National Citizens Inquiry lead counsel insists hearings should be held under the NCI name

The lead counsel for the National Citizens Inquiry says its upcoming hearings should be held under the NCI banner even if its former non-profit corporation believes otherwise.The non-profit Citizens Inquiry Corporation (CIC) was set up in 2022 to administer funds for the NCI, which last held in-person hearings in May of 2023. CIC directors David Ross and Ches Crosbie want the National Citizens Inquiry to wrap up, but the NCI board does not. The board broke ties with the CIC on January 17 and set up a new corporation called National Citizens Inquiry to administer funds going forward.In an interview with the Western Standard, NCI lead counsel Shawn Buckley said another full slate of hearings would have happened already if not for the heel-dragging and opposition of the CIC.“The other side of this dispute has been absolutely clear. They do not want more hearings,” Buckley said.“We think that because the mainstream media isn't holding government to account… we could be a really powerful tool in just letting people know what's going on, and not just on COVID issues. So, we're going to be putting out a survey to ask, ‘What topics do you want us to cover?’”On The Lavigne Show February 3, Crosbie said this broadened approach was beyond the set time and purpose the inquiry should focus on."I think many would agree with me that we don’t want the National Citizens Inquiry to become an open-ended, ongoing inquiry into the state of government in Canada,” Crosbie said.Buckley said the CIC cannot stop the NCI board from holding new hearings and only a “trademark issue” was really at stake.“They know they can't stop us. We could organize hearings under any name we want; they understand that. They just don't want it under the name ‘National Citizens Inquiry’, because people will watch,” Buckley said.“This whole thing was built by citizens. And so how do you say, ‘Okay, sorry for all that hard work…because we've lost all this name recognition and momentum you the citizens have created? That's hard to walk away from.”In a memo posted online, Buckley theorized the desire by CIC directors to end the inquiry was to keep an upcoming Conservative government from “inconvenient” political problems the hearings could provoke.In an interview with Western Standard, Ross said he personally addressed that assertion at the CIC annual meetings March 1.“I told Shawn in our meeting on Friday afternoon…that I have never been a member of any political party, ever. In short, I am apolitical and that is what the National Citizens Inquiry strived for, and I hope, achieved, notwithstanding that we had several hundreds of volunteers whom I am fairly confident probably had backgrounds in nearly every political party known to Canada and that NCI issued subpoenas to government politicians of all stripes across Canada to testify to our hearings, but not one responded.”Buckley said he “truly” hopes there will be negotiations between the CIC and NCI but has doubts.“There was talk at the meeting that there should be negotiations, but that's different than having them,” Buckley said.Saskatchewan NCI organizer John Graff has been appointed to work out differences between the two sides, but says he has had little progress with the CIC.“I have reached out twice per week and they won’t negotiate. They say they want to but then they don’t have time. They are delaying until mid-March. They keep telling us to get a lawyer,” Graff told the Western Standard.Ross, however, insisted he had made efforts. “I have been waiting on John since last Thursday to provide me with a day next week when we can block a few hours together to chat,” Ross said by email.The NCI has announced new hearings for May 30 to June 1 in Regina with more to follow in Vancouver and Ontario. Buckley said that although the CIC has made it clear they will not fund the upcoming hearings, the fact they are happening has brought him cheer.“I'm very passionate about the fact that I want to stop kids being jabbed, that's why I do this. And what's going on has harmed that effort significantly for no real good purpose. And so that grieves me. But I have to trust that there's a greater good coming,” Buckley said.