Foot soldier against COVID measures blows the whistle
For nearly two years, Brian Paul has been deeply involved in the movement opposing mask mandates, vaccine passports, and other measures intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19. He’s worked closely with highprofile leaders on events, including a rally last year at Vanier Park in Vancouver. But in a livestreamed March 18 commentary on Facebook, Paul turned his sights on some of those very same organizers.
In particular, he questioned what’s happened to donations from the movement’s supporters.
“I’m guessing over a million dollars have probably been raised in the freedom movement [in B.C.] in the last couple of years,” Paul said. “That’s a number that I’m throwing at the dartboard.”
He urged anyone watching the livestream to send polite emails to groups such as Action4Canada, Police on Guard for Thee, and Freedom Rally World to ask where their donations went.
On Facebook, Paul alleged that some donations went missing but he provided no evidence in the video to back up this claim. He also made an unproven allegation about a cryptocurrency scam associated with the movement, disclosing that he’s “a few days away from calling the Mounties”.
Paul’s 40-minute commentary came on the eve of another so-called freedom rally at Jack Poole Plaza on March 19. Organizers of the rally issued a news release earlier this month declaring that antivaccine activist Chris Sky has not been invited to speak.
Meanwhile, Police on Guard for Thee has distanced itself from one of its members, retired B.C. sheriff Bert Mayo, for allegedly agreeing to speak at a March event hosted by antivaxxer Chris Sky, who’s been charged with uttering threats. This elicited a critical response from Paul, who praised Mayo as a good “Biblical Christian” and “one of the most integral, hardworking freedom fighters”.
“Bert is actually not standing with Chris,” Paul said.
In particular, Paul singled out his former colleagues Alicia Johnson, Danielle Kinchella-Pistilli, and Marco Pietro for becoming “gatekeepers of the freedom movement and protectors of the microphone”.
He described Action4Canada organizer Tanya Gaw as “a warrior with misguided objectives, good intentions, novel intentions, and a failed approach”.
Paul also claimed that after volunteering his time and donating money to the movement, he was “literally ousted from the inner elitist freedom circle dinners and events, even Christmas”.
“They’re fulfilling their long-life aspirations of being famous on stage right, with all the lights shining forever upon them,” he said.
Last May, Paul told a Freedom Rally World event at the Vancouver Art Gallery that COVID-19 health orders were “not a Canadian problem”.
“This is a global elitist parasite problem, and they are the ones that need to be exterminated,” Paul said.