“The GAC continues to monitor the situation in the US and around the world,” a diplomat wrote in a Feb. 14 email marked “high-level messages.” “I am concerned that the Canadian ‘model’ is being exported and that the Canadian flag is being (mis)used as a symbol to fuel protests in capitals around the world.” The email cited protesters in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and New Zealand. WATCHES | Global Affairs official addresses how convoy protests affected Canada’s international reputation
Global Affairs official addresses how convoy protests affected Canada’s international reputation
Cindy Termorshuizen, assistant deputy minister of Global Affairs Canada, says there were concerns about the self-proclaimed “Freedom Convoy” affecting Canada’s reputation abroad — especially when the Canadian flag was seen internationally as a “symbol of lawlessness.” Cindy Termorshuizen, assistant deputy minister of Global Affairs Canada, told the Public Order Emergency Committee on Monday that the department was concerned about how the protests were affecting Canada’s international reputation. Mainly, he said, the GAC was concerned about how the blockades were hurting trade routes and tarnishing Canada’s reputation as a place to invest. Termorshuizen said the department’s concerns extend to what the Canadian flag represents when it is flown at protests around the world.
A “symbol of breaking the law”
“I think we were also concerned from a wider reputational point of view that our flag was being used in some of these copycat protests that were happening around the world,” Termorshuizen told the inquiry. “The flag is a symbol of our country and it was used, quite frankly, as a symbol of lawlessness and we were quite concerned about those reputational effects.” Canadian protesters opposing COVID-19 restrictions blocked streets in downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks last winter. Similar protests blocked access to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont. — the busiest trade route between Canada and the US — and the border crossing at Coutts, Alta. Joe Comartin, Canada’s former consul general in Detroit, testified that he was hearing concerns from US lawmakers about the blockades. “One of the messages was the impact it had on the supply chain,” he said. “They also expressed, repeatedly, why isn’t Canada doing more? Their analysis was that the three levels of government weren’t working together, they didn’t have a coordinated plan. That was their perception.” The commission is looking into the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergency Act on February 14 to quell the protests. The inquest will continue to hear witnesses over the next two weeks. Commissioner Paul Rouleau’s final report is expected in February.
