Emergencies Act inquiry hears from 'Freedom Convoy' organizers about power struggles, protest origins

A new chapter of the Public Order Emergency Commission's public hearings began on Tuesday, as the national inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act began hearing directly from "Freedom Convoy" protest organizers.

The first organizer to take the stand was Saskatchewan-based trucker Chris Barber, who got vaccinated as a result of the federal COVID-19 cross-border vaccine mandate, and soon after became one of the original convoy organizers.

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After spending weeks protesting in the nation's capital, on Feb. 17 Barber had his bank accounts frozen and was arrested on several charges. He is expected to go to trial in Sept. 2023, though as he said on Tuesday: "As far as I know we were doing everything within the law."

Then, the commission heard testimony from Steeve Charland, who represents a Quebec-based anti-COVID-19 mandate group called Les Farfadaas, which evidence has indicated was present in the Rideau Street and Sussex Drive intersection blockade. Charland was arrested on Feb. 26 and was charged with mischief and counselling to commit mischief for his role in the protests.

Rounding out the day was Brigitte Belton, an Ontario-based trucker who made a much-circulated TikTok video about her experience at the border and as a trucker facing restrictions, pre-protests. She was one of the initial truckers to suggest embarking on a cross-country convoy to Ottawa to protest the cross-border trucker vaccine mandate, which within weeks spiralled into a national emergency.

From descriptions of a "power struggle" between various factions of protesters, prodding the motivations of the organizers and efforts made by some to keep the protests peaceful, to the role TikTok played in sparking the cross-Canada convoys, here's some key moments from Tuesday's testimony. 

'COMPLETELY ORGANIC'

Asked to walk the commission through how exactly the "Freedom Convoy" came together in a "slow roll" or convoy of transport trucks to travel across Canada to Ottawa, Chris Barber said it was "completely organic."

"Everything just literally fell right into place... I believe it was about two weeks from the time we started talking about it, to the time we actually left. It was extremely fast," he said.

Asked who was leading the organizing, Barber said there wasn't one leader, though he named Brigitte Belton, Tamara Lich, Pat King, and Canada Unity's James Bauder as being involved from the outset.

"It was a group of organizers… We had people in every province step up, we had helpers in every province. It was all, everyone just came together."

Belton said her motivations at the outset were to slow roll in protest, to be a "nuisance" in traffic, not to block borders, with the expectation that when the truckers arrived in Ottawa, the prime minister would meet with them.

Barber, who was part of the Western convoy, later testified how the truckers, coming from different directions, used radios to co-ordinate as they converged on the capital. "Everything was well orchestrated."

For his part, Charland was asked why he got involved with the protests. He said it was about "finally be heard as a people, and to tell our elected officials that 'that's it,'" going on to state that in his view, everything covered by the media was "sh*t," which received applause by the convoy supporters who showed up to watch Tuesday's proceedings in person.

Barber was also asked whether there was co-ordination between the Ottawa protests and the border blockades that popped up, to which Barber said: "Honestly, I'd say we weren't smart enough to come up with that idea." 

'IT WAS A POWER STRUGGLE'

However, this "organic" coming together seemed to experience some strain as the protests grew, Barber testified.

Barber told the commission that he knew that some participants had come to Ottawa seeking more than the end of COVID-19 mandates, and these competing agendas appeared to cause some friction.

Barber testified that, while the "core group of actual truckers" stayed together, other organizations set up camp and it became a struggle for control.

"It was a power struggle a lot of the time," Barber said. He cited the "Taking Back our Freedoms" and "Canada Unity" factions as examples.

Canada Unity was a group led by Bauder, who Barber said was involved from the outset, and tried to advance a "memorandum of understanding" (MOU) to have the Senate and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon join them in forming a committee to order the revocation of COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. Such a suggestion is not feasible under current democratic processes.

As the protests waged on and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to meet with demonstrators, the MOU evolved, seeing some suggest they try to form a coalition with opposition parties and the involvement of Simon, to unseat the government. 

