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Saturday, August 2, 2025

Ottawa Police chief resigns amidst criticism over handling of protest

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly has resigned from his position after facing criticism for his handling of the Ottawa freedom protests. 

Sloly was in charge of coordinating law enforcement operations in the city and responding to the demonstrations on Parliament Hill which have entered their third week. 

Sloly sent his resignation to Ottawa police services board chair Diane Deans on Monday. 

Sloly is reportedly to be replaced by Deputy Chief Steve Bell. 

The Ottawa police board will hold a public meeting on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. EST but has been behind closed doors since this morning. 

First named chief in August 2019, Sloly left the job with two years left on a contract set to end in 2024. 

Prior to his departure, Sloly alongside Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson requested 1,800 additional law enforcement officers to help end the protest. 

“I came here to do a job and I’m going to get that job done all the way through,” Sloly stated last week. 

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to increase the powers of law enforcement to quash the protests. The Act would also allow the federal government to play a larger role in coordinating the response to the Canada-wide demonstrations against COVID-19 mandates. 

The Liberals have seven days to table a plan and justification of their decision to Parliament which will then vote on whether to enable the government to adopt emergency powers. 

Part of the act will allow banks to freeze funds of truckers without a court order and for government bodies to cancel their insurance. 

Despite invoking the Emergencies Act, Trudeau had claimed last week that he didn’t believe “the contention that the city of Ottawa has exhausted its tools and resources.” 

Police chair Deans, who received Sloly’s resignation, has described the Ottawa protest as “treason” and an “insurrection.” 

“We all need to work together. This is not something this country has ever seen before,” said Deans last week. “I understand Mark Carney referred to it as sedition today. I think that’s exactly what it is.”

“This is treason. This is way bigger. This is a group of well-polished professional people that are trying to overthrow the government.”

The Freedom Convoy entered its 24th day on Tuesday.

MALCOLM: Trudeau has lost control of the country

By
Candice Malcolm
-

Invoking the Emergencies Act – the most sweeping set of powers available to a Canadian prime minister, the act that replaced the War Measures Act – only confirms Justin Trudeau’s complete and utter failure at dealing with a positive, optimistic and peaceful grassroots movement.

This comes 18 days after he dismissed this movement as a “small fringe minority.” 

The Freedom Convoy will go down in history as one of the most powerful and effective protests our country has ever seen. It has inspired “Canadian-style” freedom convoys all over the world, overzealous rules are being removed and failed leaders are being replaced. 

Trudeau has been absent all weekend, hiding out somewhere, having closed-door meetings with no updates and showing no leadership whatsoever. This comes one week after a poll showing BOTH sides of the convoy blame Trudeau the most out of anyone for how the demonstrations have been handled.

Abacus Data.
Abacus Data.

After initially fanning the flames, smearing the truckers and sounding remarkably delusional and out of touch, Trudeau stepped back. He seemed to acknowledge he was making things worse, so he almost disappeared, waiting for someone else to solve the problem. Police, Mayor, Premier? 

This is where things get really interesting. One of the most remarkable things about the protests is the relaxed, almost supportive attitude of the police. Many seem simply unwilling to arrest or break up these protesters (even when they’ve crossed into civil disobedience).

This has clearly triggered Ottawa journalists. They are fuming and furious that the police aren’t cracking down, towing the trucks, issuing mass fines and arresting the protesters. They desperately want the police to do Trudeau’s dirty work and end this thing. 

Instead, we see many videos like this (that angered the journalists and led the Ontario Provincial Police to launch an investigation): 

The police are trying to de-escalate tensions, keep the peace. But also, culturally, they’re on the same side as the truckers.

They don’t want to arrest their friends – guys they play hockey with, people they go to church with, or went to high school with. They don’t want to stop people who are (rightly and bravely) standing up against unjust and illiberal laws, especially when public opinion has so sharply shifted. 

So suddenly Trudeau wakes up, realizes he’s lost control and that every day he’s absent is another day the protesters are emboldened and his supporters think he’s failed. So he leaks to the media that emergency measures are coming and that he will come out this afternoon swinging.

Unfortunately for Trudeau, his sweeping powers need to be enforced by someone. The police, the military, the towing companies have all to varying degrees thus far refused. Will issuing stronger, louder warnings in his grown-up voice change their minds?

