OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – The majority of Canadians believed the use of the Emergencies Act (EA) by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to crack down on the Freedom Convoy in February was excessive, an internal cabinet poll showed.
“Though a small number of participants felt implementing the Emergencies Act was a necessary step given the disturbance caused by the seemingly indefinite nature of the protests, most felt this action represented significant ‘over-reach’ by the federal government as they interpreted this as limiting the right of these Canadians to peaceful protest,” said an internal report titled Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
The internal report, written by the Strategic Counsel, was based on federal focus groups held nationwide from February 2 to February 28, which is when Trudeau put the EA into use.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, researchers found that there was nationwide support for the Freedom Convoy.
“A significant number identified with the frustration expressed by the protesters regarding ongoing public health measures even if they disagreed with some of the methods,” the internal report noted.
“Among participants who were supportive of the protests and their aims, it was felt the protests had been mostly peaceful and that these individuals had the right to express their opinion.”
The internal report also noted that while some were hesitant to “condone the disruption caused by the protests,” most of the participants “felt the aim of the protest of ending Covid-19 mandates was justified and something they too supported.”
The report also noted that some “participants expressed excitement regarding what they perceived as Canadians standing up for their rights and freedoms.”
“A small number also felt media coverage of the protests had been primarily ‘one-sided’ and had unfairly portrayed the protests in a mostly negative light,” the report noted.
Canada’s draconian COVID measures were the catalyst for the Freedom Convoy, which took to the streets of Ottawa to demand an end to all COVID mandates for three weeks in February. As a result, Trudeau on February 14 enacted the EA to shut down the Freedom Convoy.
Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23.
Internal poll: EA should have never been enacted ‘in the first place’
According to the internal report, the fact that the Trudeau government suspended the EA only nine days after enacting it is “evidence the law should never have been used in the first place.”
“For those who felt the Emergencies Act was a disproportionate response on the part of the federal government, many thought there were other steps that could have been taken prior to invoking this legislation,” the report noted.
“Most of these participants believed the protests to be primarily legal and peaceful and did not represent a public order emergency.”
Over 230 people were arrested during the Freedom Convoy crackdown. Also, the Trudeau government took the unprecedented step of freezing the bank accounts of hundreds who donated to and sympathized with the truckers to the tune of almost $8 million.
The report noted that many of the participants in the polling said they were “particularly unnerved by the reports of protesters and their supporters having their bank accounts frozen and expressed anxiety at law enforcement being imbued with this power.”
“A few expressed a growing lack of trust in the federal government which they felt was limiting the rights of Canadians to protest in a peaceful manner and were concerned the Emergencies Act could be used routinely going forward to limit public dissent,” the report indicated.
The report also noted that participants stated that more “steps should have been taken by federal officials to open up a dialogue with the protesters and hear their concerns.”
“A small number of these participants felt that rather than denouncing the protests the federal government should have listened to them,” it stated.
A national public inquiry into Trudeau’s use of the EA has been postponed for at least one month due to Judge Paul Rouleau, the commissioner of the hearings, needing an unforeseen surgery.
Many Conservative Party of Canada MPs have called into question the tactics used by police and the Trudeau government to go after the Freedom Convoy.
Recently released email records show that the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) had a blacklist made of fundraisers linked to the Freedom Convoy that was then sent to a government-run agriculture bank.