Freedom Convoy protesters were accused of assaulting Asians by spitting and shoving them, but sworn testimony at a judicial inquiry contradicted these claims. . Freedom ConvoyTrucks and protestors are entering their second week of demonstrations in downtown Ottawa. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont-La Petite Patrie, QC) raised the allegations during a debate in the House of Commons on a motion condemning anti-Asian racism..“This motion is important,” said Boulerice. .“It’s important to have this debate and the committee study afterwards so all of us together as parliamentarians and as citizens tackle all forms of racism and discrimination.”.“We saw it here in Ottawa with the so-called Freedom Convoy,” said Boulerice. .“People in Ottawa of Asian origin felt those protesters were aggressive and even violent. People were spit on, people were shoved because they were of Asian descent.”.“There was a young woman who asked for an injunction to free up the streets of the city and she was bullied,” said Boulerice. .“Someone in a truck drove at her when she was on the sidewalk and stopped just a metre away to scare her. This young woman is of Asian origin. That was reported in news at the time.”.Boulerice’s office stated that the claim was derived from a single article published in the Ottawa Citizen on Feb. 17, 2022. The article quoted Zexi Li, the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit seeking $306 million in damages against the protesters. The lawsuit is currently awaiting certification in the Ontario Superior Court..The newspaper quoted Li as claiming “one of the protesters backed his pickup truck onto a sidewalk in an attempt to hit or frighten her” as she was taking photographs of license plates. .In sworn testimony given during the Public Order Emergency Commission on Oct. 14, Li contradicted the Ottawa Citizen story, which did not mention spitting or shoving..“I didn’t feel safe, but it’s hard to describe it as unsafe,” testified Li..“I was harassed for wearing a mask. I was told to smile more under my mask, just these kind of comments.”.Li described the only violent incident when residents of her apartment building threw cartons of eggs at protesters’ trucks. “They had their little retaliation,” said Li..“You never said anything with respect to protesters or truckers threatening to physically harm anyone?” asked counsel for the Freedom Convoy. “I did not make that statement,” replied Li..New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh cited numerous claims of Freedom Convoy violence in voting with Liberal MPs to invoke the Emergencies Act against protesters. .“Stop this convoy from attacking workers and people,” Singh told reporters on Feb. 16, 2022..“Are you concerned the powers being used against the protesters from the convoy could one day be used against protesters on the left?” asked a reporter. .“This is a situation without precedent and it can never be applied to other scenarios,” replied Singh..In the Commons, Singh made a claim that the protesters were dangerous arsonists who attempted to set residents on fire while they were sleeping, which was later found to be false..“Violence is commonplace,” Singh said on Feb. 7, 2022. .“We saw an example of this violence with an attempted arson of a downtown apartment building, where people started a fire and taped the doors closed when they exited.”.“I ask members to take a moment to think what that means,” said Singh. .“They had the forethought to set a fire and then tape the doors so no one could escape. This is not isolated. There are ongoing examples.”.On April 6, 2022, the Ottawa Police confirmed that two local men were arrested for attempting to start a fire in the lobby of an apartment building five blocks from the protest..Neither was “involved in any way with the Convoy which was going on when this arson took place,” police said in a statement.
