“Evidence is the absence of something” – Vincent Gircys
Vincent Gircys, a retired police officer of OPP, who has been speaking up about the mistakes made in Canada’s COVID-19 response over the past three years. As a former member of the police force for 32 years, he brings a unique perspective to the conversation.
Vincent highlights how Canada was founded on the supremacy of God and the Rule of Law, as stated in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, he raises concerns about the violations of the constitution and charter that have taken place during the pandemic.
In his impactful testimony, Vincent shares his experience at the beginning of the pandemic when he witnessed a restaurant being shut down by a team of 200 police officers and horses. He also discusses forensic investigative techniques that were ignored and should be implemented when investigating the COVID-19 response in Canada.
Vincent is the Canadian representative of Police for Freedom International. His story is an important one, and I encourage you to listen to his testimony. Let’s continue to have open and honest conversations about the pandemic response in Canada.
Ottawa Police Officer, Helen Grus is facing a charge of Discreditable Conduct after investigating unexplained deaths of children with potential links to the Covid 19 vaccines.
As part of the SACA (Sexual Assault Child Abuse) unit, their mandate is to investigate all sudden and unexpected child deaths of children under the age of five. These investigations are crucial and mandated by law.
As Police Officers it is incumbent on us to investigate all avenues of potential cause of death. Given the recent avalanche of medical evidence surrounding the Covid 19 vaccine, especially Pfizer’s documents that show 28 out of 29 pregnant woman that reported adverse events after the vaccine, lost their baby, one would think that asking these questions to rule out potential cause of death would be expected as best practice and ones duty of office.
After all, isn’t that the goal of the investigation?
If there is an increase of sudden deaths in children compared to previous years, wouldn’t this be something worth investigating to figure out a cause?
Every sworn Police Officer has a duty to investigate. A Police Officer assigned to the dedicated SACA unit, with an exemplary record, who is investigating a potential cause of death and is being silenced and disciplined for her thorough investigation, should be a major red flag to every Canadian.
Ottawa Police Service and any other Police Services across the country who are silencing these investigations, should be held to account for neglect of duty.
You swore an oath to serve and protect. Following the edict of the government, ignoring the potential evidence and punishing a Police Officer for doing her job is criminal!
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is rescinding its Covid vaccination policy for members currently on unpaid leave and inviting them back to work on Jun. 21.
TPS spokesperson Allison Sparkes confirmed the removal of the policy to True North in an emailed statement.
“The Service’s decision to rescind its COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Requirement was made in response to the current public health and occupational health context of the pandemic and the unique nature of its work and workplaces. Approximately 99% of our members are fully vaccinated and new hires are required to be fully vaccinated.”
“Members currently on an unpaid absence will return to duty on June 21, 2022. Officers will be deployed as operationally required by the Service and civilian members will return to their original roles.”
The TPS also confirmed that recruits and other new hires would still be required to show proof of full vaccination going forward.
The service would not say whether staff forced on leave would be compensated for lost wages.
In November, 205 members were forced off the job for not complying with the service’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement. According to a TPS media advisory, the members had “rendered themselves unable to perform their duties and are being placed on an indefinite unpaid absence.”
The members include 117 uniformed officers and 88 civilians, numbers representing 2.7% of TPS staff. The axed members were told they would not be allowed to return to work, nor to enter a TPS building or facility, until they disclosed full vaccination status (two shots).
Despite forcing unvaccinated officers on leave, TPS continued to see Covid outbreaks at several units, including Traffic Services and 11 Division.
Toronto Police is Canada’s largest municipal police force, and the third largest force behind the RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police. While the TPS, RCMP and many other police forces in Canada implemented mandatory vaccination policies, some – including Vancouver Police and the OPP – opted to allow rapid testing instead.
