,” another demonstrator said as he flipped burgers on an outdoor grill.

According to Jamie, a protester who refused to give his last name, “This is the biggest psy-op in human history. Well, after 9/11 this is the biggest one. I was a weapons tech in the navy and I know thermite when I see it.”
 PHOTO BY MATTHEW LAPIERRE /Postmedia

“My first pension check from veteran’s affairs was $62.50,” Jamie continued. “I sent it back to them saying, ‘What the hell am I supposed to do with that?’ I get 0.4 per cent raise every year. What’s that, a cup of coffee?”

They had come to Ottawa petitioning for freedom, but they were staying put, with ample food and other supplies donated by supporters, because they felt a deep sense of purpose and a need to feel heard.

“I’m prepared to die right here,” Jamie said, motioning to the parking lot where three RVs, a few trucks and a trailer sat. “I volunteered for two wars. Didn’t happen. This is my war and I’ll die on the battlefield. I got nothing left to lose, right?”

As the federal government continues to refuse to negotiate with the protesters for fear of legitimizing those who have caused chaos in Ottawa for two weeks, it appears Brian and Jamie will stay put for a long while yet.

To them, that didn’t sound like the worst outcome. Brian described Jamie as his brother and said he found God at the Ottawa protests. Both men spoke about the community they had discovered and the support they felt.

A third demonstrator approached as Jamie spoke, carrying a deck of cards, and asked if they would be up for a game of poker later.

“I never met any of these guys until a couple of days ago,” Jamie said, gesturing to Brian and the two other men, “but, if somebody came in here and tried to do anything to them, they’d have to kill me first.”

TRUCK CONVOY: Protest enters Day 15, as Ford declares state of emergency; Province will introduce new enforcement measures

Author of the article: Staff Reporter
Publishing date: Feb 11, 2022 • 
People gathered in Downtown Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy protest, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022.
 PHOTO BY ASHLEY FRASER /Postmedia


The “Freedom Convoy” that converged in Ottawa on Jan. 28 began in response to the federal government’s move to require that Canadian truck drivers crossing the U.S. border be fully vaccinated, but has evolved into a protest of all public health measures aimed at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers say they will not end their protest until all measures are dropped.

What you need to know:

Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency in Ontario and the government will enact new emergency measures in an effort to end the “illegal occupation” in Ottawa and the related blockades at international border crossings in Windsor

Downtown bus detours and closures continued Friday as the protest marked a full two weeks in the capital. Residents are advised to avoid non-essential travel in the downtown core.

There will be lane closures on the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge over a third weekend of protests “out of an abundance of caution and safety”

The key Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ont. and Detroit, Michigan remains closed Friday morning while delays of seven hours were reported at the Canadian border between Coutts, Alta. and Sweet Grass, Montana

The number of both police reinforcements and protesters were expected to surge again this weekend with Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly pleading with the latter: “Please do not come. There will be accountability for any unlawful criminal activities that occur in this city in relation to this demonstration”


12 p.m.

Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency in Ontario and the government will enact new emergency measures in an effort to end the “illegal occupation” in Ottawa and the related blockades at international border crossings in Windsor.

“I know these frustrations have reached a boiling point for many Canadians. The result is what we’re now seeing in various cities across our province and our country,” Ford said Friday.

Ford said the right to protest “cannot and must not extend to cutting off that lifeline” of trade at international crossings and told protesters in Ottawa who have “held the city hostage for two weeks” to go home.

“I want to say to those people: you have been heard loud and clear. Canada has heard you. My message to those still in Ottawa, and to those at our border crossings: please go home,” Ford said. “To those of you who have brought your children: please take them home. I urge you, it’s time to leave. And it’s time to do so peacefully.”

Ford said “there will be consequences for these actions and they will be severe.”

On Thursday, the province announced it had won a court order effectively freezing millions of dollars in donations raised for the protesters through the GiveSendGo online platform.

Attorney General Doug Downey applied for the court order, which prohibits anyone from distributing donations made to the “Freedom Convoy 2022” and “Adopt-a-Trucker” campaigns.


Ford said “more needs to be done” as he made the declaration of a state of emergency from Queen’s Park, where he was joined by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, Downey and Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney.

“I will convene cabinet to use legal authorities to urgently enact orders that will make crystal clear it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure,” Ford said.

“This will include protecting international border crossings, 400-series highways, airports, ports, bridges and railways.

“It will also include protecting the safe and essential movement of ambulatory and medical services, public transit, municipal and provincial roadways, as well as pedestrian walkways.”

