National security officials planning for 2023 'Freedom Convoy' reboot: adviser to PM

The national security adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that senior officials are planning ahead for the possibility of another 'Freedom Convoy' protest in early 2023.

The national security adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that senior officials are planning ahead for the possibility of another "Freedom Convoy" protest in early 2023.

Jody Thomas told a parliamentary committee Thursday evening that deputy ministers, some of the most senior civil servants in the government, are meeting to discuss the prospective demonstration for the first time this week.

Thomas said that Mike MacDonald, an assistant secretary to the cabinet within the Privy Council Office, has already chaired meetings "to start looking at how we're going to respond."

Earlier this month, James Bauder, the founder of the Canada Unity group and one of the original organizers of the protests that gridlocked downtown Ottawa for weeks last winter, announced that he is calling for a second round next February.

Bauder posted on Facebook that he wants supporters to mark their calendars for a four-day "olive branch edition" of the convoy from Feb. 18 to 21, with plans to be "wheels up" and returning home from Ottawa on Feb. 22.

Thomas and MacDonald both appeared at a special committee of MPs and senators who are investigating the federal government's decision in February to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to the protests.

The committee study has been taking place separately from the Public Order Emergency Commission, a public inquiry digging into the same questions.