“Diagolon” founder Jeremy MacKenzie is testifying at the public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act today, after petitioning the commission to share his testimony privately.
MacKenzie is giving testimony on his involvement in the “Freedom Convoy” protests last winter from a prison in Saskatchewan where he is being jailed on unrelated charges.
The inquiry’s objective is to look at what transpired in February, when protesters surrounded downtown Ottawa and numerous Canadian border crossings, and forced the federal government to declare an emergency under the Emergencies Act.
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network defines the contentious online group Diagolon as a far-right separatist and anti-government movement.
The commission was requested by MacKenzie’s attorney to let him testify in secret or with a publication prohibition.
After being opposed by a group of media organisations, including The Canadian Press, that application was denied.
Following a reported attack near Viscount, Saskatchewan, in November 2021, MacKenzie was charged with assault, pointing a firearm, mischief, and reckless use of a restricted weapon.
In addition, he was accused in Nova Scotia in January with 13 weapons offences and with harassment and intimidation in March during a demonstration against masks outside the residence of the province’s chief medical officer of health.
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, has also requested that the RCMP look into MacKenzie after he claimed during a livestream in September to have sexually assaulted Poilievre’s wife, Anaida.
‘Diagolon’ leader Jeremy MacKenzie will appear today in response to the Emergencies Act investigation
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