Fines for non-compliance will be “severe,” Ford said, with a maximum penalty of $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment.

Ford said the government will also consider taking away the personal and commercial licenses of anyone who doesn’t comply with the orders.

The emergency orders will be temporary, but Ford said his government has “every intention to bring new legislation forward that will make these measures permanent in law.”

“We’ve tried and tried and tried,” he said. “The occupiers in Ottawa, they’re not listening. The trade problems that we would see if we didn’t clear the Ambassador Bridge would be unprecedented.”

Ford said “the world is watching” and he will “support our police as they do what it takes to restore law and order … We’re going to move as quickly as we can to clear the bridge (in Windsor), to get people’s lives back to normal in Ottawa, and we will use every tool in our toolbox to make sure that happens.”

The OPP has provided additional resources to police forces in Ottawa and Windsor following their requests for “operational support.”

Ford defended his government’s response to the developing crisis when asked by reporters why he waited until now to declare the emergency.


Ford acknowledged he was at his cottage on the weekend where, as reported by CTV News, he was photographed on his snowmobile.


“I’ve been on this phone almost 24/7 — along with the premiers, the U.S. ambassadors, the governor, the prime minister — around the clock,” Ford said. “Make no mistake, I have been engaged since the second this (was) happening and I’ll continue to engage with the authorities that we need to talk to.”

Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath of the NDP slammed the premier’s action as overdue in a statement Friday.


“Premier Doug Ford has had the power all along to stop the insurrection, and he chose not to use it,” Horwath said.

“Two weeks ago, he could have taken action — before people lost two weeks of income, and health-care workers were harassed in the streets, and before truckers trying to deliver food and medical supplies were stuck at the border for days and our supply chain was squeezed …

“Until peace has been restored, I will continue to push every hour that the powers Ford has are actually used to end these illegal, dangerous occupations.”


11:50 a.m.

There will be lane closures on the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge over a third weekend of protests “out of an abundance of caution and safety,” Public Services and Procurement Canada said Friday.

Two lanes in each direction will be open to vehicles during lane closures from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday.

But PSPC said it was “monitoring the situation closely and may implement additional unplanned lane closures for the bridge if required.”

As of Friday, the Macdonald-Cartier, Chaudière and Champlain bridges were open, the Portage Bridge was closed except for southbound essential workers, and the Alexandra Bridge was closed after being open southbound until 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, Ottawa police reiterated Friday afternoon they “are not returning seized items associated to the demonstration, such as fuel.”

10:30 a.m.

Several dozen vehicles, mostly heavy trucks adorned with Canadian flags, sat parked on private property in Embrun, near the intersection of St. Guillaume Road and Route 200.

A sign near the entrance of the lot described the area as “East route parking Freedom Convoy 2k22.”

The demonstrators appeared to have been camped at the site for some time. A line of 10 portable toilets was visible and a festival tent had been set up. The camp residents did not answer questions.



Pickup trucks frequently entered the lot, which is marked with a no-trespassing sign, including several vehicles flying American flags and one with a crossed assault rifle insignia on its door.

9:30 a.m.

College Ward Coun. Rick Chiarelli appeared for a livestreamed interview with convoy supporter Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson.

“You are a hero and you are very appreciated at this hour where speaking the truth has become an act of courage,” Thompson told Chiarelli at the outset.

Chiarelli said that in a conflict like this, it normally falls on politicians to start a dialogue with both sides “and make sure that everyone feels heard” but he is not aware of any members of council going down to talk to people or many members of Parliament who have done so.

“There are only two ways to get rid of your enemy in this case — if you’re calling them your enemy — and one of them is to make them your friend,” Chiarelli said. “And so we just thought it was important that somebody go down and talk to them and hear what they’re saying and not rely on the mainstream media for that.”

Chiarelli started getting a paycheque again in November after a 450-day salary suspension, ordered by city council for conduct violations in light of an integrity commissioner investigation.

Chiarelli’s office and three women who were interviewed by the College ward councillor for jobs filed complaints about his alleged lewd and inappropriate behaviour.

Chiarelli has denied the allegations.

8:30 a.m.

Two weeks after a truck convoy first rolled into the capital, the City of Ottawa again warned residents to avoid non-essential travel in the core on Friday.

Many roadways across the city will experience traffic delays and disruptions. All bus routes with service downtown were expected to remain on detour. Residents who need to get in and out of the downtown core were advised to O-Train Line 1 but Rideau Station can only be accessed through the William Street entrance.

That’s because the Rideau Centre remains closed after being shuttered due to the convoy Jan. 29.