Or will issuing *yet another* set of “temporary and emergency” powers (after two bloody years of “temporary and emergency” powers) simply expose a leader who is angry, out-of-touch and more interested in fortifying his own power than in doing what is right for Canada?

It’s a serious gamble, one that requires others to do the heavy lifting and be on the front line against peaceful protesters, families, blue collar workers, veterans and the diverse group of Canadians who want their freedoms back.

Final point here (aimed at those claiming law and order conservatives are hypocrites for supporting the convoy):

The rule of law is based on the principle that laws are just, equal and fair. Bad laws undermine the rule of law and need to be stopped. That’s what this is all about.

Poll finds half of Canadians believe Trudeau “not up for the job”

By
Noah Jarvis
-

As the Freedom Convoy enters its third week, Canadians are saying they’re not happy with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s performance.

A new poll from Maru Public Opinion finds that in response to the Freedom Convoy, “a majority (53%) of Canadians think the Prime Minister has looked weak in the face of threats to the country.” 

Even worse for Trudeau, only 16% of Canadians say they would vote for the prime minister based on how he has dealt with the situation, as opposed to the 63% who say they wouldn’t. 

“The last time I’ve seen numbers even close to this were in the final days of Brian Mulroney,” said Maru executive vice-president John Wright. “I think this could cost him (Trudeau) his job.”

During the Sep. 2021 election, Trudeau’s Liberals won 32% of the votes. According to polls, however, their performance since then is casting doubt on whether or not they are fit to govern, and even if Trudeau is fit to be the leader of his own party. 

The poll found that only 3 in 10 Canadians believe that Justin Trudeau acted as a Prime Minister should act in face of a protest, while a plurality of Canadians believe that he should not be leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. 

Despite overwhelmingly unfavourable coverage of the Freedom Convoy by the legacy media, Trudeau seems to have been unable to capitalize on any public disapproval of the protesters to enhance his own image.

As the convoy was approaching Ottawa and calling for an end to COVID restrictions, Trudeau called the protesters a “fringe minority” that holds “unacceptable views.” 

While another poll recently suggested that 54% Canadians support ending all COVID restrictions, the findings of the Maru poll suggest that 44% of Canadians believe Trudeau has actually inflamed the situation with the truckers. Another 31% believe he is responsible for the incitement of the protests, while only 7% blame the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada.

With increasing demands to dump federal public health measures and with five provinces having announced their own plans, Trudeau has yet to take any action to repeal federal COVID mandates.

Instead, Trudeau announced on Monday that he was invoking the Emergencies Act to deal with the ongoing protests, the same day that Ontario premier Doug Ford said his province would be dropping vaccine passports on March 1.

Canadian Constitution Foundation condemns Trudeau for invoking Emergencies Act 

By
Jonathan Bradley
-

The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) has reacted to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invoking of the Emergencies Act to deal with trucker protests across Canada, saying it sets “a dangerous precedent.”

“The CCF is concerned by the federal government’s historic invocation of the Emergencies Act,” said the organization in a statement on Monday. “The government has set a dangerous precedent for the right to freedom of assembly and protest, declaring the protests occurring in Ottawa and elsewhere across the country to be unlawful.” 

The Emergencies Act defines a national emergency as “an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it.” 

According to the CCF, provincial police forces already have power to enforce the law, which was shown when the Ontario Provincial Police cleared truck drivers and other protesters from the Ambassador Bridge. 

The CCF went on to say they are concerned about the policies announced by the government concerning the freezing and seizure of financial assets from crowdfunding platforms and banks. It remains unclear how these policies will work, the CCF says, but the new powers appear to allow banks to freeze and suspend accounts without a court order.

“These measures present the clear opportunity for undermining rights to property and privacy,” they said. 

Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history to give the federal government more powers to handle the trucker protests. 

“It is now clear that there are serious challenges to law enforcement’s ability to effectively enforce the law,” Trudeau said. 

He declared that the Emergencies Act would give police more power to restore order where public gatherings become illegal and dangerous, including blockades and occupations. 

The RCMP, he said, would be able to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial offences where needed. 

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that under the Emergencies Act, crowdfunding platforms would have to register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). She added that they must report large and suspicious transactions to FINTRAC.

“We are making these changes because we know these platforms are being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity, which is damaging the Canadian economy,” said Freeland. 

The premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have openly opposed Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, although Trudeau does not require their approval.

Ontario premier Doug Ford, however, said that he supported Trudeau. 

“Those participating in illegal blockades in Ontario and across Canada need to know there are serious consequences for their actions,” said Ford. 

Ford said that he told Trudeau these measures should “be targeted and time-limited, but that we need to do what it takes to restore law and order in our country.” 

Recap of Day 23 of the Truckers for Freedom Convoy

By
Harrison Faulkner
-
Darrin Calcutt

On Day 23 of the Truckers for Freedom Convoy, Prime Minister Justin invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in history and Doug Ford announced that Ontario would be dropping its vaccine passport.

Today Trudeau made good on his threat Sunday night to invoke a never-before-used piece of federal legislation to declare a national emergency due to the trucker protests.

The Emergencies Act gives the federal government sweeping powers, including freezing the financial assets of any protester with a truck, criminalizing all monetary donations made to the convoy – including those in cryptocurrency  – and expanding the ability of police to imprison protesters.

Trudeau announced the new powers at a press conference. 

“The invoking of the Emergencies Act is never the first thing a government should do, or even the second,” he said. “The act is to be used sparingly and as a last resort.”

“Right now, the situation requires additional tools that are not held by any other federal, provincial or territorial law.”

“Today, in these circumstances, it is now clear that responsible leadership requires us to do this,” Trudeau said.

“These measures must be and will be compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Indeed, the Emergencies Act was created in the late 80’s to flow from and uphold the Charter.”

Deputy Prime Minister Crystia Freeland also announced a series of sweeping financial laws that allow the government to cancel and freeze or suspend the assets of demonstrators involved in the protest without a court order. 

Freeland also said that the government would be “broadening the scope” of the Terrorist Financing Act by regulating all crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrency transactions.

The Canadian Constitution Foundation condemned Trudeau’s decision, saying that “(t)he government has set a dangerous precedent for the right to free assembly and protest, declaring the protests occurring in Ottawa and elsewhere across the country to be unlawful without any further explanation.”

Conservative MP and leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre spoke to the press before Trudeau’s announcement and shredded the prime minister’s handling of the pandemic. 

“Now he’s dropping in the polls, (he’s) desperately trying to save his political career, and save face for himself,” Poilievre began. 

“The solution is staring him in the face. All he has to do is listen to the experts, do what other countries are doing, and that is to eliminate these mandates and restrictions to let these protesters and these truckers go back to their jobs and their lives.”

Earlier in the day, Ontario premier Doug Ford announced that his province would be dropping the vaccine passport on March 1. 

“Over the weekend, I received a recommendation from Dr. Moore on a plan to safely reopen our economy and remove Ontario’s vaccine passport system,” Ford said.

Asked about whether he would support Trudeau’s invoking of the Emergencies Act to clear the protesters from Ottawa and Windsor, Ford said he would support “any proposal the federal government has” to restore law and order. 

Alberta premier Jason Kenney, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe, Manitoba premier Heather Steffenson and Quebec premier Francois Legault all disapproved of Trudeau’s decision. 

Moe said on Twitter that “Saskatchewan does not support the Trudeau government invoking the Emergencies Act. If the federal government does proceed with this measure, I would hope it would only be invoked in provinces that request it, as the legislation allows.”

Stefenson said, “(t)he proposal from the federal government to use the Emergencies Act is not helpful to the situation at the Emerson Border.”

Kenney wrote on Twitter, “(t)his morning I told Prime Minister Trudeau that Alberta’s Government is opposed to the invocation of the federal Emergencies Act. We have all of the legal tools and operational resources required to maintain order. The Act would add no relevant additional powers or resources.”

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh endorsed Trudeau invocation of the Emergencies Act. 

True North will have reporters on the ground in Ottawa for the next dew days.

The GiveSendGo fundraiser for the Freedom Convoy remains offline after being hacked Sunday evening. 

Liberal MP Joel Lightbound supported Conservative motion to end restrictions

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Liberal MP Joel Lightbound voted in support of a Conservative motion on Monday calling on the Trudeau government to table a plan to end COVID-19 restrictions and mandates. 

The motion was defeated 185-151 after the ruling Liberals teamed up with the NDP to quash it. 

Lightbound was the only Liberal to support the motion.

