Head of OPP Liaison Team confirms deal struck with convoy before Emergencies Act used

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"You will publicly denounce unlawful activity and blockades and facilitate having individuals being able to return to their homes. If this occurs, you will be able to form a connection with senior government officials in the form of a meeting in order to have your voice heard," the email from the OPP Liaison team (PLT) read.

The PLT had been leading negotiations with the Freedom Convoy for several days before federal intervention destroyed any hope of a resolution to the nearly four-week-long peaceful protest in the nation's capital.

Truckers and their supporters converged in Ottawa in late January to demand an end to cross-border vaccine mandates for truckers. The demonstrations quickly grew into an avatar of freedom from COVID restrictions until the Trudeau Liberals used the nuclear option of the never-before-used Emergencies Act to give police and government extraordinary powers of search, arrest, and seizure to bring an end to the so-called "occupation."

Tuesday lawyer for Freedom Corporation, Brendan Miller, cross-examined Ontario Provincial Police Inspector Marcel Beaudin with an email between Beaudin and Deputy Minister of Public Safety Rob Stewart, which confirmed an OPP-brokered proposal for a resolution to the convoy protest was presented to the Liberal cabinet's Incident Response group in the hours before the Emergencies Act was invoked.

MIC DROP: Freedom Convoy lawyer Brendan Miller tells OPP Inspector Marcel Beaudin his negotiations proposal was presented to the federal government before the Emergencies Act was invoked.

More https://t.co/0CNKcj5EDk pic.twitter.com/CEuvdvllAR

— K2 (@kiansimone44) October 25, 2022

Also in evidence before the commission are earlier emails confirming a federal engagement with the protesters if the protesters kept their side of the deal. The emails from Leslie Jean of the OPP PLT team dated February 11, 2022, promise a meeting with senior government officials if protesters "facilitate having individuals being able to return to their homes."

Here are emails confirming federal engagement with the protesters if the protesters kept their side of the deal.

It's from the deputy minister of Public Safety.

February 11th.

3 days later, the feds dropped the hammer of EA before they had to uphold their end of the deal. pic.twitter.com/HZza7dTerL

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 25, 2022

The emails were precipitated by Deputy Minister Rob Stewart, who had requested "urgent engagement."

OPP Inspector Marcel Beaudin claims that there had been discussions and acknowledgement of potential meetings between the OPP and Freedom Convoy organizers.

MORE: https://t.co/aITJqH3UGQ pic.twitter.com/Nr61Cjp2WZ

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 25, 2022

On February 13, 2022, convoy organizers began moving trucks out of the downtown core as a show of good faith.

ICYMI: Police stopped the movement of trucks during negotiations between city officials and convoy organizers, despite the city's chief of staff recalling there was space.

His theory? This was done because of the Emergencies Act.

MORE: https://t.co/aITJqH3UGQ pic.twitter.com/RMfRn0fAIW

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 18, 2022

Three days later, the feds dropped the hammer of the Emergencies Act before they had to uphold their end of the deal, police were redeployed from the project to move trucks out of residential areas, and the mass arrests and crackdowns started where protesters congregated.

The POEC, over the next four weeks, will examine if the invocation of the Emergencies Act was justified. The commission is in its third week of testimony. To support Rebel News' independent coverage of the POEC and to see our reports, please visit TruckerCommission.com.