Unified Grassroots founder and president, Nadine Ness, hosted an online event in Saskatchewan Wednesday night for Saskatchewanians supportive of Tamara Lich. The event was attended by over 2,900..“We organized this event because we believe it’s important to have these kinds of discussions… It’s an avenue to get information and voices out there into the public that may not be common in mainstream media,” said Ness..“COVID did a lot of negative things. But it’s brought some positive things, as we might not have spoken ever if it wasn’t for COVID.”.Ness called out the mainstream media and asked for fair reporting. “To the mainstream media — it’s not too late to start reporting fairly," he said..It was a two-hour discussion on a range of topics, including Lich, politics, the Emergencies Act, the Freedom Convoy, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms..“This specific event was organized to bring awareness to the Freedom Convoy, the invoking of the Emergencies Act, and Tamara’s case… Lich is sitting in prison for all of us,” said Ness..“We’ve seen the freedom movements in different provinces bring us together.”.The speakers included former MP and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, former leader of the opposition Stockwell Day, former MP David Anderson, lawyer David Anber, and lawyer Barry Bussey..Anber spoke first about the convoy and the two realities of the convoy’s so-called 'occupation,' as his office was about 450 metres from Parliament Hill..“There’s the actual reality and then this alternate reality that has been created. The actual reality is that it was a very positive experience to see so many Canadians of different walks of life, races, religions, [and] backgrounds, coming together and being in favour of freedom and supporting a direction to move things back to normal, and they came out in such large numbers,” said Anber..“This alternate reality where, you know, people being accused of arson and weapons, was one by one proved to be untrue. But those are the stories the media grabbed onto and the attorney’s office in Ottawa.”.Anber talked about how traffic could still move around Ottawa, which was contrary to the mainstream media's narrative..“What’s important to remember is that any other massive protest I’ve ever seen in-person, or on television anywhere, wasn’t this peaceful," Anber said.."[We] saw hundreds, maybe thousands, of trucks that were lining the streets of Ottawa and yet in virtually all of the instances there was always a lane of traffic, or in some cases, multiple lanes of traffic, that were left open so that people could continue to drive around the city,” said Anber..“It was not gridlocked as many people have said it was. The exception was Wellington, but it wasn’t fully blocked until the police shut it down… It took me a few extra minutes to get into the office, but for the most part, it was a peaceful protest.”.Ritz said he was impressed by Canadians across the country who stood at the side of the road and on overpasses as the convoy headed to Ottawa..“For me, watching the crowds at the crossroads and overpasses as the convoy went coast-to-coast coming in from both sides to Ottawa was just unbelievable. To see the numbers that were out there and the camaraderie and the Canadian flags. [Those] of course have become a [symbol] of white supremacy. I don’t know how that happened,” said Ritz..Anderson also discussed how Trudeau turned the Canadian flag into a symbol of protest..“It’s not an easy thing for a leader of a country to turn the [national] flag into a symbol of protest. But Trudeau did it,” said Anderson..Ritz also pointed out several stories about the convoy that turned out to be false..“It was the slanted coverage of this arson attempt… the doors of the condo that were wrapped shut and then the fire started… the firearms that were supposedly found at the Coutts blockade, which formed the basis for the implementation of the Emergencies Act. Neither one was factually correct, Ritz said. "The Emergencies Act has now become the law of the ruler and that should scare the hell out of everybody.".Anber discussed the charges against Lich, saying she would have "obviously been charged with mischief over $5,000 and also counselling mischief… and disobeyed court order.".Bussey said that the convoy had no intentions of causing problems and when the court order to stop honking happened, the truckers stopped..“There were occasional honks after that order was done, but it was basically 99% stopped… Tamara did everything that she possibly could to have a peaceful protest,” said Bussey..Anderson talked about how the media was used by the federal government to create a narrative, and said Lich needs to referred to as a "political prisoner" when people talk about her..“There is a creation of a narrative around media and it's used to advance that narrative and then, as you say, that labelling comes into play… when people call Tamara Lich a political prisoner. I think they’re dead on, and we need to call her that when we are speaking about her,” said Anderson..Day discussed Lich’s situation from his insight as a former minister of public safety..“On the issue of Tamara, when I was minister of public safety, I visited as many of the institutions as I could. Among those were halfway houses, parole offices, and prisons. I can tell you we’ve got some wonderful people in the system who are trying to do the best for people who are getting their lives back together… I heard about people who had breached bail provisions,” said Day..Day accused Trudeau of using his position as prime minister to crush dissidents..“There’s been a lack of faith and certainly in this one, it is an egregious overreach. We should not underestimate the Prime Minister’s Office," Day said.."I don’t mind if there’s media [on this call] they’re not going to report this fairly anyway. But I can tell you, the anger, the petulance, and the arrogance in and around the prime minister is at a boiling point, and they have one thing and that is [to] crush the dissidents. Their reach into our most sacred institutions is very deep and they have huge control. And messages were sent from the top on this,” said Day..Day and his wife said Lich supporters need to let her know she is supported throughout this ordeal..“When I said to my wife, you were talking about the call and Tamara. You were talking about the legal things that can be done. The first thing she said is, 'what are we doing for her?' What are we doing to support her? What messages is she getting that people care? I can tell you, for someone who knows what it is to be cancelled and dealing with others who are cancelled, your support appears to disappear. Everybody said, 'We’re there for you,' and all of a sudden they’re gone.”.Ness said, “If we don’t have the right to protest, we don’t have a democracy.”