The text of the motion read, “(t)hat, given that provinces are lifting COVID-19 restrictions and that Dr. Theresa Tam has said that all existing public health measures need to be ‘re-evaluated’ so that we can ‘get back to some normalcy,’ the House calls on the government to table a plan for the lifting of all federal mandates and restrictions, and to table that plan by February 28, 2022.” 

Lightbound’s decision to vote for the Conservative motion reaffirms his call for a roadmap to lifting restrictions.

The Quebec MP broke ranks with his caucus earlier this month and publicly came out against the “division” promoted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

“I can’t help but notice with regret that both the tone and policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during the last election campaign,” he said.

“Some seem to forget that isolation is felt differently. Not everyone can still earn money using their MacBook while at the cottage. Some are suffering in silence and feel like they’re not heard.”

Lightbound was echoed by Liberal MP Yves Robillard the following day, who said he agreed with his fellow MP’s position. However, Robillard did not join Lightbound in voting for the motion. 

Prior to the vote, Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen released a statement.

“For two years, Canadians have been living with COVID-19 restrictions. Two years of lockdowns. Of not being able to visit loved ones. Of not being able to travel. Two years of isolation that has inflamed Canada’s mental health crisis, and hurt Canada’s vulnerable populations.” 

“Canadians just want their lives back. Conservatives are calling on the Trudeau government to follow the evidence; follow the science, and table a plan to quickly end all federal mandates and restrictions. Canadians deserve a plan — it’s time the Prime Minister gave them one.”

In response to a nation-wide wave of protests and border blockades opposing ongoing COVID-19 measures, Trudeau announced over the weekend that he would invoke the Emergencies Act to quash the demonstrations.

Trudeau made good on that announcement Monday morning. 

Quebec’s health institute admits “no documents” justifying curfews and vax pass

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

Despite Quebec’s use of repeated curfews and vaccine passports, the province’s national institute of public health (INSPQ) has admitted that it does not have any documents related to studies showing the effectiveness of these two measures.

These and other revelations came in response to an access to information request filed on Jan 11 asking a number of questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The request inquired whether the INSPQ had any studies proving the effectiveness of curfews, to which it stated that it holds “no documents for this question.”

The same answer was given to a question about whether the INSPQ had studies proving the effectiveness of vaccine passports (apart from increasing vaccination rates through coercion).

Source: INSPQ 

The INSPQ was also asked to provide any documents it had suggesting that natural immunity resulted in better protection from COVID-19 than vaccination. 

It once again responded by stating it had no documents relating to the question.

Despite this lack of documentation, a directive from Quebec’s Ministry of Health reveals the INSPQ had advised that workers who are double or even triple-vaccinated are to be considered only partially protected.

However, the ministerial directive also stated that non-immunocompromised healthcare workers who had been infected with COVID-19 since Dec. 20 2021 are considered “protected” regardless of their vaccination status. 

Source: Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services 

Even though Quebec’s health ministry considers recently infected unvaccinated workers to have stronger protection from COVID-19 than some people with three vaccine doses, unvaccinated Quebecers remain subject to harsh restrictions due to the province’s vaccine passport program. 

Quebec has some of the harshest vaccine mandates in North America, which were recently expanded to include places of worship and government run liquor and cannabis stores.

The government also banned the unvaccinated from buying groceries at big box stores including Walmart and Costco. Quebec even considered charging unvaccinated people a “significant” health tax, but later abandoned the idea amid backlash.

True North reached out to the Quebec Ministry of Health for comment on the findings of the INSPQ’s access information request. 

“The curfew, when applied, certainly had a deterrent effect on the population from going out after a certain time,” said a spokesperson for the ministry.

The ministry added that  “(o)bservational studies show that it prevented gatherings. The curfew was therefore useful at a time when the number of cases in the general population remained high.”

However, only one of the studies provided to True North mentioned Quebec’s curfew, and it focused on overnight mobility. The other studies analyzed curfews in other nations.

While the mobility of Quebecers was certainly impacted by the curfew, a group of 13 experts wrote in December that curfews were insignificant when it came to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The group used data from the INSPQ to back their claim, concluding that the curfew imposed by the government of Quebec was not only ineffective when it came to preventing the spread of COVID, but harmful to society at large.

Source: Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services 

True North also previously reported that Montreal’s public health director Dr. Mylène Drouin was against reimposing the curfew in response to the Omicron wave. 

