My Conversation With Tom Marazzo

An exclusive look at one of the convoys most discussed figures

I recently spoke with a key figure in the convoy leadership, Tom Marazzo, a conversation that was facilitated by our mutual friend, Rebecca Quinnell, affectionately known as “Nurse Becca” to her supporters. The dynamics of our chat were interesting. Our discussion began around Mr. Marazzo and his involvement in the convoy, we then discussed his reflections on Canada and the Rouleau Inquiry. We concluded with his recent dispute with convoy organizer BJ Dichter and discussed Tom’s future plans. Rebecca and Tom ran against each other in the 2022 Provincial Election, I was involved in Rebecca’s campaign. I had initially suggested we do a “background dig” on Tom as he was her opponent, but she assured me that Tom was her friend, and it would be a waste of time. After speaking with him all these months later, I agree with her. I found him to be very honest, genuine, and well-intentioned.

The protest in Ottawa last winter should have never happened. There should have been no trucks, the streets should have been free of demonstrators, the Emergency Act should still be an unknown tool to many Canadians, and we shouldn’t have seen such division. Sadly though, that’s not the course that was chosen by our leaders. The mandates should have ended in late 2020, and most definitely by the end of ‘21. Arguably, we would be in the same position we are now, possibly much further ahead with issues like staffing and social cohesiveness. Most of all we would have fortuitously been spared the division. Instead of observing jurisdictions like Sweden and Florida, and then using their contextualized data and combining it with a realized and updated understanding of our own, our governments chose division, fear, and trope-peddling.

It became clear this past winter that division in Canada was out-of-control and that too many people had been staying home, spending too much time on social media, while browsing through the monolithic view of Canadian news. The populist left was now trying to rid Canada of what they perceived to be the “extreme far-right”, and the enemy was no longer a virus. This is obvious to almost everyone now, and it’s painful to acknowledge for many. Sadly, when juxtaposed with history, Canada’s reaction is the norm, as nations driven by irrational fear always do irrational things. We should have known better, especially in 2022. Our governments desire to cling to divisive and outdated mandates pulled a lot of people into politics. People who would have perhaps dabbled in politics but not become large figures were now thrust into the fight of their lives, and not a fight they picked. One of these figures is Tom Marazzo.

Tom Marazzo speaking at a freedom panel in 2022

Tom’s case is like most people who attended in February. He had learned about the protest from a friend and decided he wanted to get involved because he was worried about the future of Canada, especially for his sons. When he arrived in Ottawa, it became clear to many that his military experience would be an asset. As a retired serviceman, he had a unique planning skill set that would be of asset to the convoy, he no doubt inspired confidence with the police as well, so it was obvious that his handling of some logistics and other details would be a sturdy fit. The police had someone they trusted, the leaders of the convoy could also boast having a servicemen involved, which is obviously highly beneficial to both sides. Tom struck me as a capable person, so it’s not hard to project how he arrived at his role, it was the ultimate grass roots story. He got involved when he learned of the event, and when he arrived, he was designated as someone who could possibly help.

It must be noted, I spent 15 days in Ottawa during that time, and I was on the ground for all of it. I spoke with truckers, police from all levels, media, homeless people, shop owners, hotel clerks, everyone. I got the sense that almost all demonstrators were there on their own, including most truckers. Everyone knew someone had organized it, but they shrugged when asked who. When asked “how did you hear about it”, they mostly responded with “a friend” or “social media”, exactly as Tom did. Most people seemed a little bit dazed, I could tell some people had never been into a larger city and they were awestruck. Some told me it was the first time they had traveled, others told me they were stopping in Ottawa for a few days in-between jet-setting the country for business. There were rich business owners alongside the unemployed. There was French and English unity. The cohesion was organic and “au naturale”.

The concept that there were “leaders” controlling the entire convoy was a more beneficial storyline for media and a hope of the government than it was reality, Tom understood this and generally agreed with my assessment. There were groups there, and many people listening to Mr. Marazzo, but it was my sense being there that most people were independent. However, it’s important to note, without someone like Tom speaking to police and helping orchestrate things from a higher level, this could have gotten ugly as he no doubt assisted in keeping the police pacified through his calm demeanor, professional appearance, and pragmatic approach.

The highly discussed Terry Fox statue, Feb 8, 2022.

