State of Emergency Commission | No foreign funds at start of convoy, CSIS says

(OTTAWA) No foreign funds were used to finance the “freedom convoy” during its first week, according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). This was indicated by its director, David Vigneault, during a telephone meeting on February 6 between the federal government, the government of Ontario and senior officials of the City of Ottawa.

Mylene Crete
The Press

At this time, the convoy of trucks had paralyzed the city center of the federal capital for 10 days. A crowdfunding campaign on the GoFundMe platform then enabled the organizers to raise more than 10 million.

“There is no foreign actor identified to date who supports or finances this convoy,” reads the report of Mr. Vigneault’s remarks presented in the form of highlights. The document was entered into evidence at the Emergency Measures Commission hearings on Tuesday.

The director of CSIS pointed out that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) and the banks tracked this money and ensured that it was not used for “non-peaceful” purposes.

“CSIS has not seen foreign money from other states to support [cette hypothèse] “, he added.

Donations from the United States

A week after this telephone meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that foreign funds had been used to finance the “freedom convoy”. GoFundMe officials told the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in March that “86% of donors are from Canada.” They had frozen the funds a week after the start of the protest.

The organizers then turned to another crowdfunding platform called GiveSendGo to continue receiving donations. Four days after the City of Ottawa declared a state of emergency, they had managed to rack up a new $8.4 million. A data leak, reported by the CTV network, had subsequently shown that a significant number of these new donations came from the United States.

The CSIS boss’s account also indicates that there was no convoy of trucks from the United States and that this was therefore an “internal issue”.

He warns against “radical elements” who could be violent present at the scene of the demonstration without however actively participating or being the organizers. “It is probable that they use it as for recruiting”, indicated Mr. Vigneault. The names of radical individuals or groups are not mentioned. CSIS estimates that they were not only on Parliament Hill, but also at the demonstrations in Quebec, Toronto and Alberta.

The Commission must determine whether the government was right to resort to the Emergency Measures Act for the first time in its history to put an end to the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa and the blockades of border crossings elsewhere in the country. The federal government can use this law in the event of a national emergency which “seriously endangers the life, health or safety of Canadians and is beyond the ability or powers of the provinces to intervene”, or which “seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to guarantee the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the country”.

Money as a motivator

For the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the meteoric fundraising campaign of the “freedom convoy” was a sign that the trucks were going to take hold in Ottawa. “Money is a powerful motivator,” summed up the head of intelligence for the police force, Pat Morris, during his testimony to the Commission late Wednesday afternoon.

He added that this was an indication that the protesters had a lot of support and would be able to afford to stay. “It was growing at a rate that for us was unprecedented,” he explained.

Several days before the arrival of the convoy, the OPP estimated that this event would be “long-lasting” and planned its working hours accordingly, either for two weeks or even a month. The Ontario police force was following the route of several convoys thanks to information provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His reports were distributed to several stakeholders, including the Chief of the Ottawa Police Service.

Far from expectations

Earlier this week, Ottawa City Manager Steve Kanellakos and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said city police expected a protest like any other and that the trucks would leave a few days after their arrival.

As early as January 22, one of the OPP reports stated that the “Freedom Convoy” would “disrupt the movement and flow of goods on Canadian highways and at border crossings.” A week later, OPP intelligence said the protest that had just begun had “the potential to pose a risk to public safety and the safety of officers.”

Pat Morris insisted his office had no intelligence that protesters would be armed or storming parliament as happened at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. The OPP was more worried about radical groups or a “lone wolf” who could have taken advantage of the demonstration to commit crimes.