SASKATCHEWAN - A freedom group that had planned to hold protests at police stations across the country and converge on RCMP Depot in Regina on Sept. 11 has changed its plan.
They are now holding a gathering from Sept. 9 - 11 on private rural property about 48 kilometres north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, complete with guest speakers, a barbecue, bands, and camping.
“We need to all come together for a common goal,” Domenic Cinalli said on a video posted to social media in August after Marcus Ray stepped down. “It’s a weekend where everyone can be heard. We need to bring our ideas together.”
He said the organizers of the many different freedom groups should work together.
“We should be standing side-by-side to work together for a common goal. It’s bringing all minds together to get a resolution. Everybody has a seat at the table.
“As a united country we can move mountains,” he added. “What happened in January with the freedom convoy was probably the most beautiful thing that anybody has seen in the whole world. That moved the world and there were Canadian flags being flown all over the world.”
Cinalli said he has spoken with dozens of organizers from across Canada, adding that in Ontario alone there are more than 29 freedom groups.
During a Facebook live video on Sept. 1 - that had more than 50,000 views within two days – Cinalli said more than 700 vehicles are registered to attend the three-day event, which will be held on 65 acres at the Wild West Ranch near Clandeboye, Manitoba. Guest speakers include doctors and the alternative media has been invited.
Ron Clark, who hosted the Facebook live event, said the biggest problem is the mainstream media, which he said only pushes one side of the story.
“Two weeks to flatten the curve; come on,” he said. “People are getting angry.”
Cinalli said the get-together is no longer only about discussing the mandates and will also focus on how the federal government is destroying the oil and gas industry, hurting the farmers, and sending too much of Canadians’ money overseas. He said it's also about standing up against tyranny.
“We are not going to vote our way out of tyranny,” he said. “We as Canadians have had enough and we are done.”
RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa said they are aware of the group’s plans for a possible gathering in Manitoba next week.
“We are aware of the situation and will be monitoring to ensure public safety,” Robin Percival, RCMP Media Relations, National Communications Services in Ottawa told SASKTODAY.ca in an email Friday.
Sequestering a court
Cinalli said on Aug. 20 the group delivered evidence packages to at least 18 RCMP stations across Canada, which he said reveals the vaccine has adverse effects and they want government and health officials arrested.
“We are wanting and asking the police to do investigations. There are children, women and men who are either getting injured or dying.”
The RCMP wouldn’t confirm whether they have received packages from the group.
“Generally, only in the event that an investigation results in the laying of criminal charges, would the RCMP confirm its investigation, the nature of any charges laid and the identity of the individual (s) involved,” Percival told SASKTODAY.ca. “As such, we have no further comments.”
The next step would include sequestering a court, Cinalli said during a video interview posted by Maverick Multimedia in August. He didn’t, however, explain what he meant by sequestering a court.
“We need the courts on our side,” he said. “That’s the next phase.”
Jeff Evely from Veterans 4 Freedom, a group that worked with the truckers and formed in February 2022, said if the police wouldn’t listen to reason when confronted with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms during the trucker convoy they aren’t going to help people when presented with common law and arrest politicians and public health officials as Marcus Ray and Cinalli's group want.
“I can show you a video of people on the line in Ottawa reading the Constitution out to them, to the cops,” Evely told SASKTODAY.ca in a phone interview Friday. “If they're not going to respond to a very familiar piece of legislation - considered to be the highest law in the land - and they're not accepting that as an argument, then why would they accept an argument based on a more obscure legal reference?”
Evely said he was at the National War Memorial with the truckers in Ottawa and witnessed riot police brutally beat a veteran who he said police knew was a wounded war vet who had pins in his leg and a spinal injury. In videos posted online you can hear people beside the veteran hollering, pleading with police to stop saying that he was a wounded veteran.
“They went ahead and just punched him while his hands were up and kicked him while he was on the ground trying to surrender," said Evely. "That’s a level of animosity I think that goes well beyond professionalism. When I see them taking a lot of these people down they seem to be kind of taking it personally, you know, like, almost getting off on it and trying to teach people a lesson for standing up to the state. That's very concerning. But, again, a lot has happened even since Ottawa. We don't hear a lot about it on the news but police forces are having a lot of trouble retaining [officers], especially in the cities. So I think a lot of people are kind of starting to wake up.”