The Ottawa Public Library’s Main and Rideau branches and Ottawa City Hall and its amenities remained closed. The vaccination clinic at the University of Ottawa Minto Sports Complex remains closed until Tuesday.

Policing costs for the ongoing protests in Ottawa have fluctuated between $700,000 and $800,000 per day, and that is expected to rise as reinforcements arrive, Chief Peter Sloly said Thursday. He said policing costs have already likely exceeded $10 million.

Thursday’s actions by members of the convoy included 60 to 70 light trucks circling the Ottawa airport in the morning and a “slow roll” of vehicles on Highway 417 in the afternoon.

Ottawa police said that if was “aware of a concerted effort to flood our 911 and non-emergency policing reporting line. This endangers lives and is completely unacceptable.”

More officers with “public order units” were expected to arrive in Ottawa from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area Thursday, Sloly said, and will be ready for “immediate deployment.”

Those officers will continue to arrive through the weekend, Sloly said, when protest numbers are once again expected to swell.

Sloly pleaded with those planning to attend the protest: “Please do not come,” he said. “There will be accountability for any unlawful criminal activities that occur in this city in relation to this demonstration.”

Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard said he’d heard of reports of “harassment” in Old Ottawa South and the Glebe Thursday “with no action from authorities.

“This is unacceptable,” Menard said, sharing plans for a community walk starting at Bank Street and Sunnyside Avenue at 10:30 a.m. Friday.



Demands are intensifying for an end to the protests paralyzing not only downtown Ottawa but also the border crossings near Coutts, Alta., Emerson, Man., and the busy Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge.



Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefed all the opposition leaders on the latest developments Thursday night and urged them to denounce the “illegal blockades and occupations happening across the country.”

Trudeau also posted on Twitter that federal officials would continue working with provincial and municipal governments to end the protests, which he warned are “hurting jobs, businesses, and our country’s economy.”

Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen joined the other party leaders on Thursday in calling on the protesters to stand down in order to stem the escalating economic damage resulting from the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the RCMP was sending reinforcements to Ottawa and Windsor.

The latter city was granted intervener status Thursday in an application for an injunction that would stop protesters blocking Canada-bound traffic at the Ambassador Bridge crossing. An Ontario Superior Court justice was set to hear submissions Friday.

The Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit is considered the busiest commercial land border crossing in North America.

The same court on Thursday granted a request from the Ontario government to freeze protesters’ access to millions in donations raised on the fundraising platform GiveSendGo.


The American platform was defiant, tweeting: “Canada has ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo” after the Ontario government got a court order freezing the distribution of the money raised.

Also south of the border, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a written statement urged Canadian authorities to immediately end the blockades that are now threatening her state’s economy by slowing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cross border trade.

But despite all the entreaties, the protests showed no signs of letting up.

– With files from Aedan Helmer, Megan Gillis, Postmedia, The Canadian Press
The Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ is backed by a Bangladeshi marketing firm and right-wing fringe groups

As American politicians call for stateside convoys, a Grid investigation finds signs that foreign actors, QAnon and hate pervade the movement’s support.


Supporters of the trucker convoy block traffic in the Canada-bound lanes of the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Canada, on Tuesday.
GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images


MISINFORMATION
Steve Reilly, Investigative Reporter,
Matt Stiles, Senior Data Visualization Reporter,
Benjamin Powers, Technology Reporter,
Anya van Wagtendonk, Misinformation Reporter,
and Jason Paladino, Investigative Reporter


February 11, 2022

A Bangladeshi firm appears to have played a key role in promoting the Ottawa protest online, and Grid has found increasing evidence of fringe conspiracies and violent extremism throughout the movement.

Online groups on platforms like Facebook and Telegram, together with fundraising campaigns on the GiveSendGo site, have formed digital lifelines for the ongoing Canadian action. They funnel moral support, supplies, manpower and money to the effort, even as they help spread baseless conspiracy theories and toxic rhetoric.

Grid reviewed the membership and content of those forums, spoke with extremist experts and conducted a comprehensive review of over 80,000 recorded donations to the convoy’s primary online fundraiser. Combined, they show how QAnon adherents and fringe, even supremacist, ideologies pervade the movement.

The ongoing convoy action centered in Ottawa has lasted nearly two weeks and disrupted traffic at three U.S.-Canada border crossings. Canadian authorities Thursday froze millions of dollars in funds from the chief crowdfunding campaign on GiveSendGo, the platform organizers used to raise financial support for truckers protesting covid vaccine mandates in Canada.

