Witness Testimony

Thomas Marazzo testified that he served 25 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a combat engineer officer and later worked as an instructor at Georgian College. During the pandemic, he publicly questioned the legality of vaccine mandates in a reply-all email to senior administration and faculty. He stated that he was subsequently summoned to meetings, had his email removed by IT, and was terminated for cause. He described public shaming by colleagues, lack of union support, and unsuccessful arbitration proceedings.
Marazzo testified that he became involved in the Freedom Convoy after being invited to Ottawa to provide advice and remained for 22 days, eventually serving in a spokesperson capacity. He described the protest as peaceful, estimating large weekend attendance and stating that organizers repeatedly requested dialogue with the federal government. He testified that no federal representatives engaged with convoy leadership prior to the invocation of the Emergencies Act. He further stated that he attempted to coordinate a peaceful staged withdrawal with police to prevent violence but said barriers were not removed to allow trucks to exit.
He described witnessing police actions at the War Memorial involving military veterans and characterized the final days of enforcement as violent. Following the Emergencies Act, Marazzo testified that his bank accounts and credit cards were frozen without prior notice, warrant, or criminal charges, and that personal financial information was widely shared among institutions. He stated that the freezing of accounts affected his ability to access funds for essential expenses and expressed opposition to digital identification systems and central bank digital currencies based on his experience.