Judging by the police testimony during the inquiry, Mr. Marazzo was well-respected with the police, yet many of his detractors such as BJ Dichter denounce this is a non-asset. I think without police having confidence in both the top-level organizers and the grass roots “lone wolves”, a picture could have been painted for a possible emergency, but thankfully, everyone including Mr. Marazzo and Mr. Dichter had cool heads and were non-violent people. Someone like Mr. Marazzo - who helped the police understand that this was a grass roots movement with sensible demonstrators - was no doubt an invaluable asset. Had the media been able to point to more than Pat King, the movement would have lost a lot of steam.

Police must assess all possibilities, which gave the news their headlines like “Police say convoy ‘Possible Threat’, page 6” and “Convoy could have threatened lives: OPS Commissioner”. Consider this, the reason police attend hockey games is because “anything can happen” and “there are threats”, but it’s never the main story after a game unless something serious and violent happens. “Police attend hockey game, as possible threats exist” is never a sensible headline, yet it was the only story the media tried to tell in February.

Everyone knows why most people were there; to protest covid. It was 2 years after we had been told to “hunker down for 14 days”. The media wanted to pretend they couldn’t understand why the protesters were there, the fact their audience is dense enough to go along with their Columbo-esque attempt to ascertain the convoy is worrisome, and it makes me wonder about the general intelligence of Canadians. They produced reasons like “this must be funded by Trump supporters” and “some of the people here must be Russian agents”. They were theatrically shocked that so many people dared question the mandates, even by February of 2022. For the media, mass movements are reserved for events like George Floyd marches and anything on the right is obviously a construct of evil bigots aiming to subjugate the disenfranchised via a greedy interpretation of individual rights. It’s both a troublesome and tired view of the world.

Chrystia Freeland debates freezing bank accounts in the House of Commons, Feb, 2022.

As we’ve seen regarding the Chinese unrest beginning in the fall of 2022, Canadian media has no shortage of sympathy for the Chinese demonstrators, who are still currently protesting covid mandates, in a much denser country with lower healthcare standards than our own. When it’s Chinese protesters it’s okay, when it’s Canadians from Alberta it’s terrorism; those are the rules for the media. Liberal hypocrisy is the only thing that may enjoy a larger boundary than the universe. I think most intelligent people who can manage glancing away from Netflix from more than 8 seconds to take in the news can see through the media’s abhorrent chicanery. If we can’t we are surely on the path to losing our competitive advantage on the global stage, as we’ve become a nation of fools, as Tom pointed out.

A nation of fools is a scary concept. It’s been correctly attributed to the demise of many civilizations. I think this was the goal of the convoy detractors, to paint the convoy as a cohesive group of fools; the reporters’ general opinions were along the lines of “sure, some are racists, and yes, maybe some also misogynist, but not everyone though to be fair! What is clear though is they are all too stupid to understand how the constitution works, and they are here to overthrow the government just like those evil people from January 6. They aren’t smart like those of you staying at home and staying safe. Some may be extremely dangerous and could possibly have weapons, anti-hate experts say it's possible some could be violent”. It was hardly a fair, balanced, or accurate representation, and it sounds absolutely fitting if you imagine Xi Jinping saying things like this about the current Chinese covid mandate unrest. Many people turned to Mr. Marazzo during these hazy media attacks, as he inspired confidence in the movement, and were able to tune out the false media machine. Mr. Marazzo’s impact for those who were hesitant to join the convoy or were nervous upon arrival cannot be overlooked, as many must have felt reassured knowing a sensible serviceman was involved.

The media was under the deluded impression everyone in Ottawa was carrying around Pat King’s memorandum and reciting it over and over, those who weren’t “secret agents” exclusively fluent in Russian that is. Sadly though, this was a choice, as the media never wanted to paint a picture that people were listening to the calm advice of Mr. Marazzo. Why is that? Why did they want everyone to believe Pat King was in charge? The media’s picture was an obvious hoax, a trope, the same misrepresentation of facts Canadian viewers have become accustomed to, many on the left dependent on. Russian agents? The news peddled more conspiracy theories than anyone during that time.

