Directors say desire to wrap up National Citizens Inquiry not politically motivated

Directors of the corporation entrusted with funds for the National Citizens Inquiry say their desire to wind down the inquiry has nothing to do with Conservative politics.Ches Crosbie, a former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in Newfoundland, is a director for Citizens Inquiry Canada (CIC), the not-for-profit corporation entrusted with dispensing funds on behalf of the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI).Read more: National Citizens Inquiry addresses hostile takeover attemptIn a memo posted online, NCI lead counsel Shawn Buckley speculated that CIC directors Ross, Crosbie and directors emeritus Preston Manning and Andrej Litvinjenko wanted to wrap up the inquiry to prevent potential problems for a Conservative Party soon to take power in Ottawa.In an interview with the Western Standard, Crosbie said this speculation was "groundless" and he thought it better to keep the NCI's internal politics behind closed doors.“I'm not going to elaborate because we've agreed to embark on a course of negotiations to resolve differences, okay? The members of the original corporation, the legacy cooperation, includes people like Shawn Buckley, who are part of the group who departed and gone their own way. We've agreed to negotiate with them about resolving any differences,” Crosbie said.“We've been concerned all along to not say things in response to allegations that would further erode the confidence of the citizens of Canada who have supported and followed the mission of the National Citizens Inquiry. Replying to allegations, which we consider to be groundless, would only further stir things up and erode confidence in the supporter base.”On January 17, the NCI discharged the CIC and incorporated a new not-for-profit corporation named National Citizens Inquiry. New hearings have been announced for the spring in Regina, with more in Vancouver and Ontario to follow. The new corporation is responsible for donations and spending regarding these hearings.Read more: National Citizens Inquiry starts new round of hearings in Regina in MayHowever, Crosbie said the NCI has already accomplished its mission “which included filing a magnificent report by the commissioners on the terror that was perpetrated by governments in Canada on the excuse of the COVID crisis.” He said to comment further on internal debates would “only undermine the potential for success.”Asked if the desire to wrap up the NCI was politically motivated, Crosbie replied, “I'll only say that we consider that to be groundless.”On The Lavigne Show February 3, Crosbie said holding more hearings was a worthy endeavour but that it should not be done under the banner of the NCI.“I think there have been misunderstandings. And what we need to do is talk to each other and arrive at a common understanding that the legacy of last year and the report and the testimony needs to be preserved but there needs to be no confusion between a new organization which is going to carry on new hearings under a separate corporate entity,” Crosbie said.“I think that’s a great mission, to carry on with hearings. But as to the original NCI hearings held throughout last year with the report that resulted from that, I think we want to put a book end on it and preserve it for the history of Canada.”The CIC held its annual meeting March 1. In an email to the Western Standard, CIC Treasurer David Ross said the directors addressed Buckley's concerns at the meeting."The members agreed that we should have discussions ASAP towards resolving differences between the various members and that it likely would be counterproductive to that being successful to tempt those various members to make public comments about the situation when private discussions would be best," Ross said.

Directors say desire to wrap up National Citizens Inquiry not politically motivated

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