Freedom Convoy organizer testifies about 'power struggle' inside the anti-mandate movement

Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber said Tuesday the anti-vaccine mandate protest that gripped Ottawa for weeks last winter was beset by "conflict" among different factions pushing their own agendas.

Barber, a Saskatchewan trucker and small business owner, testified at the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) investigating the convoy that he and Brigitte Belton, an unvaccinated Alberta trucker, were the first to pitch a cross-country drive to protest a vaccine mandate for cross-border workers.

Tamara Lich, a former Western Canadian separatist, then joined the team to help organize the cross-country trek.

This trio then "organically" aligned with other groups also keen to take on the Liberal government and its COVID-19 policies, Barber said.

A self-described "internet troll," Barber said he connected with these disparate groups through social media platforms such as TikTok — where he has tens of thousands of followers who flocked to his account during the worst of the pandemic as he attacked COVID-related policies.

"The word started to spread. It was completely organic — everything just fell right into place," Barber said. "A bunch of different groups came together and had input in the planning."

The result was a "power struggle" between his group of mostly Western Canadian truckers and other elements like Canada Unity, an outfit opposed to mask mandates and vaccine passports. Canada Unity produced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) calling for the overthrow of the Liberal government.

The group's founder, James Bauder, called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be arrested and "charged with treason."

Barber said he never actually read the MOU and didn't support a movement to seize power in Ottawa.

"I believe I just ignored it. I have no clue what's in the document. I wasn't into that sort of thing," Barber said.

Barber said that had he known at the outset that Bauder and his organization would join the convoy while calling for the government's overthrow, he would have "promptly told them to go home."

Barber, who testified that he is vaccinated, said he only came to Ottawa to protest border restrictions — policies he said hurt his business because he employed unvaccinated drivers who couldn't travel to the U.S.

"I remember calling on Mr. Bauder and having him renounce the MOU part of the way through the convoy," Barber testified.

"There was too much highlight, too much spotlight on this document that we didn't have anything to do with."