Declaration of Emergency Committee on Nov. 24th, 2022

[Jim Willett]

No.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Did you call them misogynist?

[Jim Willett]

No.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Did you threaten them in any way?

[Jim Willett]

No.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Why wouldn't you do that? You didn't agree with what they were doing. Why didn't you resort to that?

[Jim Willett]

It's not the kind of person I am. I didn't get this old by being stupid. You don't get anywhere calling people names. That is the lowest that you can go in terms of discourse when you're trying to accomplish something.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Based on that, and based on what those of us who were on the ground off and on in different places throughout these protests observed, did the comments that our Prime Minister made help the situation in Coutts, or did they further inflame what you were trying to resolve?

[Jim Willett]

Mr. Motz, you know the feeling in this part of the world as far as the federal government and the Prime Minister are concerned, so anything that he had to say is always taken to be that everyone feels they're being attacked or that the federal government is stepping on people. That would have been the reaction.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

You're out of time, Mr. Motz.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

That's four minutes?

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Yes, your four minutes are up.

We now go to Mr. Naqvi for four minutes.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank both the mayors for being here today.

Mayor Willett, I will start with you, and first, thank you for your public service.

Sir, as I was listening to your opening statement, the question that came to mind was this: During the protest, were you concerned about the safety and security of your community and yourself? You mentioned you received death threats, etc.

[Jim Willett]

I wasn't so concerned about my safety. That comes with the territory, I guess. I was concerned about the safety of the community. That was my main focus.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Yes, I can understand that.

You sent a text on February 12 to Mr. Graveland, who I understand is a CP reporter. In that text you stated, sir, and I am quoting you:

“Morning, Bill. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“You need to find someone in a protected position who will call these guys what they are, domestic terrorists. Won’t be me. They are right outside my window. I would be strung up, literally.

“Just a thought.”

You were worried about your own safety in that text, but you called them “domestic terrorists”. What did you mean by that?

[Jim Willett]

As I said at the hearing of the POAC, I am a Google lawyer, so that means I go to the Internet. I looked up the definition of “domestic terrorism in Canada”, as the government has set it forth, and when you're blocking and harming infrastructure and commerce, that fits the definition.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

You were worried that they causing harm to your community, to our country and to our economy?

[Jim Willett]

That's correct.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

On February 14, when the RCMP got warrants and they searched those trucks and found those caches of weapons and other things that could be used for violent purposes, in light of what you said on February 12, calling them “domestic terrorists”, how did you feel? Did you feel that your gut was right, that these people were dangerous?

[Jim Willett]

Yes. It's a discussion I'd had earlier with the lawyer I spoke of with the protest group, on the fact that the longer something like this goes on, the more you attract an element you don't want there.

In a sense it surprised me, and in a sense it did not.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Once the protest was cleared up after February 15, I believe it was, how concerned were you that it may come back in your community or in other surrounding ports of entry?

[Jim Willett]

Concerned...?

I would not like to see it again. I stated at one point that I hoped everybody learned how to deal with it if it were to happen again.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Do you think the invocation of the Emergencies Act created some buffer in ensuring that those protesters did not come back to your community or the surrounding communities?

[Jim Willett]

I would say, from what I heard, it would, yes, because they were talking about it as they left.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

It did provide for some deterrence on their part because of the—