‘Running in fear’: Documents depict chaos, confusion over Reclaiming Canada event

When the organizer of the We Unify Reclaiming Canada event contacted officials about booking the Victoria Conference Centre, he touted invitees from across the political spectrum, including liberal luminaries such as Amal Clooney, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, B.C.’s NDP Premier David Eby, movie stars and more.

Jonathan Bower told the sales director of the city-owned conference centre last December he’d be staging the event “in the same spirit” as the Munk Debates in Toronto.

But by the time the two-day conference was held in June, the likes of Clooney and Trudeau were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, speakers included right-wing commentator Lauren Southern, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who is now Donald Trump’s nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich and Vaccine Choice Canada president Ted Kuntz.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Freedom of Information Act show how the centre came to host the event after a city official said it “cannot restrict expression” — then banned We Unify and Bower from the site in future, citing “concerns about misrepresentation.”

“Event notes” by conference centre staff and emails also depict chaotic scenes, with delegates running in fear from protesters who had entered the building, and at least two calls made to emergency services.

There were “escalating security concerns” from the conference centre after discussions with Victoria Police, who had to deal with an assault allegation and repeated incursions into the centre by demonstrators, the documents say.

The documents also show the event ran at a loss for the city.

“Several team members felt unsafe and refused to work due to the nature of the event,” Nathan Gauld, the centre’s assistant director of sales and events told Bower in an August email.

“Those who did work reported a chaotic and disorganized environment, which was exacerbated by frustrating interactions with you and your team leads.

“In light of these issues, we regret to inform you that the (Victoria Conference Centre) will not be able to provide venue services for future events,” Gauld wrote.

Bower said in an email to Kerri Moore, the city’s director of business and community relations that Gauld’s assertions were “unconstitutional.”

“There is no justification for VCC essentially banning our organizers, delegates and speakers from the opportunity to book this government-owned venue,” Bower wrote.

Bower, who did not respond to requests for comment by phone, email and text message, told officials after the event that the initial invitation list was not intended to deceive anyone “however, we were not able to find speakers willing to debate.”

“This is outside of our control,” Bower said in an email to a city official.

In spite of Bower’s extensive communications and financial negotiations on behalf of the event, We Unify told The Canadian Press that he was not the main organizer.

It said in a series of unsigned emails from its “communications team” that Bower played only a “limited role” in planning and did it as a “favour” to the group.

We Unify spokeswoman Candice Chapple said in an interview that the group “is really about supporting rigorous debate and freedom of speech.”

On its website, the group calls itself an “independent and non-partisan volunteer organization that confronts deep-rooted challenges in democracy while defending against new threats.” It is not registered as a non-profit or charity.

Chapple said the people listed on the original invitation list were all contacted.

“If we could get speakers from across the aisle, we would gladly do so,” she said. “But in the end, who decides to attend is out of our hands.”

Email inquiries to the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Creative Artists Agency, which books Clooney as a speaker, were not returned.

A spokesman for Eby said an invitation to the conference couldn’t be found, but it could have came through a channel they were unable to check.

‘WE DON’T KNOW … WHAT HE’S REALLY UP TO’

The documents show that city officials were warned months ahead of the conference that it might not live up to its initial billing.

Franz Lehrbass, former executive director of Victoria’s Royal & McPherson Theatres Society, contacted a city official in December 2023 after receiving an inquiry from Bower about holding a speaking event at its playhouse.

At this stage, it had not been identified as the third annual We Unify conference, which was ultimately sponsored by Rebel News and Vaccine Choice Canada.

“We have no previous experience with him. Despite claiming to be quite experienced in organizing events, he’s asking rookie questions. He’s being deliberately vague about exactly who he intends to bring as a speaker,” Lehrbass wrote.

“He has provided us with a list of 55 potential speakers including Ben Affleck (yes, the movie star …) and other notables such as David Eby and Dr. Bonnie Henry. But tucked into the list are social agitators such as Tamara Lich (of Ottawa trucker convoy fame), etc.

“So, we don’t know: How competent he is. What he’s really up to.”

Bower had also reached out to the conference centre, where staff learned in January that he was associated with the We Unify conference only after requesting credit references. These included from the Victoria Edelweiss Club which hosted the 2023 We Unify conference.