This article does not mention the social pressure experienced by the police, the absurd orders they are forced to apply, the conflict of loyalties they experience, etc. Police officers are the instrument of application of illegitimate decrees for 2 years and of repression, as we have witnessed in Ottawa…
The number of mental health consultations has jumped in some police forces in Quebec, according to the police unions of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
At the SPVM, the number of consultations rose from 3,200 in 2017 to 5,000 in 2021, according to figures provided by the Brotherhood of Police Officers and Policewomen of Montreal. From 2020 to 2021, we are talking about a jump in the number of consultations of around 16%. The same person may have consulted several times, nuance the president of the Fraternity, Yves Francœur, and the police are also more open than before to seek help. But the rise in mental health demands is undeniable, he says.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Yves Francœur, President of the Brotherhood of Policemen and Policewomen of Montreal
Among active SQ police officers, the number of files identified by the La Vigile organization, which deals in particular with peace officers, paramedics and soldiers in distress, increased from 219 in 2018 to 441 in 2021, reveal the figures provided by the Quebec Provincial Police Association (APPQ). The same file can contain several consultations, specifies the union.
This increase in consultations can be explained in particular by pandemic fatigue, which is exacerbated among peace officers. Not to mention the increase in interventions with citizens struggling with mental health problems.
Not only do they have to take care of themselves, but they have to take care of a lot more [people’s] demands for psychological health.
François Lemay, President of the Federation of Municipal Police Officers of Quebec
Lydia Royer, social worker at La Vigile, observes “a lot of anxiety and distress”. With the health crisis, there are fewer “protective factors”, such as the entourage and activities “that do good”. “It can bring an imbalance more quickly,” she says.
The effect of social networks
According to Dominic Ricard, president of the Association of provincial police officers of Quebec, there is also “the social environment which is more harmful than before”. The work of the police is strongly criticized on social networks, he illustrates. “Sometimes you have to work fast in a hostile environment and take more robust measures to avoid an escalation,” he reports. In a context where you find yourself filmed, there are all kinds of reactions. According to Yves Francœur, the videos circulating on social networks that only show excerpts from police interventions create “a feeling of injustice” among peace officers.
Mr. Ricard says he has no problem “that we ask ourselves questions”. “But popular judgment is very, very, very quick. »
Last summer, Alex Marcotte, then a police officer with the SQ in Senneterre, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, was filmed during an intervention. He first tried to subdue a man in crisis on his own. Without success.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ALEX MARCOTTE
Alex Marcotte, former SQ policeman
“Unless you’re the Hulk, there aren’t 10,000 ways to deal with a situation like this. I really fought with the individual,” says Alex Marcotte, 29, former SQ. police officer
The images circulated on social media. “You want to shout at people: ‘I did my job well!’ », says Mr. Marcotte. But the “use of force model” is difficult for the population to understand, he believes.
“It didn’t work in my head”
Then, last December, Alex Marcotte gave up on his dream of being a “little guy” and resigned from the SQ following another particularly difficult intervention. Three weeks after the incident, he began to experience chest pains and anxiety, he said. “When I saw a police tank go by, I became anxious,” says the man, who had been a police officer with the Sûreté du Québec since December 2019. The event is still being examined by the Bureau of Independent Investigations.
Alex Marcotte contacted La Vigile. With the help of the psychologist, he was able to accept the fact that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, he says. Impossible for him to go back to work. “As soon as I imagined going back to patrol, it didn’t work in my head,” says Mr. Marcotte, who now works in administration.
Alex Marcotte deplores the lack of support received by his organization. “When the event happened, I had a missed call from the prevention of the Sûreté du Québec, he says. They never called me back and they didn’t even leave a message. »
“The weight of the uniform is heavy in 2022”
According to Julie*, a police officer who joined the SPVM in the 2000s, peace officers “are no longer respected”. Media coverage of certain events creates distrust of police officers. “The weight of the uniform is heavy in 2022”, underlines the 44-year-old woman, in the process of having a permanent disability recognized. As she is still employed by the police force, she requested anonymity.
Seven years ago, Julie was diagnosed with major depression. She had experienced two traumatic events at work. In 2010, she intervened in an accident involving a driver and three seriously injured young girls. Three years later, she was marked by the murder of a taxi driver. Since 2015, she has fallen on sick leave seven times. Her last gradual return was in June 2021. After six days, she had to leave work.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Julie*, SPVM police officer
I am too fragile. We squeezed the lemon and there’s no more juice in it.
