“memorandum of understanding” that called to overthrow the federal government.
Ryan Tumilty , Christopher Nardi - Yesterday
Pat King livestreaming from the Ottawa airport during the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa. Screengrab from Facebook© Provided by National Post
OTTAWA – Many groups and individuals fought for control over the Freedom Convoy seeking its power, influence and the millions of dollars it fundraised online, said a lawyer for convoy organizers testifying at the Emergencies Act commission.
Keith Wilson, an Edmonton lawyer, came to represent many convoy organizers through the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. He said he was asked to go to Ottawa shortly after the convoy arrived in the city and took a private plane, picking up other lawyers in different cities. Wilson said he was told the private plane was necessary because several of his fellow passengers were unvaccinated.
He said when he arrived he found several different groups who all wanted to claim credit for the convoy. He said some organizers saw the need for clearer goals and better coordination, but others were in it for their own reasons.
“Other groups seem to want to reshape the Freedom Convoy into their own event, branded theirs and I got the distinct impression from some others that they were trying to get their hands on what at that point was $10 million in donations,” he said.
Wilson still represents several of the convoy members. He told the commission he received a waiver from convoy members to be able to testify.
The commission is tasked with determining whether the Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act was justified.
In his witness statement, he said Pat King, who is set to testify later on Wednesday, in particular seemed to be using the convoy for his own gains.
“Pat King appeared to Wilson to be an attention seeker and a rabble rouser,” he said. “Wilson did not care to be in the same room with King and had no time for him.”
Wilson said he represented the convoy organizers during injunction hearings and with GoFundMe over the donations the convoy raised. GoFundMe ultimately refused to provide the donations, and the convoy turned to another website to raise funds.
Speaking to reporters after his testimony, Wilson said the Emergencies Act was a complete overreaction. He said police never offered an alternate place to protest. Wilson said despite the divisions in the convoy, he believes organizers could have brought all the truckers into a smaller footprint and reduced the impact of the protest.
“My simple answer to that is, look what happened on the Monday despite all the problems, the police admitted to blocking the movement of the trucks, over 100 vehicles were moved, most of which left downtown and only 23 went up to Wellington,” he said. “The plan that we started to implement was working until it was stopped by the police.”
Tom Marazzo, a former Canadian Forces Member, testified after Wilson. He said he lost his job at Georgian College after the institution brought in a vaccine mandate. He said he assumed medical professionals and lawyers would come forward to oppose the mandates and was disappointed when they were mostly silent.
He said he was inspired by the truckers’ protest and felt they could bring about real change.
“It was the truckers that gave me an opportunity to actually get into fighting for my kids’ rights.”
Marazzo said once he got to Ottawa, he met up with other organizers and worked on logistics for the convoy, including aiming to keep emergency lanes open among other tasks.
He said getting individual truckers to move was not easy and took time.
“I had no legitimate or legal authority to tell anyone to do anything and I wasn’t signing anyone’s paycheque,” he said. “This was a case where you had to use your soft skills to communicate and get people to buy in with what you’re trying to do collectively.”
Marazzo said he cautioned police, including after a raid on a logistic site for the convoy was not to push the protesters.
“My conversations with the Ottawa police the next day was,if you want to provoke a reaction from this organic movement from individual truckers, that’s the best way to go about it.”
Both Wilson and Marazzo spoke about a controversial memorandum of understanding, which some conoy organizers circulated and suggested the Senate, Governor General and a group of convoy participants could take over from the Trudeau government.
Both Wilson and Marazzo said they told other organizers the memorandum wasn’t based on any real legal theory and should be pulled back.
Convoy organizers also took in money through crypto currencies. Wilson’s witness statement said most of the crypto currency donations were controlled by organizer B.J. Dichter, but Wilson doesn’t know where that money is now.
“Wilson does not know where all of the cryptocurrency went. Dichter was removed from the board of directors of the Freedom Convoy non-profit after the protests in Ottawa.”
His testimony comes after another organizer, Christopher Barber, testified Tuesday that there was a real “power struggle” between various factions within the convoy even before it arrived in Ottawa starting Jan. 28.
He also pointed fingers at controversial figure Pat King, as well as another group called “Canada Unity” and their notorious “memorandum of understanding” that called to overthrow the federal government.
Freedom Convoy plagued with 'power struggles,' competing factions: organizer Chris Barber
Watch Tom Marazzo and Pat King’s full testimony:
Watch Tom Marazzo and Pat King’s full testimony:
Public inquiry hears about divisions within 'Freedom Convoy' leadership
OTTAWA — One of the main spokesmen for the "Freedom Convoy" says he did not agree with a proposed deal, struck between organizers and the city of Ottawa, that would have seen truckers move their vehicles out of residential areas.
Benjamin Dichter is on the stand Thursday at the Public Order Emergency Commission, the public inquiry that is tasked with investigating the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act in an effort to end the weeks-long occupation of downtown Ottawa last winter.
He said he came to the capital city in January at the invitation of Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the "Freedom Convoy," to be a spokesman for the protesters.
But he was not on the same page as Lich about striking a deal with the city.
On Feb. 12, Lich exchanged letters with then-Mayor Jim Watson, discussing an agreement that would see the truckers move their vehicles away from residential streets.
Dichter said he did not think the negotiations should be happening, because they were partially co-ordinated by Ontario Premier Doug Ford's former chief of staff.
"These are the sorts of things that were causing so much anxiety and division," Dichter said.
Dichter said he joined the protests with a goal of ending pandemic-related mandates and spreading a message of "peace, love, freedom and unity." ROFLMAO
But he ended up in conflict with other organizers over messaging.
Two other protest organizers, Lich and James Bauder, are also scheduled to appear before the commission Thursday, which is holding public hearings until Nov. 25.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022.
Laura Osman and David Fraser, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — One of the main spokesmen for the "Freedom Convoy" says he did not agree with a proposed deal, struck between organizers and the city of Ottawa, that would have seen truckers move their vehicles out of residential areas.
Benjamin Dichter is on the stand Thursday at the Public Order Emergency Commission, the public inquiry that is tasked with investigating the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act in an effort to end the weeks-long occupation of downtown Ottawa last winter.
He said he came to the capital city in January at the invitation of Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the "Freedom Convoy," to be a spokesman for the protesters.
But he was not on the same page as Lich about striking a deal with the city.
On Feb. 12, Lich exchanged letters with then-Mayor Jim Watson, discussing an agreement that would see the truckers move their vehicles away from residential streets.
Related video: Convoy protest organizers testify at Emergencies Act inquiry
Duration 2:47 View on Watch
Dichter said he did not think the negotiations should be happening, because they were partially co-ordinated by Ontario Premier Doug Ford's former chief of staff.
"These are the sorts of things that were causing so much anxiety and division," Dichter said.
Dichter said he joined the protests with a goal of ending pandemic-related mandates and spreading a message of "peace, love, freedom and unity." ROFLMAO
But he ended up in conflict with other organizers over messaging.
Two other protest organizers, Lich and James Bauder, are also scheduled to appear before the commission Thursday, which is holding public hearings until Nov. 25.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022.
Laura Osman and David Fraser, The Canadian Press
FRANK ZAPPA
The Mothers of Invention - Were Only in it for the Money 1968 MFSL
We're Only in It for the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention.
Released on March 4, 1968 on Verve Records. It was subsequently remixed and re-recorded by Frank Zappa and reissued independently by Rykodisc Records in 1986.
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