A Bangladeshi firm behind pro-trucker Facebook groups


Grid found that a Bangladeshi digital marketing firm was behind two of the largest Facebook groups related to the Canadian Freedom Convoy — at least until Facebook’s parent company, Meta, removed them Thursday following inquiries from Grid. The groups, “Freedom Convoy 2022″ and “Convoy to Ottawa 2022,” attracted a combined membership of more than 170,000 since the firm created them on Jan. 27 and Jan. 30, respectively.

Administrators for these Facebook groups included accounts tied to the Bangladeshi firm, as well as an apparently fraudulent “public figure” page claiming to belong to Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich. The page was among many deactivated by Meta. Lich did not respond to Grid’s requests for comment.

The Facebook groups tied to the Bangladeshi firm promoted calls for donations to the Ottawa organizers’ GiveSendGo campaign and pointed members to convoy-related events in Canada.

Grid reached a man Thursday who said he was Jakir Saikot, the founder of the firm. Saikot agreed to an interview on the condition the reporter conduct it by video call so Saikot could confirm the reporter’s identity. Saikot did not make himself visible for the call.

He was not involved in the fake Lich page, Saikot said, but confirmed he was behind the “Freedom Convoy 2022″ and “Convoy to Ottawa 2022″ groups.

“It was my own choice because I believe in freedom,” he said. “We have a right to talk freely.”

Saikot said he started the groups because he believes in the mission of the protesters. He said he received no payment to conduct his social media activity supporting a protest on the other side of the world.

“The big reason is freedom, and otherwise nothing,” he said. “No one paid us.”

For the Ottawa convoy, impostors and fraud in its online organizing appear to recur. Grid reported earlier this week on fraudulent Facebook groups supporting the Canadian convoy, which were administered by a hacked Facebook account belonging to a woman in Missouri.

The Ottawa action is not the only convoy effort that has received purported Bangladeshi support. In Australia, one major Facebook group promoting the “Convoy to Canberra” is reportedly controlled by a single Bangladeshi administrator. The same report found another Aussie convoy group controlled by an account using an AI-generated face as its profile picture.

Follow the money

A Grid analysis of the more than $8 million contributed to the Ottawa organizers’ GiveSendGo convoy campaign as of Thursday revealed most of the tens of thousands of donations were made anonymously and were for amounts of $100 or less. The largest recorded donation, for $215,000, had a note that it was “processed but not recorded.” GiveSendGo did not respond to inquiries from Grid.

Of the more than 80,000 donations we reviewed, donors did not enter any name to appear publicly on about half of the transactions. Dozens of donors included references to specific right-wing movements based in the U.S., like the QAnon acronym WWG1WGA (for the group’s slogan, “Where We Go One, We Go All”).

Thousands entered pseudonyms, often using names belonging to prominent figures including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or President Joe Biden. Many used phrases mentioning “freedom,” “mandate” or “tyranny.” Hundreds mentioned “Let’s Go, Brandon,” a minced oath used to express displeasure with Biden.

While most donations were small, several dozen backers gave $1,000 or more. Grid attempted to verify the identity of more than a dozen individuals publicly identified as large-dollar donors on the site. Most did not respond.

One who did is Peter Decker, a welding company owner from Motley, Minnesota. Decker told Grid he donated $3,000 to express his frustration with covid-19 rules that complicate his family’s ability to visit their relatives in Canada. His frustrations include requirements of negative tests and quarantining when the family arrived in Canada.

“It’s a peaceful protest that has and is spreading hope to the world,” he wrote in an email to Grid. “You see all the pain and hurt in just my family for no reason at all!”
Conspiracies, antisemitism and white supremacy are laced throughout

The fringe right, from QAnon to white supremacy, is present throughout the Ottawa action. One of the convoy’s lead organizers is Canadian James Bauder, reportedly a believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. Another, Lich, was an official for a wildly unpopular western Canadian separatist movement.

Beyond the organizers, the convoy has attracted even more extreme figures. On Thursday, Grid coverage noted in Ottawa the presence of a swastika, Confederate flags, extremist symbols and allegations of violent intolerance tied to convoy supporters.

Chris Saccoccia, who has livestreamed from Ottawa rallies, is a far-right influencer who goes by the name Chris Sky. The group Canadian Anti-Hate Network has reported on Saccoccia trafficking antisemitic conspiracy theories, including Holocaust denial. At least one member of the white supremacist Diagolon movement has reportedly also been present the protests.

Telegram, a United Arab Emirates-based social media platform that boasts 500 million users worldwide, is home to several pro-convoy channels. An administrator in one convoy channel posted a paragraphs-long conspiracy theory of how elites traffic children internationally using planes, which is why barricading bridges on the U.S.-Canada border was insufficient. The channel claims more than 80,000 subscribers, although such numbers are difficult to verify.

