Just like they do in America. How nice.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation provided support to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) as it struggled to deal with the truck convoy protest that paralyzed the nation’s capital last winter, according to a document tabled before the public inquiry investigating the federal government’s response to the protest.
Confidential minutes of the Ottawa Police Services Board presented to the Public Order Emergency Commission inquiry show that, during an in-camera discussion on Feb. 11, members of the Ottawa Police Service, including Chief of Police Peter Sloly and Deputy Chief of Police Steve Bell, briefed members of the board on the demonstrations.
“The Service indicated that while there was a foreign element, it primarily stemmed from financial support coming from the United States,” say the partially redacted minutes tabled before the inquiry, which is examining the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the protest.
“There had been threats traced back to the U.S. as well. Support was being provided by the FBI.”
The minutes do not define the kind of support the FBI was providing. They’re also silent on whether the FBI support was to deal with the threats or the financing — or both.
The OPS says it will not comment on the FBI’s role.
“The Ottawa Police is not commenting on convoy-related matters at this time, so as to respect the public inquiry underway,” wrote Const. Charles Proulx in an e-mail response to questions from CBC News.
The FBI’s national office also refused to comment.
The minutes also mentioned that the OPS was getting help from Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
The truckers’ Freedom Convoy in Canada was a response to Trudeau’s trampling of civil liberties. The draconian ‘covid’ lockdowns were too much even for the Canadians.