Canada: Soldiers and the Freedom Convoy

  Members of the Canadian Armed Forces march at a parade in Calgary on July 8, 2016. An email from the Minister of Defence's press secretary suggests the military knew of seven to eight CAF members' involvement in the self-styled 'Freedom Convoy' protest.(Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Emails released through a public inquiry suggest federal Liberal political aides were scrambling earlier this year to figure out the extent to which members of the Canadian Armed Forces were supporting the self-described "Freedom Convoy" protests that had gridlocked downtown Ottawa.

The internal communications are among thousands of documents submitted to the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is looking at the Liberal government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end the demonstrations in February.

On Feb. 15, one day after the Emergencies Act was invoked, Defence Minister Anita Anand's press secretary, Daniel Minden, emailed fellow political staff in the offices of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

"Please see this internal list of CAF members allegedly involved in the convoy so far," Minden wrote.

The email goes on to provide a "list of known members connected to protests," including five who are specifically named and two who are not. Those not named include a special forces soldier based in Ottawa and a civilian Defence Department employee.

All names are redacted in copies of the emails provided to the commission as "Personal Info."

The list also includes the individuals' location, the action the military was taking at the moment and the results of any actions that had already been taken.

The list appears to have sparked a strong reaction from Mendicino's director of communications, Alexander Cohen, who used an expletive in his response to Minden, saying: "How the f--- many soldiers are in the convoy?"  

"7-8 that we know of," Minden replied.

Minden and Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

The email does not provide specifics about what those on the list were accused of doing or what rules they are alleged to have broken.  READ MORE...

Truckers to Capital Beltway

A trucker convoy heading to Washington, D.C., later this week plans to shut down the Capital Beltway in protest of wide-ranging issues such as fuel prices, vaccine requirements and immigration, the organizer said. (WTTG)

A trucker convoy heading to Washington, D.C., plans to shut down the Capital Beltway later this week in protest of wide-ranging issues such as fuel prices, vaccine requirements and immigration, the organizer said.

Bob Bolus, who owns a truck parts and towing business in Scranton, Pennsylvania, told FOX5 DC that he heard hundreds of people were interested in taking part in shutting down the roadway in protest.

CANADA FREEDOM CONVOY: NEARLY 100 VEHICLES TOWED AMID OTTAWA POLICE CRACKDOWN

"I'll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor," Bolus said. "That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that's what we're going to do the D.C."

Bolus, who the station reported is a longtime supporter of former President Trump, said that the protest will leave a lane open for emergency vehicles for safety, but he couldn’t promise that commuters would make it to work on time.

"We will not compromise anybody's safety or health, one way or the other," Bolus said. "As far as if they can't get to work, geez that's too bad."

The caravan comes as a similar demonstration involving truckers, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, shut down Ottawa, Canada, in protest of the country’s COVID-19 mandates. Authorities there had arrested 191 people and filed 389 charges, police announced mid-afternoon Sunday. They had also towed 99 vehicles.

In response to the impending protests in the capital, D.C. police have already limited time off for officers and put nearly 500 officers on civil disturbance units daily beginning Wednesday, the station reported.

Law enforcement in the D.C. area told the station that police are aware of the situation and are communicating with local, state, and federal partners.

INSULT TO TRUTH... Trudeau says...

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has slammed protests in the capital city against Covid-19 vaccine mandates as "an insult to memory and truth".

Protestors are demonstrating for a third consecutive day over a cross-border vaccine mandate for truckers imposed by the Liberal government.

Ottawa police asked the public to avoid the downtown area on Monday, citing "traffic, noise and safety issues".

Some downtown stores, including a shopping mall, will also be closed.

Demonstrators at the so-called Freedom Convoy have been mostly peaceful but the behaviour of some members of the crowd has been strongly criticised.

Police have opened investigations into several reported incidents, including footage of a woman dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial.

Nazi symbolism was seen on protest signs, some likening Covid-19 health measures to Jews under Nazi persecution. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies criticised the use of those symbols as "a heinous form of Holocaust distortion".

Mr Trudeau said: "Freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy, but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery and desecration of war memorials are not."  READ MORE...

Canada - Freedom Convoy

After a week-long drive across Canada, a convoy of big rigs has arrived in the national capital to protest vaccine mandates and Covid-19 measures. Organisers insist it will be peaceful, but police say they're prepared for trouble.

It's been dubbed the Freedom Convoy, and it's got the country talking.

The movement was sparked by a vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the US-Canada border, implemented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government earlier this month.

Upset with the new measure that would require unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing the two nations' boundary to quarantine once they've returned home, a loose coalition of truckers and conservative groups began to organise the cross-country drive that began in western Canada.

It picked up steam and gathered support as it drove east. Many supporters, already opposed to Mr Trudeau and his politics, have grown frustrated with pandemic measures they see as political overreach.

Social media and news footage showed trucks and companion vehicles snaking along highways, cheered on by people gathered on roadsides and overpasses, often waving Canadian flags and signs disparaging Mr Trudeau.  READ MORE...