Our Last Stop, Ottawa!
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Media, Journalism and Propaganda
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Catherine Austin Fitts | Ottawa Day 1 | National Citizens Inquiry
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Closing Remarks With Ches Crosbie Translated By Philippe Meloni | Quebec City Day Two | NCI
Law Professor Bruce Pardy Explains how the System Works
Former N.L. PC leader Ches Crosbie donated money to support the Freedom Convoy
Crosbie donated $800 to protest prolonged states of emergency and travel restrictions
Ches Crosbie told CBC News he's chosen to support the protesters in Ottawa with an $800 donation through an online crowdfunding platform, which he paid on Feb. 8.
"Indefinite states of emergency, such as we are under in most of Canada, are a dangerous thing, a very dangerous thing," Crosbie told CBC News on Monday.
"I support the right of peaceful protest and I see the Freedom Convoy as a peaceful protest."
The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday to disperse blockades clogging main arteries in the nation's capital, with officials in Ottawa decrying damage to the Canadian economy.
"It is now clear that there are serious challenges to law enforcement's ability to effectively enforce the law," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters at a news conference Monday afternoon.
"It is no longer a lawful protest at a disagreement over government policy. It is now an illegal occupation. It's time for people to go home."
A
protester who arrived to support convoy participants blocked by local
residents in a counter-protest argues with police officers in Ottawa on
Sunday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Crosbie, however, said he sees it differently.
"You have to get your information from whatever sources are available, and what I've been reading is that the vast majority of what you call the protesters are law-abiding people who could well be your neighbours," he said.
"As far as I can tell, what's going on is, by and large, lawful."
Ottawa police have reported safety concerns and "aggressive, illegal behaviour" from the protesters.
Mandates 'unconstitutional'
Longtime lawyer Crosbie also said he believes requiring vaccination against COVID-19 for travel within the country is unconstitutional.
"I think the mandates and the states of emergency should be terminated immediately. I think something very important is at stake, and that's our constitutional rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," he said.
"Governments have taken a very cavalier attitude as to whether what they are doing is legal or not."
Crosbie said he agrees with former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Brian Peckford, also an outspoken supporter of the protest.
Donation list
CBC News has reviewed information that appears to identify tens of thousands of Freedom Convoy donors to the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo.
The data, hacked and released briefly on its front page, includes names, locations, dollar amounts, personal email addresses and even the credit card companies used for each transaction.
In total, the database shows donations from more than 190 people who used Newfoundland and Labrador postal codes, but CBC cannot verify whether those individuals actually live in the province.
Convoy organizers have raised millions of dollars, initially through the GoFundMe crowdfunding site. When GoFundMe shut the fundraising campaign down, organizers pivoted to GiveSendGo.
Former PC leader Ches Crosbie bankrolled the party last year with $300K in donations
Political scientist says lack of restrictions on massive donation is 'highly concerning and unprecedented'
Despite this large injection of cash from its leader, Newfoundland and Labrador's PCs dropped from 15 to 13 seats in the House of Assembly, and the Liberals under Premier Andrew Furey won a slim majority with 22 seats.
Crosbie lost his own seat in the district of Windsor Lake, and quit politics a few days after the results were announced.
When asked why he gave so much of his own money, Crosbie said he wanted to level the playing field with the incumbent Liberals, and that he believed strongly in his party's strategy to bring jobs and prosperity to the province.
You could say I put my money where my mouth is.
- Ches Crosbie
"There was nothing I was going to get out of the financial contribution I made except give the PC Party the chance of coming into office and implementing that program," he said.
"You could say I put my money where my mouth is."
'Highly concerning'
A political scientist, however, says Crosbie's donation is further proof that Newfoundland and Labrador's elections rules are in need of an overhaul.
"I think that is highly concerning and unprecedented," said Russell Williams, a professor at Memorial University.
Williams says he believes it would be hard to find a similarly large donation by an individual to a political party in modern Canadian history.
Russell
Williams, a professor in the political science department at Memorial
University, says the fact that former PC leader Ches Crosbie can donate
$300,000 to the party is 'highly concerning and unprecedented.' (Terry Roberts/CBC)
That's because the federal government and most other provinces have limits on the amount of donations that individuals, corporations and unions can make, he said.
That's not the case in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"Essentially, their election campaign was financed by one donor, by and large, and that's really alarming for the state of our democratic institutions and a really sad comment on the state of our campaign finance laws here in Newfoundland and Labrador that that's allowed," said Williams.
The 2021 audited financial statements of the PC Party available on Elections N.L.'s website show that contributions totalled just over $721,000.
The party spent roughly $670,000 during the campaign.
The documents also includes a list of those who donated $100 or more to the party.
Two donations stand out from the rest: one for $50,000 and a second for $250,000. Both were from Crosbie, a retired lawyer and member of one of the province's best-known business and political families.
CBC News spoke with a handful of longtime political insiders who say they've never heard of such large donations by an individual in a single year.
The next largest single donation, at $15,000, was from Fortis Inc., while there were eight different donations of $10,000.
No rules were broken
Williams said the political optics of Crosbie's donations may be mitigated by the fact he was party leader. He also didn't break any rules.
However, said Williams, "I still think it's highly problematic because it says that people who have large sums of money have, essentially, extra power or extra influence over how our democratic institutions work."
David Brazil is the interim leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. (Terry Roberts/CBC)
The vote was scheduled for Feb. 13, 2021, but the election was thrown into turmoil following a surge in COVID-19 cases in the week leading up to voting day, and strict new public health measures were invoked on the night before the scheduled vote.
In-person voting was cancelled, mail-in ballots were distributed and the results were ultimately not known until March 27, making it the longest campaign on record.
Fallout from the controversial election continues, with three legal challenges against the results still before the courts, and speculation swirling about a secret report that alleges harassment and bullying at Elections N.L.
In the lead-up to the campaign, the PCs announced they would limit their fundraising efforts in order to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Crosbie said it's already difficult for opposition parties to attract donations "because they'd rather give their money to the party in power in hopes of getting some kind of favour or preferment."
So Crosbie said he felt the need to open his own wallet.
"We probably wouldn't have done as well," Crosbie said when asked if his money made a difference.
"You don't run a political party on fumes. So if I didn't make that personal contribution, we would have had a much reduced opportunity to get our message out."
Crosbie's successor, interim PC Leader David Brazil, said he was aware that Crosbie made a significant contribution to the party last year. But he didn't know the specifics until Elections N.L. published the audited statements.
"We were fortunate enough that we had a leader who was committed to this party, but more importantly, committed to the people of this province, that he was able to put his own money up to ensure there was an alternative to the Liberal party and that we could get across this province and get our message out to people and hear from [voters] about what kind of government they wanted," said Brazil.
Following the election, there were loud cries for election reform in the province, and the Liberals have established an all-party committee with a mandate to modernize the Elections Act.
Crosbie agrees that changes are needed and says the process is taking too long.
As for his own future, Crosbie, 69, is not ruling out a return to politics, despite two unsuccessful provincial elections.
"I'm just going to say that I like to see a job finished that I started," he said.
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Hon. Ches Crosbie shares his powerful closing remarks May 19th