Julie*, SPVM police officer
Julie still lives with sequelae. “I jump at nothing,” she says. I come with numb arms and sweating. As a police officer, she would have liked to work in mental health. So that his suffering “serves [his] organization”, she says. But he was refused.
Hospitalized in 2018, Julie confides that the fact of going from the uniform to the hospital gown is special. “You can’t be treated like anyone else,” she says.
“It takes a specialized support service”
At the SPVM, psychologists devote themselves exclusively to peace officers, which means that they “understand the reality of the police,” explains Yves Francœur. Unlike Montreal, the rest of the municipal police officers benefit from the same assistance program as other city employees, explains François Lemay, of the Federation of Municipal Police Officers of Quebec.
“It takes a specialized assistance service for the police. The nature of the work means that you can’t compare yourself to anyone,” says Mr. Lemay.
If we don’t take immediate decisions, in a few years we will be in a much worse situation than today.
François Lemay, of the Federation of Municipal Police Officers of Quebec
According to Dominic Ricard, at the SQ, a “pan-Quebec program” is necessary for “the entire police community”.
Reached by La Presse , the SPVM says it takes psychological health issues seriously, but cannot “comment on data to which it does not have access and whose methodology it does not know”. The Sûreté du Québec did not respond to our interview requests.
“Most vulnerable” workers
Quebec police officers are “more vulnerable” psychologically than other workers because of the traumatic events they can experience at work, argues Andrée-Ann Deschênes, professor of public security management at the School of Management of the University of Quebec. in Trois-Rivieres. “We have to take charge of the police community now,” she believes.
Late consultations
If the number of psychological consultations has increased among the police, this is also the case for other professions, argues Andrée-Ann Deschênes. The police environment is therefore “no worse than another”, concludes Ms. Deschênes. The latter was a consultant for the mental health component of the report of the advisory committee on the police reality in Quebec. What sets peace officers apart is that “when they’re not well, they’re really not well,” she says. They often wait too long before consulting, she says. In addition to the lack of psychological services adapted to the reality of the police, the assistance offered to these workers is not uniform across the province, she points out.
Suicidal thoughts
According to Andrée-Ann Deschênes, there are no more suicides among police officers than among the general population. On the other hand, peace officers have more suicidal thoughts, underlines Ms. Deschênes. According to a 2018 study, 8.3% of municipal and provincial police officers in Canada have considered suicide. With regard to the federal police, this proportion was 9.9%. In the rest of the population, 5.8% of citizens reported having had suicidal thoughts. The police think more about killing themselves because they know the effective means to do so, explains Ms. Deschênes. “They also possess the trait of impulsivity, a trait recognized in suicidal people,” she points out.
Traumatic events
In 2017, one in two Quebec police officers claimed to have experienced a potentially traumatic event during their career, reports Andrée-Ann Deschênes. A peace officer is more at risk of experiencing psychological distress when he has between 6 and 20 years of experience, indicates the professor. “One of the hypotheses is that after six years, I realize that I who wanted to save the world, I am always in situations darker than black,” she explains. Not having achieved professional goals at this time could also be a factor, she points out.
Court found the mandate unjustifiably infringes on New Zealand’s Bill of Rights
The High Court has upheld a group of police and defence force workers’ bid to show that a COVID-19 vaccine mandate unjustifiably infringes on the country’s Bill of Rights, in a decision handed down on 25 February 2022.
The judgment concerned a mandate introduced by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, which requires all defence force personnel, police constables, recruits and authorised officers to receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by 1 March 2022.
A group of employees took to the High Court to suggest that the mandate limits the right to refuse medical treatment and the right to manifest religious beliefs under New Zealand’s Bill of Rights.
Specifically, the group referenced its objection to receiving the Pfizer vaccine on the basis that it was tested on cells derived from a human foetus.
Justice Cooke was tasked with finding whether the limitation on fundamental rights brought on by the mandate was reasonable and “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.
His Honour accepted that the mandate could be justified if it was shown that there was a risk to the continuity of police and defence force services posed by unvaccinated employees.
