Text messages between Tyler Meredith, a policy advisor at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Farees Nathoo, an issues manager at the PMO, and Alex Lawrence, director of communications for the deputy prime minister show that even they were concerned about Justin Trudeau’s public statements about the Freedom Convoy protests.
The texts, first noticed by Rebel, were obtained by the Public Order Emergency Commission, which was tasked with investigating if the use of the Emergencies Act to stop the protests was justifiable.
“Sent you an email. We need to counter-propose something quickly because there be a pretty out-there comment from the prime minister,” Lawrence wrote in a group text. “Need feedback ASAP.”
In another group text involving Shannon Zimmerman, Lawrence wrote, “Prime Minister said 50% of funding for the protest is foreign funding.”
“Prime Minister said 50% of funding for the protest is foreign funding,” Nathoo replied.
The claims that the protesters were funded by Russia was part of the reason Trudeau called for the protesters and their supporters to be deplatformed and their bank accounts frozen.
That claim was later debunked.