In another channel devoted to the Canadian convoy, a Telegram user posted, “It is not Trudeau’s choice to step down or to attempt to stay. It is the decision of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Frankly, the WEF cannot afford for Trudeau to step down. If he falls, Biden falls, Australia falls, New Zealand falls and all of Europe falls. Then the rest of the world joins in.”

Telegram channels devoted to QAnon and other conspiracy theories are lighting up with convoy discussions.

“The ELITES from the highest government officials have given the orders for MASS ARRESTS AND TOTAL MEDIA BLACKOUT AND CELL PHONE BLACKOUTS ( NO LIVE BROADCASTING),” reads one post. “~Orders coming from UN, DAVOS GROUP, CIA and world ELITES Who CONTROL the Canadian government~”

“This is something you frequently find,” said Ethan Porter, who leads the Misinformation/Disinformation Lab at George Washington University’s Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics. “People who are convinced that covid vaccines are part of the government conspiracy also believe that child abduction, as in child trafficking, is coordinated by global elites.”

“The thing to remember,” Porter said, “is that most people don’t believe this stuff.”
“I hope they clog up cities”

Right-wing U.S. politicians and media outlets have been supportive of the Ottawa convoy and expressed hope the action could be replicated stateside, even as convoy enthusiasts debate actions like disrupting Sunday’s Super Bowl.

“The Canadian trucker convoy is the single most successful human rights protest in a generation,” Fox News’ Tucker Carlson said Thursday.

“I hope the truckers do come to America,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told the Daily Signal, a publication of the right-wing Heritage Foundation. “I hope they clog up cities.”

At least nine members of Congress, all Republicans, have publicized their support for convoy participants on Twitter. Self-appointed organizers for a U.S.-based convoy have found quick support from conservative outlets.

U.S. convoy organizer Brian Brase has been making the rounds on Fox News, sitting down with Carlson as well as the network’s “Fox and Friends” morning show. Brase says he hopes to organize a cross-country convoy from Indio, California, to Washington, D.C., starting March 4. He did not reply to Grid’s inquiries.

The first Facebook group Brase created for a U.S. convoy attracted more than 130,000 followers — and was deactivated after some reportedly posted QAnon-related content, which violates Facebook’s rules. A second group now has 60,000 followers.

“We’re trying to get the routing completed where they link up at certain meet points,” Brase explained on a radio interview Feb. 4. “And then of course we all converge on D.C. from all directions at the same exact time.” The group’s Telegram channel is soliciting volunteers and donations of items like tents, generators and PA systems.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security released a bulletin to law enforcement warning that trucker protests traveling from California to the nation’s capital had the potential to “severely disrupt transportation, federal government operations, commercial facilities, and emergency services through gridlock and potential counterprotests.”

Brase’s group is encouraging truckers to keep gas receipts, promising that they will reimburse the expenses upon arrival in Indio.

“We are doing this. Nonprofit bank accounts, lawyers, CPAs — it’s legit,” Brase said in the Feb. 4 interview. He acknowledged that they did not have an online fundraising mechanism yet but were getting to that “shortly.”

Anna Deen contributed to this story.


Steve Reilly
Investigative Reporter
Steve Reilly is an investigative reporter for Grid focusing on threats to democracy.BySteveReilly

Matt Stiles
Senior Data Visualization Reporter
Matt Stiles is the senior data visualization reporter for Grid.stiles

Benjamin Powers
Technology Reporter
Benjamin Powers is a technology reporter for Grid where he explores the interconnection of technology and privacy within major stories.benjaminopowers

Anya van Wagtendonk
Misinformation Reporter
Anya van Wagtendonk is the misinformation reporter at Grid, focusing on the impact of false information on policy, elections and social behavior.twiceanya

Jason Paladino
Investigative Reporter
Jason Paladino is an investigative reporter for Grid where he focuses on national security policy, U.S. foreign involvement and corruption.jason_paladino
RIGHT WING UKR NATIONALISTS
Ukrainian bakery in Toronto vandalized with pro-Russian graffiti

Ryan Rocca - Tuesday
Global News

A Toronto bakery that has expressed support for Ukraine amid the country's ongoing tensions with Russia has been vandalized with pro-Russian graffiti.

Borys Wrzesnewskyj, the president of Future Bakery, located on North Queen Street in Etobicoke near Highway 427, told Global News he believes the vandalism occurred sometime early Tuesday.

