A spokesperson for the Quebec group Farfadaas testified before the Public Order Emergency Commission on Tuesday and disputed repeated claims heard in recent weeks that the group was blocking a key intersection in Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy protest of last winter.
“We didn’t occupy Rideau and Sussex,” Steeve Charland told the commission a number of times.
The issue was brought to him repeatedly, and in different ways, which led Commissioner Paul Rouleau to interject to say Charland had addressed it.
Charland admitted that it’s possible that there could have been members of his group in the area, but said he wasn’t aware of any effort from his group to hold that area.
“The Farfadaas movement is large, but we’re not responsible for every Quebecer,” he said.
Charland said his group led a convoy that was 107 km long from Lachute, Quebec, to the Ottawa area for the Freedom Convoy events.
The group settled on the Gatineau side in a private parking lot where they struck a commercial agreement with the owner.
‘Biker Gang’
Along with claims that the group was occupying a key intersection in the city, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told the commission that a group of Quebecers there was actually tied to biker gangs.“My understanding, because I was briefed on this, was that the chief indicated there were criminal elements I believe were involved with the biker gang community in Quebec, and they were blockading the corner of Rideau, Wellington, Sussex, and Colonel By,” Watson told the commission on Oct. 18.
The allegation was not substantiated and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) intelligence chief Pat Morris testified to the commission on Oct. 19 that he was told by the Sûreté du Québec that the Farfadaas were not violent.
The claim of some biker gang affiliation was touched upon by Government of Canada lawyer Caroline Laverdière, but dismissed by Charland.
“Some of us have motorcycles, and others have roller blades,” he said.
‘Remain Peaceful’
Charland spoke at length about his history of activism and advocacy during his testimony and said he was committed to non-violence.“It’s really not in our values to go towards violence,” he said.
Charland was asked to comment on an RCMP intelligence report from Feb. 4 which included a screenshot of a Facebook post made during the protest.
“In a Facebook post [redacted] calls on members of FARFADAA to remain peaceful,” noted the RCMP. Charland confirmed he was behind the post.
“We don’t win a war by fighting a war. I tried... From yesterday, all the Farfadaas are engaged in re-establishing peace everywhere,” wrote Charland, in an apparent call for peace within the group.
The Farfadaas spokesperson was previously associated with Quebec group La Meute (The Pack), which defines itself as “a citizen group that campaigns for the defence of freedom of expression and democracy” and is known for taking stances against illegal immigration and radical Islam.
Charland used many of his answers during his testimony to criticize what he says is a fledging democracy and said the commission would have an important role to determine whether Canadians still have the right to protest in the country.