Mr. Dichter is being represented by Jim Karahalios, whom I had crossed paths with a couple times during my time working on his parties’ campaign in Peterborough, and I have nothing but pleasant things to say about him. This is what’s hard on my end, I see well-intentioned people on all sides fighting, and I wonder why? I have heard Mr. Dichter speak often about the convoy, and about Tom Marazzo and Keith Wilson. I think it’s clear there has been a confusion. If Mr. Dichter thinks that he, or anyone else, holds exclusive possession of the title of “convoy organizer” he would be incorrect. It was a clever idea, and the trucks needed to be organized, but the trucks wouldn’t have been able to do it without the rest of the people. A truck takes up a lot of space, but it’s one person, and often along side those trucks would be dozens of family members and protesters who had never heard of the organizers. It was my advice to everyone I met to stay away from groups, as the media would surely be tarring and feathering them, and if you are in a group, you can be assured someone is negotiating on your behalf, because the police wanted to be able to say “your group agreed to leave, but you aren’t going, this is a problem” etc. Individuals in this case are greater than a group. United as individuals we stood. The protesters were not the types to “join groups” or have anyone speak for them, they were clearly not easily coerced, if they were they would have been vaccinated and watching everything unfold on CBC.

Justice Rouleau observing proceedings in the Emergency Act Inquiry, Nov, 2022.

Mr. Marazzo came on my radar again most recently when I saw a social media video posted on Mayor Tv’s twitter page, shared via Dean Blundell, that Tom had “quit the freedom movement” and the video had some comical violin music playing. I didn’t like the tone of the video because I know whoever made it has no idea what happened in Ottawa- or what people like Mr. Marazzo did. Standing up to the government and not emerging without some form of damage has proven to be almost impossible throughout history, but what’s clear with Mr. Marazzo is he’s not damaged, he correctly has determined that the appearance of infighting is demoralizing for convoy supporters from the periphery so he’s stepping back to work on his upcoming book, The Peoples Emergency Act which will be coming out in February of 2023.

I reached out to Mr. Karahalios and Mr. Dichter for comment, Mr. Dichter responded with some links to videos he has posted, and I did watch them. As I was unable to speak with him, I am left with many questions, but I’m led to believe that perhaps this is an ancient tale of power, and neither men are bad humans. I think Mr. Dichter became frustrated that Mr. Marazzo had risen to become a natural leader for some of the movement, and this type of jealousy is not the first time this has happened within a cause. The government declared an emergency, and during Mr. Trudeau’s testimony he had nothing to point to other than “what could have happened”. He was afraid of what could have happened, like being afraid of being beaten up attending a hockey game. What is clear though, nothing bad happened, and without everyone being responsible, including everyone from spokesman, leaders, and protesters, it could have become a real emergency.

I worried at the start of 2020 that covid’s biggest threat may be to society itself through fighting and division, and we almost got there. The passport system is a black mark on many provinces, like a scarlet letter with a hashtag, along with the federal train and plane mandates. The science ultimately proved our governments wrong, and this was the risk our officials took. “Best intentions” shouldn’t suffice when it comes to discrimination in Canada, as we commonly see many refuted who believe the Canadians who came before us that interned Japanese and started Residential Schools should be allowed grace as they probably had good intentions. There was much Tom and I agreed on, but primarily we want all Canadians to be as free as possible to be able to live their best lives.

During the convoy Mr. Marazzo lost weight, as he was battling a cold along with the elements -on top of the limitations of a 24-hour day with 50-hour problems- but what carried him through was his desire to do what was best for his children and future grandchildren. I think it’s shameful that the government was allowed to access endless taxpayer resources for the commission, however, Mr. Marazzo and company had to beg the courts to release some of the donated money from Give Send Go, which they are now forced to divide. They should each be entitled to an amount like the entire sum released, not a division of it. It would be interesting to see how much the government spent painting the convoy in a negative light, from their direct funding of their own counsel, and through their not so arms-length relationship with CBC, and then compare that to the amount the convoy organizers are given to represent themselves. We can then ask ourselves; “what’s just in a fair democracy?”

I asked Tom if he would change anything, and he said looking back he would have not spoken so often to police, and instead demanded to speak with politicians. When asked what his proudest moment was, Tom told me he wasn’t sure, he hadn’t thought about it. He figures one day when he looks back, one thing may stand out above the rest; our interview. I’m obviously kidding, he says he felt lucky. He feels lucky to be involved in the movement, and fortunate that many Canadians follow him. I found that answer to be both humble and classy, but what else should we expect? His answer is inline with how he’s managed himself the entire time.