The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) announced on Wednesday that it has started an internal investigation over allegations that some OPP officers may have donated to the fundraiser for the anti-Wuhan coronavirus restriction Freedom Convoy protests.
The officers were allegedly identified as part of a leak of hacked fundraiser data from the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo by the left-leaning Toronto Star newspaper published this week.
OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson stated that the OPP was aware of the allegations and told broadcaster CBC that officers “appear to have made donations that have gone toward the unlawful protest in Ottawa.”
“The matter has been brought to the attention of OPP Command, and the OPP Professional Standards Unit has launched an internal conduct investigation into this matter,” Dickson told the CBC in an email.
Dickson added that the OPP would hold any officers to account for their activities both while in uniform and while off duty, saying, “They have a responsibility to demonstrate neutrality and remain non-partisan,” and adding, “Any demonstration or expression of views and opinions that may be interpreted as condoning illegal activity is in direct opposition to the OPP’s values and mandate.”
Two police from the Toronto Police Service are also allegedly named as part of the data hack and the Toronto Police stated Wednesday that they were reviewing the data but noted that the data may not be reliable.
“As this was illegally obtained data, we would not speculate on its validity as we are aware of multiple lists in circulation which could be altered or manipulated,” Toronto police said.
The officers are some of the thousands of people named in the GiveSendGo hack, which was allowed to be spread across social media platforms like Twitter despite the company having strict rules on the publishing of hacked materials.
Several Canadians identified in the GiveSendGo leaks have reported that they and their businesses have been threatened, while others have lost their jobs.
Marion Isabeau-Ringuette, former director of communications for the office of Ontario Solicitor-General Sylvia Jones, lost her job last week after appearing on the leaked fundraiser list, despite only reportedly having donated a hundred dollars.
Also this week, location data of thousands of Ontario residents who donated to the Freedom Convoy fundraiser appeared on Google Maps. The data posted included addresses, names and emails of the donors.
After invoking the Emergencies Act, the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced it would be using emergency powers to freeze bank accounts so those who took part in the Freedom Convoy protests as well as those who raised cash for the protests.
Conservative Party of Canada MPs claimed to have received reports from constituents who had their bank accounts frozen for small donations, including British Columbia CPC MP Mark Strahl, who stated a local woman named Briane had her account frozen over a donation of just $50.
Isabelle Jacques, an assistant deputy minister of the Canadian Ministry of Finance, admitted on Tuesday that while it was “unlikely” that small donors were having their bank accounts frozen, it was a possibility.