"This isn't just graffiti, nor is it just an act of vandalism. This is an attempt to intimidate," Wrzesnewskyj, who is also a former Liberal member of Parliament, said.

"It's a hate crime."

Read more:

How Russia is weaponizing religion against Ukraine

A large banner was hung on the outside of the bakery, stating "#StandWithUkraine."

Various phrases were written on the banner and the wall around it, including "F--- Ukrian (sic) and Canada," "#Losers," and "Russia is power," as well as the word "Russia" in both Russian and English.

Words were also covered on the banner, to create "#Putin."

"This is an act of cowardice. It will not intimidate," Wrzesnewskyj said.

"We live in the best country in the world, a free and democratic country. I'm blessed to be here as the child and grandchild of refugees from World War II. Our family knows the consequences of war. It's time to stand with Ukraine and stop Putin now."

Russia has recently placed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an attack on Ukraine within days or weeks, as Washington and its European allies continued efforts to offer Putin a diplomatic way out of the crisis.

Moscow has said it is not planning an invasion but could take unspecified military action if its security demands are not met.

Those include a promise that NATO will never admit Ukraine, a demand the United States and the 30-nation western security alliance have called unacceptable.

Wrzesnewskyj said it's unfortunate that when Ukraine and Russia are so close to war, there are those in Canada who support Putin.

"That speaks to the strength of Russian propaganda, Kremlin propaganda," Wrzesnewskyj said.

Read more:

Ukrainian Canadian Congress gathers in Saskatoon to ‘Stand With Ukraine’

He said the graffiti was discovered at 5:45 a.m. when the bakery's first delivery truck of the day arrived.

There is a mural around the banner that was also impacted by the vandalism and Wrzesnewskyj said he's not sure if it can be saved.

He said there aren't cameras outside of the bakery, but they will now be installed.

"It's a well-lit area. Even though it was done under the cover of darkness, it takes some gall to do this," Wrzesnewskyj said.

Lubomyr Luciuk, a member of the Ukrainian-Canadian Civil Liberties Association and also a friend of Wrzesnewskyj, said he found out about the vandalism Tuesday morning.



France’s Macron meets with Russia’s Putin over Ukraine

"This morning I got up and found in my inbox these images that shook me to my core. I mean, it's not just the criminal vandalism. It's not just the vulgarity. It's the meanness of it," Luciuk said.

He said he wants to see the federal government, as well as police, address the incident.

Alexandra Chyczij, president of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress National, also called for law enforcement investigations and for the vandalism to be addressed by government officials.

She said anti-Ukrainian incidents are an "ongoing issue in Canada."

"This is a cowardly form of intimidation. This is a hate crime against the Ukrainian-Canadian community," Chyczij said.

The Toronto Police Service told Global News police attended Tuesday and a report was taken as part of a mischief investigation.

Police said the officer in charge of the investigation will then contact the hate crime unit on behalf of the complainant.

-- with files from Reuters
‘Learning moment’: The Rock backtracks on Joe Rogan after hearing racial slurs
WHEN SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT 
REMOVE FROM MOUTH FIRST
Michelle Butterfield - Monday

© Getty ImagesDwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Joe Rogan.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson appears to be reconsidering some of his personal support for Joe Rogan after a video was shared showing the podcast host using racial slurs repeatedly during his broadcasts.

In a tweet Friday, Johnson said he was not aware that Rogan had used the N-word repeatedly on The Joe Rogan Experience. Earlier in the week, Johnson had shared support for Rogan in response to the controversy surrounding his podcast exploring anti-vaccine theories and COVID-19 misinformation.

“Thank you so much for this,” Johnson — whose father is Black — replied to a tweet from author Don Winslow.



“I hear you as well as everyone here 100% I was not aware of his N-word use prior to my comments, but now I’ve become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me.”

Singer India Arie shared a compilation video late last week showing 23 clips from Rogan's show; in the clips, he uses the N-word 24 times. It also includes footage of him making jokes about Black neighbourhoods and the movie Planet of the Apes.

Arie posted the video to explain why she asked Spotify to remove her catalogue from their streaming service.

Commentary:
Untangling the Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan-Spotify situation

“He shouldn’t even be uttering the word,” Arie said. “Don’t even say it, under any context. Don’t say it. That’s where I stand. I have always stood there.”

In an apology video posted on Instagram on Saturday, Rogan said it was the “most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.”

During the video, Rogan said footage that emerged of him using the epithet had been taken out of context, but looked “horrible, even to me.”

"Now, I haven't said it in years, but for a long time, when I would bring that word up, like, if it would come up in conversation and instead of saying the n-word, I would just say the word — I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing," he explained.