However, given vaccination has been less effective in preventing transmission of the Omicron variant, his Honour was not satisfied that this would be the case.
Justice Cooke concluded that, although the Omicron variant poses a threat to the continuity of workforces, this was the case “for the vaccinated as well as the unvaccinated”.
Given this, his Honour found that the adverse effects on employees who faced termination meant the mandate was not a reasonable limit on fundamental rights.
“As the judicial decision has only just been released, we will be taking time to consider the decision. We will be communicating with staff about next steps,” a police spokesperson said in an article published by the NZ Herald.
“In the meantime terminations of employment will not proceed at this time,” the spokesperson reportedly said.
The Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau has caused the Governor in Council to proclaim a public order emergency pursuant to section 17 of The Emergencies Act. An article if you are looking to better understand and respond to the use of The Emergencies Act.
What happened?
The Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau has caused the Governor in Council to proclaim a public order emergency pursuant to section 17 of The Emergencies Act.
The First Part of a Public Order Emergency
A public order emergency consists of two parts. First, it must arise from “threats to the security of Canada”. These threats are defined in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act. Justin Trudeau’s government is relying on two types of threats:
1. Foreign influenced activities within or relating to Canada that are detrimental to the interests of Canada and are clandestine or deceptive or involve a threat to any person.
AND
2. Activities within or relating to Canada directed toward or in support of the threat or use of acts of serious violence against persons or property for the purpose of achieving a political, religious or ideological objective within Canada or a foreign state.
If you do not believe such threats exist, you should vote to revoke the proclamation.
The Second Part of a Public Order Emergency
If you believe that there are “threats to the security of Canada,” you still must be satisfied with the second part of a public order emergency. The second part is that the emergency must be so serious as to be a “national emergency.” There are two ways threats to the security of Canada can constitute a “national emergency”:
1. There is an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it.
OR
2. There is an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada and that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada.
Unless you are satisfied that there are “threats to the security of Canada,” and that one of the above situations applies to make those threats a “national emergency,” you should vote to revoke the emergency.
What can you do if you disagree with the proclamation?
These are the three best ways to defeat the proclamation of a public order emergency.
1. Put political pressure on the government to revoke the proclamation. The Governor in Council may simply revoke the declaration of a public order emergency under section 22 of the Act.
2. If you are a member of the House of Commons, bring a motion to revoke the declaration. If you get 20 members to sign your motion and you file it with the Speaker, the motion must be considered within three sitting days. If you are a Senator, you can do the same thing in the Senate but you only need 10 signatures. If the motion is adopted in either House, the declaration will be revoked. For more information see section 59 of the Act.
3. Vote against the motion for confirmation of the declaration of emergency when it comes before your House within seven sitting days of the declaration being issued.
What if you agree with the emergency proclamation but not with the orders that the government is making?
1. When the government declares a public order emergency, they have extra power that would otherwise be inappropriate.
2. If you disagree with how the government uses its new powers, you can bring a motion to revoke or amend the order granting the powers. You will need 10 Senators or 20 members of the House of Commons to sign your motion. Your House must consider the motion within three sitting days after it is filed.
3. If your motion is adopted, it will be sent to the other House for concurrence. That House must then consider the motion within three sitting days. If the motion for concurrence is adopted, the regulation must be revoked or amended in accordance with the motion.
In the fall of 2021, Dr. Julie Ponesse saw her academic career of 20 years fall apart after she refused to comply with a Canadian university’s COVID vaccine mandate.
This is her account of the battle and its aftermath, written with passion and intelligence. But Dr. Ponesse’s story travels beyond the personal and examines the ethical and philosophical dimensions of our pandemic response.
If there is anyone out there who feels alone in the struggle to preserve personal choice and freedom, this book offers some very human advice on how to move forward and makes it clear that your voice deserves to be heard.
Dr. Julie Ponesse
Julie Ponesse has a PhD in Philosophy (Western, 2008) with areas of specialization in ethics and ancient philosophy. She has a Masters in Bioethics from the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto and a Diploma in Ethics from the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. She has published in the areas of ancient philosophy, ethical theory, and applied ethics, and has taught at universities in Canada and the US for 20 years.