Pick your battles: V4F
“We got to win this one yard at a time," said Evely. "It’s going to be a slow grind. They're going to fight us every step of the way. So I think it's more about our ground game than our passing game.”
He said the movement doesn’t need to make everything happen right away.
“That is just reckless and we end up jeopardizing the greater mission with that kind of unnecessary risk.”
V4F was opposed to Marcus Ray and Cinalli's group’s planned protests at police stations across the country and say they don’t support the group’s new plans.
“We’re a little worried about the potential for things to go sideways,” said Evely who is a 20-year Canadian Armed Forces veteran who was a Sgt.-Major and served until 2021.
“We don't support any of that stuff,” said Evely. “If [Cinalli] is talking about submitting some paperwork to sequester, if that's what he means by sequestering, to request a place where they can conduct what sounds to me like a show trial, then go ahead and submit some paperwork. But if we're talking about showing up en masse in an intimidating fashion, and I'm not saying the intention is to intimidate, but that is what the state is going to say about this. I think that that kind of leaves a lot of those demonstrators vulnerable to being set up in some kind of a false flag by the state. I don't really see that as being productive or necessarily safe for people so we're not going to support that.”
Feds desperate to label movement as terrorists: V4F
Evely said the government is “desperate” to find some elements of the freedom movement they can term as potentially terroristic so they can crackdown on things like free speech.
“We saw the incident with Chrystia Freeland the other day where they're saying that she was threatened with violence,” said Evely. “We don't approve of what was said in Alberta where people were being sworn at and accosted and called names. That's definitely not something that we're getting behind but we'll defend his right to say it - to the death.
“I didn't hear him say anything violent or terroristic or anything like that but that is how the regime right now [portrays it]. Trudeau said that it was violent.”
Evely said this shows that the government is grasping at straws attempting to paint anyone as violent or a terrorist if they are upset with the direction things are going in Canada and speak out.
“All he really did was swear and holler names and now it is being painted as some kind of a need for more security, a bigger security state to control all of this. We need to play it smart and strategic and really focus on how the media and the state will be portraying anything that we're doing, how they're going to be trying to turn it on us and make it into something negative. So I think it's important to be really vigilant about that right now. We need to tread carefully when it comes to picking our battles. At least until we get through the Emergency Measures Act Commission.”
The government can misconstrue any action as politically violent, he said, reiterating that the federal government called the Alberta man violent for swearing and name-calling.
“What do you think they're going to say when you show up with a huge crowd of people demanding politicians be arrested and demanding a courthouse to hold show trials? I mean, if they're saying that the “F” bombs are terroristic, what are they going to say about that?”
Evely said the Emergency Measures Act is hanging in the balance.
“They’re more desperate than ever to find that scapegoat that they need to say ‘Aha, you see, we told you this was a violent movement’ and then they will crack down on the whole thing.”
Keep freedom movement alive
Cinalli said it’s important to continue what the trucker convoy to Ottawa started in January because there’s still the potential for more lockdowns and mandates this fall and they want everyone to be organized before that happens.
“We need critical mass,” he said on a Facebook video posted by Maverick MultiMedia in August. “Critical mass is the Canadian people coming together. We need to be very strategic with what we are trying to do.”
Wearing a hat that read, “We’re hope dealers,” Cinalli said they want to bring hope and happiness back to Canadians.
He said he is married, the father of an eight-year-old girl, and owner of several sleep, pulmonary and respiratory clinics.
“I’m seeing the effects on people’s respiratory. I don’t want this world to be the world I leave for my eight-year-old daughter. This isn’t the world I grew up in.
“We are still under attack and that’s the main reason why we think we need to get together and get a resolution," said Cinalli.
If public health mandates are brought back this fall, Evely suggested people “Defy them.”
Everyone needs to stand up, said Evely.
“Just stand your ground, don’t back down, take the fine, take the arrest, and fight it in court. Just bog that system down until it’s crippled because I think they’re heading that way faster than you think.”
There are a lot of lawsuits, charter challenges and human rights complaints filed.