The Quebec government chose to ignore Droin’s advice.
Despite Quebec being the only province to impose a curfew, it has the highest COVID death rate in Canada, as well as the country’s third-highest rate of infection.

Trudeau invokes Emergencies Act to quash Canada-wide trucker protests

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday afternoon to crackdown on peaceful protests against COVID-19 measures across Canada.

This was the first time in Canadian history that the law has been implemented since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988. 

According to Trudeau, using the Act is necessary to give the federal government and law enforcement more powers to break up the protests including by securing airports and border crossings. 

It will also allow the government to seize essential services like towing trucks to remove trucks in Ottawa and elsewhere. 

“There’s a high level of frustration that this situation has gone on as long as it has,” said Trudeau.

“Those people have gone from protesting and disagreeing with those (COVID-19) measures, to limiting and blocking the freedoms of their fellow citizens.”

Although the prime minister said that the powers would be limited geographically, he did not specify which areas would be subject to the regime but did say that provinces would not be able to opt-out. 

Several premiers have spoken out against using the Emergencies Act including Quebec Premier Francois Legault and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. 

According to deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, the Act will also allow financial institutions to freeze bank accounts of truckers involved in the protest and for their insurance to be canceled. 

We are broadening the scope of Canada’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules so that they cover crowdfunding platforms and the payment service providers they use. These changes cover all forms of transactions including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies,” said Freeland. 

Into their third week, peaceful protestors have assembled in various cities and locations including Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Windsor. 

As per the law, the federal government now has seven days to table a plan to Parliament which will require approval from both the House of Commons and the Senate.

Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act

By
Candice Malcolm
-

In response to the ongoing freedom convoy protests taking place across Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act.

What does all of this mean? How does the Emergencies Act work?  Will Trudeau’s decision escalate tensions even further?

True North’s Candice Malcolm, Andrew Lawton and Harley Sims are live to discuss Trudeau’s latest attempt to stop the protests and discuss the latest on the freedom convoy.

Multiple provinces oppose Trudeau’s plan to invoke Emergencies Act

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Several premiers have spoken out against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with nationwide convoy protests calling for an end to COVID-19 restrictions. 

Alberta premier Jason Kenney was the first to speak out against the proposal after a First Ministers meeting Monday. Kenney said that federal emergency powers would not be required for Alberta to deal with the situation. 

“This is not necessary, at least for Alberta. We have all the necessary statutory powers and operational capacity for enforcement,” Kenney said.

Kenney added that invoking the Act could further inflame protesters. He said that if Trudeau moves forward with the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, he would request that it not apply to Alberta. 

Some truckers have set up a blockade at the Coutts-Montana border where they have been encamped for several weeks now. After reports of 11 arrests and the discovery of a cache of guns and ammunition at the site, Kenney said the RCMP would move to clear the border protest on Monday. 

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe took to Twitter shortly after Monday morning’s premiers meeting to announce his own opposition to federal emergency powers. 

“The illegal blockades must end, but police already have sufficient tools to enforce the law and clear the blockades, as they did over the weekend in Windsor,” Moe tweeted.

“Therefore, Saskatchewan does not support the Trudeau government invoking the Emergencies Act. If the federal government does proceed with this measure, I would hope it would only be invoked in provinces that request it, as the legislation allows.”

Quebec premier Francois Legault and Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson also voiced opposition to the plan. 

“We do not wish to have a state of emergency in Quebec. It’s not necessary, and it’s time to bring together, not divide,” Legault said on Monday.

Stefanson declared Manitoba’s opposition in a news release, saying “I am not currently satisfied the Emergencies Act should be applied in Manitoba. Winnipeg’s situation is dramatically different from the one in Ottawa. The Emerson border situation is very different than the one faced in Windsor.” 

The Emergencies Act – which was legislated in 1988 as a replacement to the War Measures Act – allows the federal government to declare an emergency with the approval of Parliament. 

Under the Act, the government would be able to coordinate provincial responses and gain powers to ban public gatherings, requisition public services and issue fines and jail time for those who breach public orders.

Ontario premier Doug Ford has said he supports Trudeau invoking the Act. 

“I will support the federal government in any proposals they have to bring law and order back to our province,” said Ford on Monday. 

According to legislation, Trudeau does not require the premiers’ approval to invoke the Act.

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