B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad was a speaker at that event. His appearance would later become a 2024 election campaign issue when video emerged of him telling attendees “we should not be expecting our kids to eat bugs,” and warning of climate change policies eroding freedoms and “making us vulnerable to more government control.”

Records show the March 6, 2024, contract to book the venue billed it as the “Canada Conference,” while insurance was taken out in the name of “Jonathan Bower Events.”

As the conference date neared, We Unify was becoming clearer about its focus. It said on social media in May that it was “bringing together a coalition of trailblazers to confront the imminent threats of disinformation, censorship​ and the erosion of our fundamental rights and liberties.”

By then the promoted guests swung heavily right-wing, including online personalities Southern and Lauren Chen, although the latter did not end up attending.

Both Chen and Southern have since been linked to a U.S. investigation into a Russian disinformation operation that purportedly used social media personalities to distribute content as part of “malign influence campaigns in countries opposed to its policies … in an effort to sow domestic divisions and thereby weaken opposition to government of Russia objectives,” the U.S. indictment of Tenet’s alleged Russian funders said.

Chen refused to answer questions from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security last month because she said she was under criminal investigation.

Southern, who made dozens of videos for Chen’s company, Tenet Media, told the committee on Nov. 21 that she was given full creative control over her video content and “the founders of Tenet Media deceived the personalities they contracted regarding their alleged source of funding.”

Chen and Southern did not respond to emailed requests for comment about the We Unify conference.

‘RUNNING INTO THE BUILDING IN FEAR’

The documents show city officials also began receiving complaints from the public about the conference being held on public property, while a public campaign to cancel the event was launched by 1 Million Voices for Inclusion, an advocacy group, in the weeks leading up to the event.

Moore drafted a “briefing note” in response to the complaints. She said the city was “subject to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and there is a right to freedom of expression in public places.

“Any government decision to restrict or limit the opportunity for such expression is subject to compliance with the Charter,” the June 4 note said. “The city cannot restrict expression based on its content except where justified in instances of hate, promotion of violence, or indecency.”

It was against this backdrop that the event began around 9 a.m. on June 22.

Unsigned event notes prepared by Victoria Conference Centre staff say the day started with an unidentified person claiming to be with security entering the building “when the florist was let in.”

Protesters were occupying the entrance and front steps. Then they “began to move onto VCC property and follow attendees around,” the notes say.

An email from Moore to Bowers says that about 70 protesters had shown up, some wearing balaclavas, and some yelling and screaming “offensive language to delegates and staff.”

Delegates were “running into the building in fear,” Moore wrote.

The event notes also say someone from security told centre staff that police had been called about an alleged assault in front of the building. Then, after lunch, the afternoon shift “started with 911 call” although the details of this second apparent emergency call are redacted.

There was just one protester on the second day of the conference, the event notes say.

The notes and emails also detail a post-conference billing dispute with Bower, who haggled over the conference’s final invoice in the weeks after the conference.

Bower told the centre’s event manager in an email dated July 17 that he “privately funded this event” and that it “barely broke even.”

The Victoria Police Department had asked for a $20,000 deposit to cover its costs for the event. But after Bower repeatedly complained, police and the centre agreed to “only charge for the minimum required staffing that day and absorb any remaining costs.”

This was done “in the interest of concluding this file,” wrote Moore.

In early August, Gauld told Bower they wouldn’t be booking any more We Unify events.

“From the beginning of the sales process, there was a lack of clarity regarding the event you were organizing,” Gault wrote to Bower. “Past events under the ‘We Unify’ banner have been controversial, resulting in protests and police involvement.”

Gauld’s email said the content of the event was not an issue, but the lack of accurate information and context meant the event “required extensive risk management,” and resulted in a “financial net loss for the City of Victoria.”

The City of Victoria said in an emailed statement that the loss to the city was approximately $8,000, but said “the city does not have anyone available for an interview and won’t be commenting further.”

Alyson Culbert, a former People’s Party of Canada candidate in Victoria, was a volunteer at the conference and said she wasn’t aware of the behind-the-scenes issues between Bower and the venue operator.

She said she thinks Bower may have “naively” believed the conference would “bring people together.”

“Maybe it could have been billed more like a conservative-leaning conference … maybe it should have been billed a bit differently,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press