“It’s not my word to use. I am well aware of that now, but for years I used it in that manner,” he continues. “I never used it to be racist because I’m not racist.”

Fans of Johnson were divided last week after the former wrestler shared some words of encouragement on a video that Rogan had posted in response to the fallout.

In the video, Rogan said he would “maybe try harder to get people with differing opinions,” after several musicians, including Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, pulled their music from the streaming service, citing what Young called Rogan’s vaccine “disinformation.”

In response to the video, Johnson wrote: “Great stuff here, brother. Perfectly articulated.”

Video: Joe Rogan addresses Spotify controversy

He added that he looked forward to “coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you.”

Media reports on Saturday said more than 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast had been removed from the Spotify Technology SA service.

Last week, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek said it's important the streaming service doesn't "take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.”

Read more:
Fans divided after Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson shares support for Joe Rogan

In a statement over the weekend, Ek said: “While I strongly condemn what Joe has said … I want to make one point very clear — I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer … We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but cancelling voices is a slippery slope.”

Should Rogan eventually leave Spotify, it appears a suitor has emerged: Rumble, a video streaming platform, has offered Rogan a spot for his podcast.



In a tweet on Monday, Rumble offered Rogan $100 million over four years should he choose to part ways with Spotify.

"This is our chance to save the world," a letter credited to Rumble CEO Chris Pawlovski said. "And, yes, this is totally legit."

— With files from Reuters
Appeals court rules in Biden’s favor on abortion referrals

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Federally funded family planning clinics can continue to make abortion referrals for now, a federal court ruled Tuesday, in a setback for a dozen Republican attorneys general who have sued to restore a Trump-era ban on the practice.


The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati denied a request by the 12 states to pause rules for the federal government’s family planning program while their case is heard. The states were eager to stop implementation before the next round of federal grants starts rolling out in March

At issue are new rules from Democratic President Joe Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services that returned the federal family planning program, called Title X, to how it ran under the Obama administration, when clinics were able to refer women seeking abortions to a provider.

Rules that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who brought the lawsuit, wants permanently reinstated were put into place in 2019 under former President Donald Trump, a Republican. One required federally funded family planning clinics to be physically and financially independent of abortion clinics. The other required them to refrain from referring patients for abortions.

States joining the challenge are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. Not all states participate in Title X.

Yost argues the rules were intended as firewalls between family planning clinics, which can receive taxpayer funding, and their abortion services, which cannot.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Black rejected that argument in a ruling last month, denying a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily paused the rules. The 12 states appealed his decision to the 6th Circuit, which said they failed to prove they’d be irreparably harmed by the rules going into effect.

Black said opponents centered their case on a policy disagreement, not a legal one.

“The principle that money is fungible must have theoretical limits or else no government appropriations for specific purposes could ever be feasible,” Black wrote Dec. 29. “Title X no more subsidizes abortions than funding a homeless shelter subsidizes substance abuse.”

The Biden administration’s reversal of the Trump-era rules in October came as political and legal battles over abortion grow sharper amid burgeoning efforts by Republicans to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yost emphasized that his lawsuit does not challenge the right to an abortion as guaranteed under Roe.

The prohibition against family planning clinics funded under Title X using public funds for abortions was contained in the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970, Yost said. Black pointed out that the Trump-era rules were in place for less than two years, during which time 1.5 million fewer patients participated in Title X-funded services.

The program makes available more than $250 million a year to clinics to provide birth control and basic health care services, mainly to low-income women, many of them from minority communities.

The rules established under Trump prompted a mass exit by service providers affiliated with Planned Parenthood, as well as several states and other independent organizations.

Groups representing the clinics said they hoped the Biden administration’s reversal would lead some 1,300 local facilities that left in protest to return.

Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
Equal Rights Amendment: Three Senate Republicans urge archivist not to certify the ERA


LARRY,                                 CURLY,                                     MOE

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN  - Yesterday 


Three Republican senators are calling on the Archivist of the United States David Ferriero to commit to not certifying the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution, as ERA advocates demand Ferriero publish the amendment before he retires.

In a letter dated February 8, Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mitt Romney of Utah wrote to Ferriero, seeking his "reassurance" that he won't act on the ERA "until it has been properly ratified and legal questions regarding such ratification have been resolved."

Backers of the ERA have been pressuring Ferriero, who's set to leave office in April, to publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution as part of his ministerial duties, arguing that it has satisfied all the necessary constitutional requirements and in fact took effect last month. However, key legal questions remain unresolved such as whether states can rescind ratifications of an amendment and if Congress has the power to lift a deadline retroactively.