Asked what his issue with Canada Unity was, Barber said he didn't like their MOU, although he also testified he's never read it and has no plans to. Asked whether he had concerns that it advocated for an undemocratic change of power in Canada, Barber said he "heard rumours on both sides."

During the protests, Barber and other protesters made efforts to distance themselves from Canada Unity as a result of the attention it was getting. After collecting 320,000 signatures, Canada Unity withdrew the MOU, saying it “does not reflect the spirit and intent of the Freedom Convoy.”

And, after attention was put on King's suggestion that the protests would end "with bullets," the commission heard that Barber was involved in discussions about whether King should be sent home.

However, testimony indicated that Barber had concerns about the trucks King brought with him if he was to be asked to leave.

“Was the concern that if Mr. King was sent home or asked to not participate, that his supporters would also stop participating?" a commission laywer asked.

"It would have been a good guess, yes," Barber responded.

Ultimately, Barber said that he gave King the benefit of the doubt when it came to the media attention he was getting, acknowledging that at one point he texted Lich that Barber had "skeletons in the closet, too." This he said, was in reference to his online behaviour.

TROLLING AND THE ROLE OF TIKTOK

Barber told the commission that he has "been an internet troll for many years," and that it was common for him to be juggling multiple accounts because he would "constantly become banned for posting inappropriate things or things that went against community standards."

However, Barber testified that he seemed to use the convoy to "grow," and that coming to Ottawa changed his perspective. "It was such a diverse crowd of people… It changed me."

During his testimony, Barber was asked about the role that social media played in how he got involved in the protests and later used his platform to promote it.

He testified that he first got involved after being approached by Belton, over TikTok, in early January.

"Communication started from there," he said.

During her testimony, Belton told the commission that her now widely-circulated video about "being harassed" by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) over refusing to wear a mask, was only her fourth post on the platform.

She said she used TikTok to search for other truckers, and that's how she found Chris Barber. "Thank God," she testified. Belton said they started speaking in early January, she made a flyer which she posted online, and after it caught they eye of accounts with larger followings, "it literally exploded overnight." 

Barber also testified that, as he continued to use his TikTok account through the protests to communicate both with fellow protesters and to broadcast more widely the scene in Ottawa, his following grew from an estimated 30,000 to 170,000.

Describing the scene as "chaos," Barber said "the only thing" he could do was put videos out asking for order because they didn’t come to disrupt the city.

However, Barber’s self-described efforts to corral the protesters was contradicted when it came to talking about the horn honking.

HORN HONKING 'ANNOYED ME'

Barber was also asked Tuesday, whether he felt the incessant horn honking was a form of peaceful protest.

Here's what he said:

"I considered the horn honking to be a form of excitement, more than peaceful protest. I'll be the first to admit the horns annoyed me. I did everything in my power to try and get the horns to stop. I've put out multiple videos on a regular basis saying 'stop,' especially after the court order came in," he said.

A convoy lawyer then played one of Barber's TikTok videos that shows him laughing as truck horns are blaring in the background.

'WHEN YOU START A FIRE'

Under cross-examination by a federal government lawyer, Barber was asked about informal briefing documents created by the core group of convoy protesters that included various mentions of conspiracy theories related to the World Economic Forum and "the great reset," and relatedly, made mention of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Then, the lawyer presented an email, titled "PREPARE FOR BLOOD AND WAR!!!" addressed to Freeland's general email account, sent on Feb. 16—two days after the Emergencies Act was invoked and just prior to police moving in—making clear threats.

"I declare war on all the CANADIAN government for lying about covid-19. Chrystia Freeland will get a bullet to the head,” wrote the sender, identified as Larry Jensen. He then suggested Freeland "better be hidden and be placed into protection because we know where you live."

"Prepare to feel (our) WRATH! You’res [sic] truly, the Canadian covid government resistance."

There was some objection to the relevance of this line of questioning, but Barber said while he had not seen this email before, he'd reject unequivocally what the sender wrote.

The federal government's lawyer then put to him whether he'd agree that "when you start a fire and fan the flames, it can get out of control."

Barber didn't directly answer, saying that while he tried to quell protesters' anger, a letter like that was "the last thing" he wanted to happen, he was not always successful.