“If we keep engaging and engaging like that, it’s essentially just going to paralyze the state to the point that they won’t be able to do much in the way of coercing us anymore.”
Evely said that Brian Peckford, the former premier of Newfoundland-Labrador who is the last living first minister who helped negotiate and sign Canada’s Constitution to include the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, is an honourary member of V4F.
“Brian Peckford is our honorary colonel and he’s got a charter challenge that’s making its way through the [court] system right now. And we've already seen some cross-examinations of public health officers where they fell apart on the stand, and they're not able to produce the evidence that they should have to justify these mandates.”
Structure in chaos
The freedom movement is so grassroots and organic that it’s been chaotic so V4F said they work with Canadian Citizens Coalition – C3, which is vetting freedom groups.
V4F is helping provide structure in the chaos, he said.
“What we’re going to be trying to do is just try to help shape that and bring some order to that chaos.”
He said they are working with organizations such as Police on Guard for Thee, Mounties for Freedom, Canada Marches, and professional groups such as Canadian Frontline Nurses. In addition, V4F provided the logistics for Rolling Thunder and James Topp’s arrival in Ottawa.
“We’re getting involved in supporting a lot of organizations where we see good ideas, good leadership, and well organized people who are easy to work with.”
Evely said if anyone wants more information, they can contact V4F at info@veterans4freedom.ca or visit their website.
“And I would encourage everybody to seek their own information, their own answers.”
He said people who aren’t as mindful of political issues can follow V4F’s Facebook and YouTube videos, adding V4F is trying to give people the tools that they need to help bring a resolution to this crisis.
“And really, I think it kind of takes everybody acting as individuals so we're trying to be something like a focal point for the movement in terms of leadership, not that we want to be anybody's boss or take things over, but just act as a facilitator and kind of help separate the wheat from the chaff.”
He said if people are looking for guidance, V4F has a lot of experienced leaders, analysts and operatives, adding that they are receiving a lot of emails from people wanting to join or help.
Stay peaceful
Cinalli said everything must be done peacefully and lawfully.
“We are Canada. Canadians are peaceful. We are peaceful. Look what happened in January and February [in Ottawa]. It was all peace and love. Ottawa’s streets were never so clean. Ottawa’s crime rate was never so low. The homeless people were getting food. They had to throw food away there was so much food. They had hockey games and bouncy castles, and then all of a sudden, we saw the ugly hand of what our government is willing to do to peaceful, loving people.
“Everything we do is peace and love,” he said. “Evil will not defeat evil. Hate will not defeat hate.
“Nobody is bringing guns,” added Cinalli. “We got children there and mothers and fathers and grandparents. There’s no firearms, there’s no guns.”
He said the group is concerned about “infiltrators” who may try to incite violence, but added that their security will be strong.
“There are always infiltrators so we have people looking out for that. In Ottawa they sent someone in with Swastikas and a Confederate flag and all of us got painted as misogynists and terrorists by our almighty leader.”
Our children and grandchildren’s future
Cinalli said their group’s new name is Children of the Free.
“It’s all about the children of the future. We are fighting for the children of the future.”
Cinalli said cards were made up to give to the police asking them for help. The front of one card has a picture drawn by a six-year-old girl holding a police officer’s hand and saying “Please save our future.” The back of the card has the child’s name and age.
“We are just there asking for help,” said Cinalli. “It’s a cry for help. We are wanting this to end so it’s a big huge cry for help.”
He said Sept. 11 was chosen as the date because it’s Canada’s 911 call for help.
Making progress
Evely said the freedom movement is making progress with charter challenges, lawsuits and human rights complaints.
“I'm seeing all kinds of things come out through these court cases.
“Wars are not won in a single battle. You have to be strategic and you need to pick your battles wisely.
“There is some talk about in the fall emphasizing more cash transactions over digital,” he added. “So there are all kinds of things that are coming down the pipe and we have the Emergency Measures Act commission that is going to be set up in the fall. These things, they all have teeth that the judiciary is engaged.”
These processes take time, said Evely.
“A more measured, careful approach that is intended to be lawful civic action, that is peaceful and non-violent, just takes a little bit longer. But over the long run I think that we're much better off in this route. Because once we cross that line into political violence, there's just no telling when it's going to stop.”
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