Freeland says Canada’s economic reputation was at risk, prompting Emergencies Act
The risk to Canada’s economic reputation was behind the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to deter the “Freedom Convoy” blockades across the country, the deputy prime minister and finance minister repeatedly told MPs Tuesday.
But Chrystia Freeland — the highest-ranking minister yet to appear before the special committee investigating the government’s unprecedented use of emergency powers — would not share specific data that would have been available at the time the Act was invoked, which would have shown the protests were damaging the national economy.
But trade was up….
The economic nightmare that wasn’t? Border blockades had little effect on trade, data reveals
Despite the highly publicized blockades at Ontario’s Ambassador Bridge and Coutts crossing in Alberta, cross-border trade in Ontario and Alberta was up 16 per cent in February, compared to the same month last year, according to data from Statistics Canada.
And while some businesses were impacted by the blockades, the trade figures also raise questions about the government’s use of the Emergencies Act – a decision, in part, justified by “threats to (Canada’s) economic security” brought about by the blockades.
