The Trudeau government is refusing to comment after a project manager in Ottawa penned an op-ed bragging about his involvement in counter protests against the Freedom Convoy and describing convoy demonstrators as “white male roughnecks.”
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Canadian Food Inspection Agency biologist Nicolay Hristozov published his positions in the Ottawa periodical Glebe Report.
“I soon found myself in the front ranks of every counter protest. I should emphasize these are my personal impressions as a sturdily built white male. I could blend in with the protesters,” said Hristozov. “The backbone of this group was the archetypal roughneck: white, male, relatively young and likely engaged in some type of physical labour.”
Hristozov’s article, titled Anatomy Of An Occupation: The ‘Freedom Convoy’ In Downtown Ottawa, also went on to complain of “hundreds of honking pick-up trucks adorned with Canadian flags.”
“The core identity of the protest came through and was rather uglier than my first impression,” wrote Hristozov. “Accounts of harassment and assault started trickling in. At the same time we learned more about the convoy organizers and their far-right reliefs. A climate of fear settled on downtown.”
Under the Public Service Employment Act, federal employees are prohibited from engaging in partisan activity without the permission of supervisors. Partisan activities include “any activity in support of, within or in opposition to a political party.”
Additionally, the Treasury Board’s Values And Ethics Code For The Public Service, government workers are required to “act at all times in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny” while exercising “fairness and civility” in upholding public trust.
“Maintain the tradition of political neutrality,” the code outlines.
When confronted with Hristozov’s political activity by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Food Inspection Agency declined to comment.
Opposition to convoy demonstrations has ranged from counter protests – including those in Ottawa – to calls for violence, and even a hit-and-run. While protests were ongoing in February, a man drove his vehicle into a group of four Freedom Convoy demonstrators in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Alexander Zegarac, 42, faces 11 charges for the hit-and-run incident. While Zegerac was promptly released on bail, convoy organizer Tamara Lich was initially detained for her involvement in organizing convoy demonstrations.
In February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to quash truckers demonstrating against pandemic measures. Currently, the justification for the use of emergency powers is being put under scrutiny.
Several key testimonies in the House of Commons have dismissed earlier claims by the Liberal government about the convoy including that foreign extremists were involved in organizing the protest.
