Oxford Dictionary defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims”. In Canada, section 83.01 of the Criminal Code defines terrorism as an act committed “in whole or in part for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause” with the intention of intimidating the public “…with regard to its security, including its economic security, or compelling a person, a government or a domestic or an international organization to do or to refrain from doing any act.”

Since mid-late January (2022), the city of Ottawa and other Canadian cities (Windsor (Ontario), Surrey (British Columbia), Emerson (Manitoba), and Coutts (Alberta)) have been faced with ongoing disturbances caused by the Freedom Convoy. Although the organizers of this group have tried to disguise their movement as a “peaceful protest”, residents of Ottawa and the listed cities above have been subjected to various acts of violence and harassment that are aligned with both of the referenced definitions of terrorism.

On February 14th, 2022, Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian History to help put an end to the chaos this group has inflicted in various cities across the country. Actions of the Freedom Convoy have included the unlawful occupation of cities, the blockade of border crossing points and trade routes, threatening civilians with both physical and sexual violence if opposed, flying flags with a variety of hate symbols affiliated with numerous Far-Right extremist groups, desecration of national monuments, subjecting civilians to noise torture methods, threatening to assassinate the Prime Minister and other public officials and many other examples that have proven that this is not a group who was ever here for a “peaceful protest”. Their now retracted MOU clearly stated that the goal of this movement is to have the Prime Minister step down and surrender so that they can replace him with a government of their own choosing. All of this is in alignment with the definition of terrorism both in the Criminal Code of Canada as well as within the Oxford Dictionary.

We have seen local and provincial police refuse to enforce laws at risk of escalation from these groups and the acknowledgement from law enforcement recognizing the potential use of violence, at a large-scale, to create havoc in the cities they are occupying. Recently we have seen members of the convoy deputize participants and form their own militia with the intent of combatting policing efforts of law enforcement to restore order within the cities they are occupying. Throughout their occupations, participants and organizers of the convoy have alluded to having plans to escalate to extreme measures if demands are not met, with some members having been quoted to say that their solutions can only be solved with violence and bullets. In Coutts, Alberta, we saw the RCMP seize an alarming number of weapons, ammunition and various tools that would undeniably be useful only if the intention was to harm or potentially kill civilians, government officials and law-enforcement trying to clear their illegal occupations and blockades

We are hereby asking Public Safety Ministers Marco Mendicino and Bill Blair, David Vigneault (Director at CSIS) and whomever else within the Federal Government is responsible for maintaining Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act (i.e. Justice Canada and other relevant departments) to come together and classify the Freedom Convoy (organizers and participants) as a Terrorist Entity and begin applying any and all consequences that come with this classification to the group. This is the first step in recognizing the movement for what it truly is and reinstating confidence in Canadians that the government will protect civilians by preventing similar acts of terror occurring in the future.