GiveSendGo co-founder pulls out of parliamentary committee on Emergencies Act

By Laura Osman, The Canadian Press on November 17, 2022.

OTTAWA – The co-founder of GiveSendGo, Jacob Wells, pulled out of his scheduled appearance at a parliamentary committee on the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act last winter in an attempt to quash protest blockades in Ottawa and several border crossings.

The committee chair, NDP MP Matthew Green, says Wells pulled out of his virtual committee appearance just minutes before he was expected to take questions from parliamentarians on his involvement in the fundraising for the “Freedom Convoy” protest that rolled into Ottawa in late January.

Wells was closely involved in the protest organizers’ fundraising efforts, though most of the $12 million in donations collected on the GiveSendGo platform was ultimately returned to donors.

Liberal MP Rachel Bendayan says the witness was “clearly afraid” to appear before the committee and announced plans to table a motion to compel him to come back.

The all-party committee was struck to investigate the use of extraordinary powers granted to the government and police after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the act on Feb. 14.

The parliamentary committee is happening in parallel to the Public Order Emergency Commission, an independent inquiry led by commissioner Justice Paul Rouleau.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2022.

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