The Government of Canada was worried about its image as its flag was flown at Freedom Convoy-inspired protests around the world, the Emergency Commission heard Monday.
“Canada wants to protect its reputation,” explained Cindy Termorshuizen, a senior official with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), to Commissioner Paul Rouleau.
The maple leaf flag was adopted by the convoy of trucks that blocked the streets of Ottawa and some border points across the country in January and February. Movements opposed to the health measures of other countries quickly copied this symbol when organizing their own convoys, in the United States, Australia, France or the Netherlands, in particular.
The Canadian government has documented all these different movements inspired by the blockade of its own capital. “The Canadian ‘model’ is being exported and the Canadian flag is being hijacked as a symbol of protests around the world,” one official said in an email dated February 14, the date the United Nations Act was invoked. emergency measures.
This law requires the government to hold a public inquiry, which began its fifth week of public hearings on Monday. Officials from various federal departments are scheduled to appear there all week, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Brenda Lucki on Tuesday. Federal ministers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will speak next week.
reputational damage
AMC officials said on Monday that they were very concerned about the country’s reputation during the blockades at the Canadian border, which endangered the image of “a country that welcomes trade and economic prosperity. In particular, American elected officials have used this trade disruption as a political argument, arguing the need to “bring jobs back to the United States”.
The companies hardest hit by the disruption at the Windsor border were Japan’s Toyota and Honda, Termorshuizen said. United States President Joe Biden directly shared his concern during a phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Canadian government was also anxious to maintain access to the fifteen or so embassies or official residences located near the streets occupied by the Freedom Convoy this winter, in accordance with its international obligations.
According to documents filed with the Rouleau Commission, the Canadian Intelligence and Security Service (CSIS) found no threat to national security in the Freedom Convoy movement, at least at the time of invoking the urgency to dislodge him. This threat is defined by espionage or sabotage, the influence of foreign governments or the risk of violence motivated by ideological objectives.