The RCMP in a briefing to deputy ministers the very day cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act falsely claimed Freedom Convoy protesters had weapons outside Parliament.A police memo attributed the rumour to “intelligence information.”“Intelligence information also suggests that convoy protesters are beginning to weaponize themselves,” said the February 14 briefing note Truckers Convoy And Protective Services. “Officers are constantly monitoring the shift in behaviour and will respond accordingly.”According to Blacklock's Reporter, the RCMP at the time had “between 210 and 250 uniformed members” outside Parliament.“The RCMP also continues to have approximately 350 members deployed daily in support of our protective mandate,” wrote staff.The memo is dated 12:59 pm, February 14. Four hours later, the federal government announced it had invoked the Emergencies Act against protesters. “Dangerous criminal activity occurring away from the TV cameras and social media posts was real and organized,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters February 16. “It could have been deadly.”No weapons were found inside trucks at the Parliament Hill protest. The Toronto Star on March 19 published a story headlined “Inside The Convoy” by freelancer Justin Ling that also quoted an unnamed police source claiming truckers had loaded shotguns inside their vehicles. They did not.“Fears that there were weapons inside some of the trucks proved prescient,” reported the Star. “A police source said loaded shotguns were found.”The story quoted Minister Mendicino: “It was nothing short of miraculous that nobody was seriously injured.”Another cabinet member, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, on March 19 retweeted the Toronto Star story with a quote: “Was the Freedom Convoy really about vaccine mandates — or something darker?”Ottawa Police in March 24 testimony at the Commons public safety committee acknowledged there were neither loaded shotguns nor firearms of any kind found inside Freedom Convoy trucks parked at Parliament.“This is misinformation,” Conservative MP Dane Lloyd (Sturgeon River-Parkland, AB) told the committee.“Were loaded firearms found, yes or no?” asked Lloyd.“No, not relating to any charges to this point,” replied Steve Bell, interim chief of the Ottawa Police Service.“Can you clarify, speaking on the record, not off the record, that loaded shotguns were not found in the vehicles during the protest? Can you confirm that?” asked Lloyd.“Yes I can confirm,” replied Chief Bell.Lloyd called the story deceptive.“The article claims a police source told the journalist that loaded shotguns were found in trucks during the protest,” said Lloyd.“You have said to this committee that is in fact not the case, that loaded shotguns were not found.”
