On November 25, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland testified before the Public Order Emergency Commission. She was asked about a reference to Fox News.
Freeland said that it was “significant” that she and financial institutions received bad press from outlets like Fox News for freezing the accounts of Freedom Convoy protesters.
“The Fox News reference there is especially significant because many Canadian banks have significant operations in the United States and so having Fox News attack you isn’t a problem only because Canadians might be watching,” Freeland said.
She added that it was a “problem” considering banks have American customers who would see the freezing of accounts as government overreach.
“But if you have a big US operation, it’s a problem because your American customers will be watching. And I do think that was a problem that was legitimate to raise, and I was concerned about it.”
The Public Order Emergency Commission is investigating whether the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to stop the Freedom Convoy protests was justifiable.
