Ottawa City Councillor Tells Hearing She was ‘Terrified’ of Freedom Convoy but Didn’t Witness Any Violence Herself

Ottawa City Councillor Catherine McKenney appears as a witness at the Public Order Emergency Commission hearing in Ottawa on Oct. 14, 2022. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

An Ottawa city councillor wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP in February claiming that residents in her ward, which includes the area surrounding Parliament Hill, experienced “unprecedented violence” from the Freedom Convoy, although she had not seen any acts of violence herself.

“I didn’t personally witness any acts of violence. I was told about them,” Catherine McKenney testified at the Public Order Emergency Commission on Oct. 14.

McKenney, councillor for Somerset Ward, was asked by senior counsel Natalia Rodriguez whether the allegations of “any kind of threats to safety, unruly behaviour” posed by the convoy protesters were reported to her and or “did you witness any of that yourself.”

In her Feb. 3 letter to Trudeau and RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki urging them to “assume full operational control” of Parliament Hill and the parliamentary precinct, McKenney said residents were “constantly harassed and terrorized” by the protesters. She made several claims including that there were “trucks driving erratically on local streets,” “widespread public urination and defecation,” and “seniors and others being harassed by strangers.”

McKenney, currently a candidate in Ottawa’s Oct. 24 mayoralty election, told the commission she was “terrified” of the truckers and felt that the city needed stability, especially after she received news of Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly’s resignation, and the removal of Diane Deans as chair of Police Services Board in mid-February.

“I was terrified going into another weekend where the actions of harassment and intimidation were just increasing every weekend,” she said.

McKenney also told the commission that she monitored the protest closely during that time. “I would go through the convoy and observe. I would meet with residents who were feeling threatened.”

“It was a general sense of fear, terror and dismay,” she added.

McKenney admitted to the commission that she never faced “any real danger” from the protesters.

“I was accosted on a few occasions but not, you know, never felt I was in any real danger,” she said. “But walking home through the residential streets was always when I felt the most threatened.” She clarified she was “threatened” by people who recognized her as a councillor and hurled disparaging remarks at her.

‘Peaceful and Cooperative’

According to security reports from the Government Operations Centre (GOC), an internal department of Public Safety Canada, there was no evidence of violence by the convoy organizers and supporters when they protested against federal COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in Ottawa from late January to days before the escalated operations by police on Feb. 18.

“The Freedom Convoy so far has been peaceful and cooperative with police,” said a Jan. 27 report, obtained by Blacklock’s Reporters.

Other daily updates on the convoy protest include confirming: “no major incidents” (Jan. 29), “no violence took place” (Feb. 1), “disruption to government activities is so far minor” (Feb. 6), “there are minimal people on Parliament Hill” (Feb. 10) and “situation remains stable and planning is ongoing” (Feb. 11).

The GOC, whose stated role is to lead and coordinate “integrated federal response to all-hazard events of national interest,” characterized the convoy protest as small, peaceful, and having little impact on federal operations in its security update on Feb. 14—before the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act the same day.

“Approximately 10 people on Parliament Hill and approximately 100 on the surrounding streets,” reads the security update.

“No concerns at this time,” said an assessment by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service included in the report.