Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed has proposed to expand the House public safety and national security committee’s study of the Freedom Convoy’s fundraising efforts to include a study on the rise of ideologically-motivated extremism.
Noormohamed gave notice of the motion on Tuesday during a committee meeting. If passed, it would see the members investigate the influence of foreign and domestic actors in funding and supporting violent extremist ideologies in Canada.
It would also include an invitation to American crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo to appear before the committee regarding their involvement in hosting the convoy’s new fundraising campaign.
The committee had already agreed last Thursday to invite GoFundMe to testify about the more than $10 million raised on its site for the convoy before it shut the campaign down.
Besides the $1 million GoFundMe already released to the organizers of the convoy, the remaining funds are being refunded to donors.
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“Important questions remain about how such a huge sum of money could be raised by anonymous donors and what their motivations were. People are rightly worried about American interference and what sort of standard is applied when donations are accepted,” reads a statement from the NDP’s public safety critic Alistair MacGregor.
Speculation has mounted in recent days about whether the convoy has received foreign support.
While information about donors, their location, and their intention remains limited, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly indicated in a press conference last week that there may be U.S. ties.
“We are now aware of a significant element from the U.S. that have been involved in the funding, the organizing,” he said.
On Thursday, the committee is scheduled to hear from representatives of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada – the country’s financial intelligence unit – about the xjmtzywissue.
Meanwhile at the House foreign affairs committee, NDP MP Heather McPherson is expected to table a motion to invite U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen to appear to answer questions about American influence in the movement.
“Including concerns of funding and being collected and distributed by American companies towards this goal, and concerns regarding American in positions of authority encouraging Americans to support the call to dissolve the Canadian government with funding that is foreign to Canada,” a draft text sent to CTVNews.ca reads.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Wednesday that this is a very “urgent” issue.
“It does require thought and attention and also perhaps additional action on the part of all of us to be sure that we can’t see any kind of contributions come into undermine our public safety or national security,” he said during a press conference.
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Protesters stand on the top of a truck parked in front of the Parliament buildings during a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions, in Ottawa, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
