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Day 5 of Public Hearings, October 19, 2022 Public Inquiry for the Invocation of the Emergencies Act

ByTia Riley

Oct 19, 2022 #Canada, #Emergencies Act, #Federal, #protests, #public inquiry

On Day 5 of the Emergencies Act hearings, explosive cross examination of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) intelligence officer Pat Morris confirmed that there was no intelligence that indicated the Freedom Convoy met the legal threshold required for the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act.

When cross examined by Convoy lawyer Brendan Miller, officer Morris said that he had no evidence of espionage or support of espionage, no evidence of sabotage or support of sabotage and that there was no evidence of foreign influence activities that involved the threat to any person.

Miller continued to press Morris, whose job it was for the force to lead the intelligence-gathering effort of the OPP, on the lack of evidence that must be met in order for the government to be justified in declaring a national emergency and invoking the Act.

 

MS. DIANE DEANS, Solemnly Affirmed
Examination in-Chief by Mr. Jean-Simon Schoenholz
Cross-Examination by Ms. Rebecca Jones
Cross-Examination by Mr. Paul Champ
Cross-Examination by Mr. Tom Migicovsky
Cross-Examination by Mr. Brendan Miller
Cross-Examination by Mr. Brendan van Niejenhuis
Cross-Examination by Mr. Rob Kittredge
Cross-Examination by Ms. Alyssa Tomkins
Re-Examination by Mr. Jean-Simon Schoenholz

Diane Deans, former police board chair says Chief Sloly told her Ottawa Police had a plan to end the convoy “we’ve seen parts of a plan”, but would not tell her what that plan was because they wanted to maintain the “element of surprise.”

A recorded phone conversation is played during the Public Order Emergency Commission: Diane Deans asks Jim Watson “Would you support a vote of non-confidence in me?” Jim Watson responds “I haven’t decided that yet.”

Diane Deans testifies that Chief Sloly had made a comment that “there may not be a policing solution” “and it sort of sent a ripple through the city” “it was not understood, but it was alarming”.

Now Diane Deans is throwing Serge Arpin under the bus with Peter Sloly.

What is going on here? CBC told Diane Deans that they should get rid of Chief Sloly because they were going to run a story on him that painted him in a bad light?

Ottawa Police Services Board Meeting Minutes: It was noted that at the time of the convoy’s arrival there was no intelligence that suggested the demonstration would turn into the occupation it had become.

-And who made that statement? Do you recall?

Deans: aaahhhhh…

A secretly recorded conversation between Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Coun. Diane Deans about an aborted plan to hire a new police chief at the height of last winter’s convoy protest was played Wednesday at the public inquiry examining the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to help end the crisis.

The Feb. 16 recording, which was only brought forward to the commission Wednesday morning, was entered into evidence at the Public Order Emergency Commission Wednesday afternoon. The tense call was recorded by Deans’s assistant without Watson’s knowledge, she later testified.

SUPT. PATRICK MORRIS, Sworn
Examination in-Chief by Mr. Eric Brousseau
Cross-Examination by David Migicovsky
Cross-Examination by Mr. Brendan Miller
Cross-Examination by Mr. Tom Curry
Cross-Examination by Ms. Donnaree Nygard
Cross-Examination by Mr. Alan Honner
Cross-Examination by Ms. Cara Zwibel
Cross-Examination by Mr. Christopher Diana

 

The Freedom Convoy, despite being largely ignored by MSM, and being called a “Fringe Minority” by Trudeau, Patrick Morris, OPP Superintendent of Intelligence Bureau testifies that OPP knew January 13 that the Convoy was going to be a very large movement.

Patrick Morris, OPP said “on terms of being armed, I want to be clear on this, we produced no intelligence that these individuals would be armed” “there has been a lot of hyperbole about that”. When people think about what happened on January 6, we produced no intelligence that would be the case”.

Patrick Morris, OPP said “We were definitely keeping an eye on it and here is why” “What we noticed in this event, was there was much more meaning in the support”. “Money is a powerful motivator and this was growing rapidly, at a rate for us that was unprecedented”. “This would be significant”.

Patrick Morris, OPP Superintendent of Intelligence Bureau testifies on the threat to any person: “I saw media counts yes, I saw no information collected or no intelligence produced in that regard no to support that”.

Patrick Morris, OPP Superintendent of Intelligence Bureau testifies on serious violence or ideological objective “I saw online rhetoric, I saw information on social media, I saw assertions on that type of activity, “information”, I am aware of no intelligence that was produced that would support concern in that regard”.

Patrick Morris on arrests made in Coutts, Alberta Feb 11 “What is the impact, what is the connection (with Ottawa)”. “We determined that there was very little connection to Ottawa, and therefore our assessment was that there would be very little impact, and there was not”.

On threats, and threats to parliament “I will give an example, on Feb 2 we are going to breech security west wing of Parliament etc, and we could find no credible intelligence of creditable threats”. “I would say that the lack of violent crime was shocking!”

Patrick Morris, OPP Superintendent of Intelligence Bureau: “I was concerned with comments made publicly, by public figures, and in the media, that I believe were not premised in fact”. “When I read accounts that the state of Russia had something to do with it, or that this was a result of American influence either financially or ideologically, or that Donald Trump was behind it, or that it was un-Canadian” “That they were not Canadian views and that they were extremists, I found it to be problematic because what I ascertained from my role, I did not see validation for those assertions”.

Patrick Morris OPP on extremists: “Although there are exceptions I have not seen evidence of this in fact Hendon received and reported very little of this”. I do not know where the political figures are acquiring information or intelligence on the extent of extremist involvement”.

Were politicians and the media responsible for a certain amount of disinformation and misinformation with respect to these protests?

Morris: I was concerned by comments made publicly by public figures and in the media that I believed were not premised in fact.

Morris blames the media for making subjective assertions which sensationalized and exacerbated the conflict [the protest].

Morris testifies that outside of anecdotal assertions made by the media and people online, that there were no credible security threats identified by intelligence on the protest.

By Tia Riley

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