Liberal-appointed Sen. Ratna Omidvar (ON) referred to the Freedom Convoy as a “far-right extremist movement” that had “terrorized” Ottawa. . Ratna Omidvar .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Omidvar’s comments contradict the evidence provided by the police, who stated that the demonstrators on Parliament Hill were neither extremist nor violent..During the Senate Question Period, Senator Omidvar questioned Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino comparing the Freedom Convoy protestors and terrorists..“I would like to query you about the rise of far-right extremist movements in Canada,” said Omidvar. .“We saw some of this spillover in real-time when some members of the Freedom Convoy terrorized the residents of Ottawa for three weeks.”.“What is the government doing to track this?” asked Omidvar. .“Specifically, are you tracking how these extremists are influencing politicians in Canada? Are intelligence agencies briefing parliamentarians who are being targeted by the far-right extremist movements? I know the talk is all about foreign interference, but what about domestic interference?”.“Like you, I am deeply concerned about the rise of far-right extremism, a movement, a phenomenon that is based on ideologically extreme motivations,” replied Mendicino..“We have seen it take many different shapes, including in the illegal blockades a little more than a year ago. To be clear, what we are talking about is a very small but hardened subset of the individuals who participated in that.”.Internal police records released by the Public Order Emergency Commission contradicted claims by “political figures” that the Freedom Convoy was extremist or violent. .“It is not an ‘extremist’ movement,” Superintendent Patrick Morris, commander of the Ontario Provincial Police Intelligence Bureau, wrote in a Feb. 22, 2022, memo. .“It is not comprised of ideologically motivated violent extremists. The actual leaders are not violent extremists with histories of violent criminal acts.”.“I do not know where the political figures are acquiring information or intelligence on the extent of extremist involvement,” wrote Morris. .“The issue has become deeply politicized and political figures and polarized media cite sources of extremism as the prime catalyst but there are significant differences between seeing political dissent or opponents as ‘extreme,’ a highly subjective measure, and the legal connotations of ideologically motivated violent extremism or terrorism.”.Superintendent Morris testified last Oct. 19 at the Public Order Emergency Commission, stating that he found no evidence of armed or violent behaviour by the Freedom Convoy..“The lack of violent crime was shocking,” said Morris. .“I mean, even in the arrest and charges considering the whole thing in totality.”.“I want to be clear on this,” said Morris. .“We produced no intelligence to indicate these individuals would be armed. There has been a lot of hyperbole around that.”.In a Feb. 21, 2022, memo, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan said that there was “no serious violence in Ottawa” related to the Freedom Convoy. .In a report to the cabinet on Feb. 13, 2022, Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director David Vigneault said that the Freedom Convoy never “constituted a threat to the security of Canada.”
