The judge confirmed that supporters of the escort from Canada and the United States had sent many offensive messages, but the message that prompted police to respond threatened their physical safety, the judge said. It’s intimidating. He is trying to influence a court decision, and this is serious.- A judge who is not recognized due to security concerns The CBC has agreed to withhold the judge’s identity to protect their safety. “I thought, to tell my children not to come home for a while?” said the judge. “I changed my alarm system. I was advised not to follow the same route every day,” the judge added. “You feel vulnerable in your home, in your own home.” Police impose an order against protesters on the hill of Parliament on 19 February 2022. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) The judge believes most Canadians respect the judiciary, but said a small minority was seeking to undermine it. “It is intimidation. It is trying to influence a court decision, and that is serious,” the judge said. Similar concerns were expressed by the head of the Supreme Court of Canada Richard Wagner in a recent speech in Montreal. “The pandemic has forced many people to live on the Internet during lockdowns. And there are times when lies and conspiracies spread like wildfire,” Wagner said in French on June 9. “As we have seen around the world, misinformation is a real threat to democratic institutions.” The demonstrations in Ottawa this winter stemmed in part from this misinformation, Wagner said. He encouraged people to “inform, guide and educate” their fellow citizens. The head of Canada’s Supreme Court, Richard Wagner, pictured here at a 2021 press conference, warned in a recent speech that “misinformation is a real threat to democratic institutions.” (Justin Tang / Canadian Press)
The ministry is silent on further threats
The Ontario Attorney General’s Office will not say whether other judges have received threats from Freedom Convoy supporters. “It would be inappropriate for the ministry to comment on a possible or ongoing police investigation,” State Department spokesman Brian Gray wrote in an email to Radio Canada. He wrote that the ministry “takes the security of the courts and the safety of all those in our courts … very seriously”, and that the local or provincial police of Ontario provide security “to ensure the highest level of protection”. The Ontario Court and the Ontario Supreme Court declined to comment, saying it would be inappropriate to do so. CBC News contacted a number of key figures in the weeks-long protest in Ottawa, but requests for comment were either rejected or left unanswered. No charges have been filed in this regard. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