"In light of the calls for you to disregard your duty and certify the ERA, we write to ask for your commitment that you, and the acting Archivist who will take over in April, will not certify or publish the ERA," the Republican senators wrote to Ferriero, arguing that the ERA has "failed to achieve ratification by the states and is no longer pending before them."

CNN has reached out to the National Archives and Records Administration for comment about the letter. The Archives declined to comment to CNN on Thursday when asked whether Ferriero plans to certify the ERA, citing pending litigation.

All three GOP senators sit on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, with Portman as its top Republican, which will consider the nomination of the next archivist and is one of the panels with oversight of the Archives.

The three Republicans' stance on this issue contrasts with their colleagues, GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who cosponsoring a bill that would remove the ERA deadline.

Under Article V of the Constitution, three-fourths of the states -- or 38 states -- are required to ratify constitutional amendments.

Congress passed the ERA in 1972, sending it to the states with a seven-year deadline for them to ratify the amendment. It later extended the deadline to 1982.

But by then, only 35 states had signed off on the ERA -- and five of those states rescinded their support of the ERA within that time.


In recent years, Virginia, Illinois and Nevada approved the ERA, with Virginia claiming to be the 38th -- and thus final necessary -- state to ratify the amendment in 2020.


Advocates argue that states cannot rescind amendment ratifications and that the ERA's deadline had not lapsed since it was not included in the ERA's body text.

Opponents say the three states' ratifications are invalid and point to the five states' rescissions as part of why the ERA is not ratified. They also say Congress cannot change or remove its deadline after it expired.

They also note an opinion from an Obama-appointed federal district judge in March 2021 that the deadline to ratify the ERA "expired long ago."

The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel also issued a legal opinion, under the Trump administration in 2020, that said the deadline to ratify the ERA expired and that the archivist cannot certify it.

The OLC said in a new opinion released last month that its 2020 memo is "not an obstacle either to Congress's ability to act with respect to ratification of the ERA or to judicial consideration of questions regarding the constitutional status of the ERA." The office did not withdraw the 2020 memo nor instruct the archivist to publish the ERA.

House Democrats passed their version of the bill to remove the ERA deadline last year, and are trying to pass a resolution that recognizes ratification of the ERA. It currently has 155 Democratic cosponsors -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- and was referred to the Judiciary Committee.

House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, a longtime advocate for the ERA, also wrote to Ferriero in October, urging him to "carry out your statutory duties to certify and publish the ERA without further delay."

This story has been updated with further developments Thursday.

Parliamentary committee grills CRTC chair on meeting with Bell CEO, reversal of internet decision

MobileSyrup- Wednesday


Ian Scott told the parliamentary committee of industry and technology his meeting with Bell CEO Mirko Bibic in an Ottawa pub was by the rules.

The Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC) chair spoke at the committee on February 8th on the ongoing work the organization is completing. In his remarks, Scott said the CRTC understands the growing concerns by both the government and citizens to support competition and the affordability of internet service providers.

But his comments didn’t escape him from being grilled on the CRTC’s decision to reverse a 2019 finding that internet rates were too high in Canada and needed to be lowered. The decision came after the CRTC completed a review that lasted three years.

The decision was put on hold on May 27th, 2o21

“Now, why did we reverse course? To put it simply, we got the initial decision wrong. We couldn’t move ahead with rates that we knew were erroneous,” Scott said.

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith asked Scott how they got it so wrong. “How can we have confidence in your continued work if, after three years of a comprehensive review, you get it so completely wrong?”

Scott said costing processes are complex, and the CRTC made a decision that was believed to be correct. After getting appeals from some telecom companies, a “thorough analysis” was conducted and “additional information from all parties” was sought, Scott said, leading to the reversal.

Regarding his encounter with Bibic, Scott said all of his meetings are “pursuant to the rules.”

Scott addressed the meeting for the first time in a February 2nd article with the Toronto Star. He told the publication, “nothing inappropriate was done.”

Conservative MP Tracy Gray asked Scott if any individual or company was told about the reversal before it became public.

“No one gets advice, or advised, or communicated commission decisions in advance of their publications,” Scott said.

Since the article was published, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) filed an application with the CRTC asking Scott to rescue himself from decisions involving internet service competition until an appeal independent service provider TekSavvy filed with the Federal Court is heard.

CNOC’s application states the meeting his Bibic happened only one week after telecom companies, including Bell, filed an appeal against the CRTC’s 2019 decision.

Scott’s speech to the committee is available here.

Image source: CRTC (screenshot)