Windsor Police Services Acting Deputy Chief Jason Crowley listens to a question from counsel as he appears as a witness at the Public Order Emergency Commission on Nov. 7, in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
CSIS warned the federal government that implementing the Emergencies Act would likely increase the number of Canadians who hold extreme anti-government views and radicalize some toward violence, according to a document tabled on Monday with the inquiry examining the act’s use.
On Feb. 13, the day before the act was invoked, the spy agency advised the government that the invocation of the act would probably lead to the dispersal of protesters in Ottawa. But it would likely also “push some towards the belief that violence is the only solution to what they perceive as a broken system and government.”
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service based its assessment on an increase in violent rhetoric after the declaration of a state of emergency by Ontario on Feb. 11, the document says. After the Emergencies Act was invoked, CSIS briefed cabinet and reiterated the potential for the act to increase anti-government views and violent ideologies, “including in those not yet radicalized,” it continued.
Was the Emergencies Act necessary?
The document also says that as of Feb. 3, CSIS assessed there were no indicators that known ideological extremists were planning to engage in violence.
In its justification for invoking the Emergencies Act, the federal government cited the potential for an increase in “unrest and violence” as one of the reasons it was necessary. It noted that the protests could lead to an increase in the number of people who support ideologically motivated violent extremism, as well as “the prospect for serious violence.”
“Ideologically-motivated violent extremism adherents may feel empowered by the level of disorder resulting from the protests,” another section of the government text reads.
The Public Order Emergency Commission, which is led by Justice Paul Rouleau, is determining whether the federal government erred in its decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to protests in Ottawa, as well as several border blockades. The commission has largely heard so far about the three-week convoy protest in Ottawa against COVID-19 restrictions but shifted its focus on Monday to the similarly motivated blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.
On Monday, the commission heard from Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor, and Jason Crowley, the Windsor Police Service’s interim deputy chief of operations.
The pair answered questions about the bridge blockade, which the City of Windsor says cost it more than $5-million and prevented the flow of international trade. The blockade lasted from Feb. 7 to 14 but required a police presence for several weeks afterward, according to a City of Windsor report tabled with the commission.
Mr. Dilkens testified that the bridge was cleared before the Emergencies Act was invoked but he also said it was useful.
“From an Emergencies Act perspective, anything that would send a signal to people contemplating coming to Windsor to start this over again, I thought – from my chair – was extremely helpful,” Mr. Dilkens testified.
Deputy Chief Crowley also said that he thought the act dissuaded protesters from coming back.
The Ambassador Bridge is a privately owned international border crossing connecting Detroit and Windsor. The bridge is, by far, Canada’s busiest commercial crossing to the United States, the city’s report notes. It adds that Windsor’s businesses, particularly its automotive sector, rely on “just-in-time” passage of goods across the bridge.
Commission counsel asked Mr. Dilkens about text messages between himself and federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, a record of which were tabled with the commission.
On Feb. 12, Mr. Dilkens texted Mr. Mendicino, referencing a person who has “activated his congregation from Harvest Bible Church.” In testimony, Mr. Dilkens said subsequently the number of protesters swelled, including people bringing young children, which delayed police enforcement.
The next day, the mayor reported to Mr. Mendicino that they were “down to 35 malcontents,” with several arrests made and vehicles towed. “It will end today, fingers crossed,” he texted. “Police have full control of the area now.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the invocation of the Emergencies Act on the afternoon of Feb. 14.
During the convoy protests, FINTRAC, Canada’s financial intelligence agency, also had its eye on developments with the protests. FINTRAC wrote a memo on “potential terrorist activity financing risks” associated with convoy funding, a copy of which was tabled with the commission.
The memo refers to a risk of potential “violent extremist activity” escalating and which could constitute terrorist activity. It does not say that terrorist activity was taking place at protests, nor does it offer a determination of how likely or unlikely it thought the risk was.
The memo is dated only “February 2022″ but appears to be written before Feb. 15. It seems it was written solely using open-source intelligence. The memo describes “limited but concerning instances of violence, harassment, and vandalism in Ottawa,” which it saw as indicative of a risk for escalation. It references journalists being “verbally harassed on camera, chased and sent racist death threats” and rocks being hurled at an ambulance and a paramedic who was subjected to racial slurs.
It also describes the presence, at the protests, of a truck flying the flag of the Three Percenters, which is a designated terrorist entity in Canada. “Three Percenters have been linked to bomb plots targeting United States federal government buildings and Muslim communities,” reads a federal government description of the group.
In another section, the memo details the “presence of notable IMVE actors,” referring to ideologically motivated violent extremism. It discusses individuals who “have explicitly called for violent activity during the protest” and cites remarks made by convoy organizer Pat King.