Four months after the last truck left downtown Ottawa, senior figures from the Freedom Convoy returned to Parliament Hill and met with nearly 20 percent of the Conservative Party of Canada group, according to a video reviewed by CTV News.
On Wednesday, 23 Conservative members attended meetings with convoy spokesman Tom Marazzo, convoy security director Daniel Bulford, adviser to former US President Donald Trump Paul Alexander and Canadian soldier James Top, who is currently marching in Canada protesting against vaccine mandates.
Organizers held two presentations Wednesday afternoon in a building located in the parliamentary section. Alexander said in his presentation that Conservative MP Dean Alison had helped the group gain access to the Valor building. Groups planning to hold Parliament Hill presentations require a parliamentarian to sponsor them in order to obtain permission to access Parliament Hill buildings and to reserve a room.
Some lawmakers, such as former leadership candidate Marilyn Gladu, took quick selfies with Top, but others, including current leadership candidate Leslin Lewis, stayed during the presentation.
Presentations included extensive statements by Alexander against vaccines and the mandate, as well as a Top discussion on his founding group, the Canadian Citizens Coalition. The coalition’s stated mission is “to return Canada to a free, fair and just society by restoring democratic, representative and accountable civic and corporate governance.” The coalition is linked to various groups against vaccines and mandates, including those of Marazzo and Bulford.
After the presentations, Ontario MP Cheryl Galant and Saskatchewan MP Jeremy Patzer made statements in the hall. Patzer said the group had “allies” in the Conservative Party, adding that “you have support, you have had support all along.”
Many conservatives, including Ontario lawmakers Ryan Williams and Alex Ruff, posed for photos with Top and Marazzo at the end of the first presentation. Marazzo said they were not affiliated with any party at the federal level, “but we are very aware of which members of which party were present today.”
Marazzo was routinely the public face of the convoy with the media, holding press conferences and publishing videos conveying messages from the convoy’s organizers. On February 8, Marazzo spoke in a video with organizers, including Tamara Leach, offering a meeting with the governor-general to join a coalition government with the Conservative Party, the NDP and the Quebec bloc, although the proposal was widely seen as an initial attempt at overthrowing the current liberal government.
LIST OF DEPATHERS OF THE CONSERVATIVES ATTENDED AT THE MEETING
- Marilyn Hunger
- Arnold Virsen
- Dean Alison
- James Besan
- Melissa Lanzman
- Dan Moyes
- Ted Falk
- Leslin Lewis
- Alex Ruff
- Jeremy Patzer
- Jamie Schmeil
- Martin Shields
- John Barlow
- Ryan Williams
- Warren Steinley
- Damien Kurek
- Gerald Magpie
- Scott Davidson
- Chris Workentin
- Corey Tochor
- Taco van Popta
- Cheryl Galant
- Carrie-Lynn Findley
The office of interim conservative leader Candice Bergen said they were aware of the event but did not take part in organizing it.
Top is due to return to Ottawa on June 30, where he will complete his campaign by touching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Top’s return is expected to coincide with further protests against the government on Canada Day.
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