(Ottawa) A long convoy of vehicles organized by the Farfaadas took Highway 50 toward Gatineau on January 29 to “participate in the largest rally in Canadian history to unite the people.” The leader of this Quebec group opposed to health measures, Steeve Charland, testified Tuesday before the commission about the state of emergency.
Posted 4:40pm Updated 7:34pm
Mylene Crete La Presse
Two organizers of the “Freedom Convoy”, Chris Barber and Brigitte Belton, were also interviewed. It was the first time since this public inquiry began on October 13 that protesters have presented their version of the facts.
“There are things that I find exaggerated,” says Mr. Charland, justifying his participation in the demonstration, which was originally intended to protest against the federal government’s compulsory vaccination of truck drivers. In particular, he alluded to the curfew imposed by the Quebec government.
The line of vehicles that answered the call of the farfadaas was 107 kilometers long, according to Mr. Charland. He portrayed his group as peaceful and insisted he fed “hundreds of homeless people from Gatineau and Ottawa” during his stay in the federal capital region. He claimed he had no control over anyone who chose to join.
The Farfadaas movement is great, but we are not responsible for all Quebecers.
Steve Charland, leader of the Farfadaas
The group had set up its headquarters in a parking lot in downtown Gatineau that it rented for $1,000 a day, but also had a presence on Rideau Street, just a few miles from Parliament Hill. Ottawa Police were concerned about his presence at the corner of Rideau and Sussex streets, according to Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Patricia Ferguson on Oct. 20. She had portrayed the group as “hostile” and intimidating and credited them with the closure of the Rideau Mall, the city’s largest. On February 9, an operation involving 400 police officers was even organized to evict them, but it was canceled due to disagreements in the crisis team.
One of the “Freedom Convoy” organizers, Chris Barber, also testified Tuesday that the Quebecers parked there refused to move their trucks even when asked to do so.
“We haven’t occupied Rideau and Sussex,” replied Mr. Charland. During a press scramble after his testimony, he indicated that he didn’t understand why the farfadaas should be blamed for the people living on the corner of these streets. “People are all tired of being alone and have decided to get up on their own,” he said. I didn’t call anyone to tell them to “block such and such a road”. »
He pointed out that after being escorted by the RCMP to cross the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge from Gatineau to Ottawa, the members of the Farfadaas convoy lined up as far as they could on Rideau Street, but were already there had trucks. Exactly where on the street, he couldn’t say. The question came up several times, which visibly annoyed the witness.
During his cross-examination by government lawyer Caroline Laverdière, he asked her if she represented the government of Canada or the Liberals. “I represent the government of Canada,” she clarified. Many of his questions focused on leather jackets and the Farfadaas logo.
Mr Charland denied any allegations of violent behavior during the protest and said he had no connection to participants in the blockades in Coutts, Alberta, Emerson, Manitoba and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. He said he distributed more than $24,000 in donations to Quebec truckers who did not have access to the funds raised for the “Freedom Convoy.”
The Farfadaas leader said he hadn’t been to downtown Ottawa after the emergency law was invoked but was still struggling with his bank. Mr Charland, who has never had a criminal record, was also arrested for his participation in the “Freedom Convoy”. He faces charges of sedition and sedition.
“I spent 23 days in prison and got out because I accepted severe conditions that took away my basic rights,” he said. In particular, he is deprived of expressing himself on social networks.
He claimed all people “heard in the media that it sucked,” which caused laughter and applause in the courtroom. Judge Paul Rouleau then issued a warning.
Mr. Charland ended his testimony before the commission with a lengthy diatribe. “I don’t understand how much we’ve gotten to this point in our country,” he said. He has described himself as a “citizen of the people” who defends Canada’s Constitution and the rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Emergency Commission must determine whether the federal government’s historic use of the Emergency Act to end the “Freedom Convoy” and blockades of border crossings elsewhere in the country was warranted.
Chris Barber, one of the organizers of the protests, said earlier in the day there was no coordination between the Ottawa truck convoy and the other blockades. He, too, admitted he had no control over all of the truckers that were shutting down downtown Ottawa, even though he pleaded with them for peace. He tried to distance himself from Canada Unity, a group that wanted to overthrow the government with the help of the governor general and the Senate speaker.
The Bloc Québécois denounces the government’s “dangerous strategy”.
MP Rhéal Fortin called the communication strategy at the office of Minister for Public Safety Marco Mendicino during the “Freedom Convoy” “profoundly irresponsible”. His press secretary considered asking him to conduct interviews about “extreme elements” of the protest, days before they arrived in Ottawa, we learned in an exchange of texts with a close adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which was filed as evidence with the State of Emergency. “Two days later, the Prime Minister did insult the convoy and the police confirmed that this fueled the crisis,” Mr Fortin denounced during Question Time. Minister Mendicino reiterated that the “freedom convoy” had negative repercussions and that the government would participate in the public inquiry for the sake of transparency.
