During the ongoing public inquiry into the Canadian government’s decision to use the Emergencies Act to blacklist and freeze the accounts of civil liberties protesters, it was revealed that top officials in the Biden administration, including US President Biden himself, asked officials in the Canadian government to put an end to the Freedom Convoy protests.
According to POLITICO, Brian Deese, the White House National Economic Council Director, called Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on February 10. After the call, Freeland wrote an email to her staff, saying, “They are very, very, very worried.”
“If this is not sorted out in the next 12 hours, all of their northeastern car plants will shut down.”
In her testimony during the public inquiry, as clipped by Rebel, Freeland said that she was worried Canada was “in the process of doing long-term and possibly irreparable harm to our trading relationship with the United States” and worried about politicians in DC “who would love any excuse to impose more protectionist measures on us.”
Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary, called Canada’s Minister for Transport Omar Alghabra on February 10. Buttigieg asked Alghabra about the Canadian government’s “plan to resolve” the protests. Alghabra told the inquiry commission that the interaction was “unusual.”
On February 11 President Joe Biden and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked on the phone. The Canadian leader reassured Biden that there was a plan to end the protests.
The Emergencies Act was invoked just three days after the call between the two leaders. However, border blockades between Detroit And Windsor and in Manitoba were cleared before the Emergencies Act was invoked, and the act was used despite the fact there was already a deal to end the protests amicably.
