Liberal ministers call blockades a foreign attempt to subvert Canada's democracy, economy – National Post

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The Trudeau Liberals ramped up their rhetoric Wednesday, describing border blockades and the ongoing occupation of downtown Ottawa as foreign-funded, foreign-organized attacks meant to undermine our nation’s sovereignty.

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And ambiguity still remains on why the government took the bold step of invoking the Emergencies Act, considering most of the blockades were cleared by police before any national public emergency was declared.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told reporters Wednesday afternoon the blockades were part of a concerted, foreign-funded effort to put Canada’s economy and government into jeopardy.

“We cannot leave anyone with the impression that our democracy is negotiable or subject to efforts of appeasement,” Blair said.

“We will not let any foreign entities that seek to do harm to Canada or Canadians, erode trust in our democratic institutions, or question the legitimacy of our democracy.”

A Freedom Convoy-affiliated blockade used trucks, private vehicles and even farm equipment to block access to the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts, Alta., for nearly two weeks.

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That was followed by similar actions at land crossings across Canada — most significantly in Emerson, Man., south of Winnipeg, the Pacific Highway near Surrey, B.C., and streets leading to the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor, Ont., to Detroit and carries about a quarter of cross-border trade between Canada and the United States.

Blair says the government believes these blockades were far more insidious than merely Canadians upset over COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

“We have seen strong evidence that it was the intention of those who blockaded our ports-of-entry in a largely foreign-funded, targeted and coordinated attack, which was clearly and criminally intended to harm Canada, to harm Canadians, to interrupt vital supply lines, to idle our workers and close our factories,” he said.

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“It demanded that we all do what was required in order to restore the integrity and security of our borders and protect Canadian interests.”

Leaked donor records from Sunday’s cyberattack on crowdfunding website GiveSendGo showed most of the $8 million raised at that point had come from Canadians.

As well, data released Tuesday by an online transparency group showed nearly 60 per cent of money raised by the Adopt-a-Trucker fundraising drive likewise came from Canada.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino likewise described both the border situation and the ongoing Ottawa occupation as posing “a national security threat to our borders, our economy and the health and safety of all Canadians.”

Protesters in Coutts ended their action peacefully on Tuesday, shortly after Mounties found a cache of firearms, ammunition and body armour and arrested 13 people — including four charged with conspiracy to murder law enforcement officers.

That seizure, Mendicino said, speaks to the serious criminality taking place out of sight of both television cameras and social media posts.

“We need to be clear-eyed about the seriousness of these incidents,” he said, alleging the Coutts arrestees have “strong ties” to a “far-right, extreme organization” whose leadership is currently in Ottawa.

“We’re talking about a group that is organized, agile, knowledgeable and driven by an extremist ideology where ‘might makes right,’ ” he said.

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Mendicino declined to name the group, but photos released by the RCMP show a seized body armour plate carrier sporting flags associated with Diagalon — described by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network as an extremist, far-right militia network with the purported aim of forming a new North American nation stretching from Alaska, diagonally through the Canadian Prairies southwards to Florida.

When asked five times by reporters to clarify alleged links between the Coutts extremist group and the Ottawa organizers, Mendicino conceded the conclusion was based on similar extremist ideology shared between the Coutts suspects and what’s being seen in Ottawa.

Blair also somewhat incorrectly implied the federal emergency orders — which were only published in the Canada Gazette late Tuesday night — with helping the RCMP dismantle the Coutts blockade and arrest the alleged extremists, even though those orders yet weren’t in place.

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Both Lametti and Mendicino ducked questions on if they’re prepared to clearly label the situation as a full-blown insurrection against Canada by foreign invaders.

Answering in French, both instead spoke of new tools the emergency measures grant law enforcement.

Questions were also sidestepped on why invoking the Emergencies Act was even required, considering police cleared the borders prior to their invocation — prompting more broad talk from the Ministers on how they would offer new tools to police.

Mendicino also didn’t offer specifics on how many accounts were frozen or amounts of money seized under the emergency measures, citing the importance of government prosecutorial independence.

Solemnizing the emergency orders aren’t as simple as signing on the dotted line.

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Like all Canadian laws, the measures must be published in Canada Gazette — the government’s official “newspaper” — before they become enforceable and serve as public notice for Canadians about newly passed laws and legislation.

From there, the government must present the emergency orders to both the House and Senate within two days, and subject them to a vote in both chambers within seven days.

Justice Minister David Lametti said the orders will be presented to the house and senate by end-of-day Thursday.

When those debates will happen isn’t yet known, as the House of Commons isn’t sitting next week.

“We will be moving quickly to commence debate,” Lametti said.

“Canadians expect and deserve nothing less.”

— With additional reporting from The Canadian Press

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