‘It’s really shaken what people thought of Canada’: international media attention of Ottawa occupation driven by contrast with Canada’s clean image, say journalists
The high amount of international media attention on the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa could be attributed to how the event clashes with Canada’s stereotypical “clean” image, say some journalists. “It’s really shaken, I think, what people thought of Canada, or their impressions of Canada,” said Paula Newton, an international correspondent with CNN and CNN […]
Politicians downplaying far-right extremism in convoy naive and willfully ignorant, say criminologists
The far-right extremist roots of the so-called Freedom Convoy were evident from the start, and to deny that is “naive,” and a “willful dismissal” of the roots of the convoy, say criminology, national security, and organizing experts. Even though far-right extremism was “baked in” as national security expert Stephanie Carvin put it on Twitter, it […]
Action against Ottawa blockade an ‘important turning point,’ but ‘ongoing and fluid situation’ means Emergencies Act needed, says Mendicino
The police crackdown on entrenched protesters in Ottawa’s downtown core Friday represents an “important turning point,” according to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who said the Emergencies Act measures gave officers “incredibly important” tools to address the convoy blockades and “choke off” their financial support. “While we’ve made some progress, in particular, here in Ottawa […]
Crackdown on crowdfunders could push populist movements deeper into the dark web, warns cryptocurrency expert
The ‘Freedom Convoy’s’ significant financial support, which appears to be coming mostly from small donations and mostly from Canadians, indicates a sense of alienation and anti-elitism that will only be heightened by bank accounts being frozen under new federal powers, says James Patriquin, a Carleton University researcher who studies the proliferation of digital money and […]
Intelligence and governance failures at root of occupied downtown Ottawa, now a matter of national security, say experts
‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters who have entrenched themselves in Ottawa’s Parliamentary Precinct for weeks on end and who have since been removed from a number of border crossings across Canada following massive supply chain disruptions illustrate failures of both intelligence and governance, say national security experts, who support the government’s “long overdue” decision to invoke the […]
2021 election ‘one of the most challenging in our history,’ says Elections Canada chief
Issues around recruiting and training poll workers, along with a lack of suitable polling locations due to COVID-19, made the 2021 election a difficult one for Elections Canada, according to Canada’s chief electoral officer. “While no election is like any other, it is safe to say that this was one of the most challenging in […]
Sloly’s resignation an ‘unfortunate casualty of a larger problem’ with law enforcement during ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest, experts say
Peter Sloly’s resignation suggests he was pushed out as Ottawa’s police chief in part for his planning failures dealing with entrenched downtown protesters but also because he “burned out his political capital” and lost support of many of his officers, according to a former Ottawa deputy police chief and criminology professor. “He was getting it […]
‘There are people who have used the monuments as a public toilet’: MPs slam desecration of National War Memorial
The recent “disrespect” shown by some “Freedom Convoy” protesters to the National War Memorial suggests there’s a need for better co-ordination between the several jurisdictions responsible for protecting historic site, a Public Services official told the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 15. Nearly one-third of reported “disrespectful” incidents in the last five years occurred […]
‘Breaking the cycle’: MPs study intimate partner violence explosion amid COVID
Amid what experts call an ongoing shadow pandemic of intimate partner violence, a House Status of Women Committee study is aiming to take a wide-ranging approach that will answer the question of where exactly government funding needs to go to tackle this endemic problem. “The pandemic has clearly caused some situations where women are at […]
‘We’re stronger together’: African Senate Group responds to protest, seeks ‘meaningful’ change in Red Chamber
Since Feb. 2, Ontario ISG Senator Bernadette Clement has gone to work on foot, walking from her downtown Ottawa apartment through the protest encampment along Wellington Street to her East Block office, and on to the Senate of Canada Building. Worried about the anti-lockdown occupation that took root in Ottawa on Jan. 28, friends and […]