Investigations into police officers who offered donations to the Freedom Convoy, frozen bank accounts for some organizers and supporters of the demonstration. This is just a glimpse of what lies ahead as bills bloom…
Here is the full article of CBC News :
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said it has launched an internal investigation because some of its officers appear to have donated to the recent convoy protests in Ottawa and throughout the province.
OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson confirmed the force is aware an undisclosed number of its members “appear to have made donations that have gone toward the unlawful protest in Ottawa” in an email to CBC News on Wednesday.
“The matter has been brought to the attention of OPP Command, and the OPP Professional Standards Unit has launched an internal conduct investigation into this matter,” Dickson said.
Over the weekend, a massive police operation to clear protesters out of Ottawa’s downtown began as the occupation was set to enter its fourth week. By Sunday afternoon, Ottawa police said they had made 191 arrests and laid 389 charges against 103 people.
The names of thousands of people who donated in support of the protests against vaccine mandates and COVID-19 public health measures through the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo were released in a data hack.
Police enforce an injunction against protesters, some who have been camped in their trucks near Parliament Hill for weeks, on Feb. 19. By Sunday afternoon, Ottawa police said they had made 191 arrests and laid 389 charges against 103 people. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
The OPP cannot comment or speculate on the outcome of the investigation at this time, Dickson said.
Though, Dickson said the OPP “holds its members accountable for their actions while on duty and off.
“They have a responsibility to demonstrate neutrality and remain non-partisan,” the email reads.
“Any demonstration or expression of views and opinions that may be interpreted as condoning illegal activity is in direct opposition to the OPP’s values and mandate.”
The Freedom Convoy protests also prompted Toronto police to close major roads in the downtown core for three weekends in a row in order to create a perimeter around Queen’s Park to stop traffic from reaching the site.
Toronto police also investigating 2 members
Toronto police also said Wednesday it is aware of two members who appeared to be part of the data hack that is currently being reviewed.
“As this was illegally obtained data, we would not speculate on its validity as we are aware of multiple lists in circulation which could be altered or manipulated,” Toronto police said in an email Wednesday.
A Finnish politician is calling on the European Union (EU) to denounce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s violent crackdown on peaceful trucker convoy protesters in Ottawa.
Member of European Parliament (MEP) Laura Huhtasaari wrote to the Vice-President of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy demanding the EU clarify where it stands on Trudeau’s actions.
“On several occasions the EU has condemned human rights violations in various countries,” Huhtasaari wrote. “Does the Commission or the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy intend to condemn the measures used by Canada against peaceful protest in the Canadian convoy demonstration, and what is the EU’s position on the Canadian Government’s actions against peaceful protest?”
Huhtasaari’s question for written answer also addressed the fact that in 2020 Trudeau had publicly endorsed similar demonstrations by farmers in Delhi, India, which earned him the ire of India’s foreign ministry.
“Canada will always stand for the rights of peaceful protests anywhere in the world and we are pleased to see moves towards de-escalation and dialogue,” Trudeau said at the time.
Trudeau’s double standards were not only noticed by Huhtasaari in the European Parliament, but they also prompted the head of Foreign Affairs for the Bharatiya Janata Party – one of India’s two largest political bodies – to call out Trudeau on Twitter over his invocation of the Emergencies Act.
“And this was (Justin Trudeau) when there were street protests in India ‘Canada will always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protesters’,” tweeted Dr. Vijay Chauthaiwale.
After using the act to assume emergency powers, the Trudeau government ordered a militarized police operation in Canada’s capital to clear the downtown core of demonstrators. A joint force of municipal, provincial and federal police arrested hundreds, and some bystanders were even trampled by riot horses.
The Emergencies Act also gave the federal government powers to have the assets of truckers frozen, including cryptocurrency wallets.
“Canada has decided, inter alia, to freeze the bank accounts of persons taking part in the demonstrations, and has threatened to arrest peaceful demonstrators,” Huhtasaari wrote.
Other European politicians including Romanian MEP Cristian Terhes and UK MP Marcus Fysh also blasted Trudeau for his authoritarian tactics.
