Convoy Press Conference Spokesperson Was On Parliamentary Security ‘Banned’ List
Two convoy press conference participants accessed House of Commons despite recently being denied entry by parliamentary security
One of the spokespersons at a bizarro convoy press conference last week got into the House of Commons despite recently being denied entry to the House of Commons gallery by the Parliamentary Security Service.
Chris Dacey, a livestreamer regularly seen loitering on Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, raised eyebrows when he walked up to the podium at the House of Commons’ 135-B Press Conference Room.
Dacey and Lynne Brooks, another member of the entourage that showed up at Room 135-B, have histories of confronting politicians in public and are both banned from attending House of Commons proceedings.
“I’ve been told I’ve been banned for a year”
Dacey and Brooks have extensively chronicled their experiences being denied entry to the House of Commons on livestreams — even in the last few weeks.
On January 29, a few weeks before the February 16 press conference, Dacey posted a video claiming “I’ve been told I’ve been banned for a year”:
“I just gone through security, I was on my way to sit in the gallery, where I was stopped by two PPS people who asked me my name and told me I am banned, I am trespassed and banned from the House of Commons.”
On February 15, only a day before the convoy press conference, Brooks said in a livestream that the PPS kicked her out of the House of Commons:
“When I went to the doors … the welcome centre to go into the gallery, I was stopped by two PPS who said I was not allowed in — not even in the doors.”
Brooks has been playing cat-and-mouse games with parliamentary security attempting to get into the House of Commons for much of the last year.
In October, PressProgress reported Brooks and a dozen guests linked to the “Save the Children Convoy” invited by Conservative MP Arnold Viersen were bounced from the House of Commons over their association with Brooks.
One thing that may put Brooks on the radar of security are her numerous livestream videos following Justin Trudeau to events around Ontario. Last summer, Brooks was part of a group that swarmed Trudeau in Belleville.
“Chris Dacey and I are on the list of ‘no go into the House’ people,” Brooks has claimed. Dacey himself has also alleged that the PPS keeps a secret “list of people who are not allowed in the House of Commons.”
Sources confirmed to ConvoyWatch that Dacey and Brooks are both banned from entering the House of Commons gallery to watch proceedings, though that ban does not technically extend to other areas of the building.
Convoy leader says Parliamentary Press Gallery let them in
Derek Noonan, the main convoy press conference organizer, said the process for booking the House of Commons press conference was smooth and easy.
“I just booked it as a normal citizen would book it because I was part of the freedom rally,” Noonan told ConvoyWatch. “Any organization could get it I think as long as media is willing to attend.”
Room 135-B is booked through the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Noonan said he simply called the Press Gallery on the phone to book it.
Noonan said he was disappointed rival convoy organizers are now claiming his press conference is proof he’s a “government operative.”
“Unfortunately within the Freedom Movement, there’s all kinds of conspiracy theories and this and that, they’re wondering, ‘well, how the hell were you able to book a press room?’” Noonan said. “Anyone could book a press room. That one was the one that they gave me.”
Noonan said he invited Dacey and Brooks with two of seven guest passes.
He said Jim Kerr, who drives a psychedelic Burning Man-inspired school bus called the “Church of Bubbles,” and Maggie Hope Braun, who is involved in a group setting-up a “parallel” shadow government, also planned to speak at the press conference but couldn’t make it due to “inclement weather.”
The convoy leader confirmed Dacey and Brooks are banned from the gallery and added he’s not entirely clear why security let them in, but speculated it was because “the House wasn’t sitting.”
“When they go to try to watch Parliament, they’re not allowed in,” Noonan said. “I presume that’s the reason why they were allowed in, because we’re not actually going in to watch them.”
Noonan recalled PPS shadowed them closely while inside the building.
“I will say, we obviously got a lot more security attention than the average person that was going in to do a historical tour of the place.”
Noonan described security as “rigid” and said that when the press conference was finished, they were “escorted out” — “they toured us through from the press room right up to where we left parliament.”
Press gallery doesn’t screen press conference speakers
Press conferences booked through the Parliamentary Press Gallery carry few restrictions, other than limits on time or number of speakers on stage.
While activists and advocacy groups of many stripes hold press conferences at the House of Commons to raise attention for important issues with real public interest value, it is unusual to see press conferences held by people previously bounced by parliamentary security.
In a statement to ConvoyWatch, Parliamentary Press Gallery president Mia Rabson emphasized that screening for security would be handled by others:
“The press gallery does not decide who is and is not eligible to hold a press conference on Parliament Hill. Individual agencies and bureaus can and do decide for themselves which press conferences they will and will not cover. Normal security procedures apply for all persons accessing either Room 135-B in West Block or the National Press Theatre, including the screening of individuals by the Parliamentary Protective Service.”
PPS says it doesn’t screen press conference speakers either
It’s unclear what screening, if any, took place — but it wasn’t by the PPS.
A spokesperson for the Parliamentary Protective Service said “granting or vetting access” to the House of Commons falls outside its mandate:
“The Parliamentary Protective Service’s mandate is to ensure physical security on the grounds of Parliament Hill and within Parliamentary Precinct buildings. Granting or vetting access to Parliamentary Precinct guests falls outside of our jurisdiction.”
House of Commons can’t get into details about what happened
Another possibility could be that Dacey and Brooks were screened by the Sergeant-at-Arms or House of Commons corporate security.
Responding to questions about why people banned for security reasons from the House of Commons gallery are allowed to hold press conferences in the same building, a House of Commons spokesperson told ConvoyWatch:
“Visitors may access Parliament buildings as long as their movements do not occur within an area that is restricted to them. All visitors must be scanned prior to entry into any of the Parliament buildings. For security reasons, we cannot provide additional details.”