Evidence of meeting #10 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was police.
A video is available from Parliament.
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
Thank you very much.
Minister, I would like to zero in on the Ottawa occupation and the effect of the economic measures. As you know, this issue has been raised continually, namely the link between the Ottawa occupation in particular and the measures. With other tools that were provided through the emergency measures regulations, why were the economic measures needed to disperse the occupation? I'm trying to figure out what the thought process was going into it.
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Maybe I'll start, if it's in the spirit of your question, by talking a little bit about the economic damage to Ottawa.
Let me start by pointing out that the City of Ottawa released a report last week detailing the cost of the illegal blockade to the City of Ottawa itself. They put the cost at $37 million. Larry Andrade, a Deloitte partner, calculated the damages suffered by businesses and employees in the Ottawa area during the occupation period to be between $150 million and $207 million. The Retail Council of Canada estimated that there were losses of $3 million per day in sales.
When it comes to the second part of your question, on the thought process, I do want to assure the members of this committee that I am very aware of the seriousness of invoking the Emergencies Act. I'm very aware that doing so was a big decision. What I as Minister of Finance would like to say to you and to Canadians is that the gravity of that decision was weighed, in my mind and in the discussions within our department, against the gravity of the economic damage that was being done. The economic damage that was being done truly was compounded. Every day that it went on, specific damage was being done, but every single day that it went on, that really was a blow to Canada's reputation. It was a blow to every single Canadian who goes out and tries to get someone to invest in the country. It was a blow to every single Canadian who tries to be a supplier to an American partner. I heard directly in conversations I had with Canadian business leaders who were getting in touch with me that they were gravely concerned. I actually heard it from some members of this committee who asked me questions in question period and who, at the time, were gravely concerned. Certainly, I, of course, was not the only person in the Department of Finance who was working on this. My officials and my political colleagues were all hearing exactly the same thing.
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
Thank you for that.
Just quickly, one of the issues that have been raised, certainly at this committee, on the economic measures had to do with the communication and understanding of Canadians who may have made a donation at the front end, thinking it was for a legitimate cause, which certainly caused a lot of grave concern for them in terms of what it meant.
I'm wondering if you've done any review of how that was communicated and whether or not there have been any lessons learned from that process.
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
I think that is an excellent question, and because it's so important, and given the importance of clear communication, I do want to take this opportunity to reinforce that. I'm now going to read from the RCMP statement of February 21:
At no time, did we provide a list of donors to Financial Institutions.
It's important for Canadians to understand that, because you're quite right, Senator, that someone could well have made a donation that was perfectly legal, to a legal cause. I want to assure them that at no time did the RCMP give their names to financial institutions.
I also want to point out that on June 9 the Bank of Canada released its annual financial system review, and it actually found that the degree of confidence in Canada's financial institutions and system is at the highest level ever. I am not, in any way, challenging—
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
Thank you very much.
We'll now move to Senator Carignan for five minutes.
Claude Carignan
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister, you did say that cabinet made the decision to declare the state of emergency.
Didn't you?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
I'll verify that information because I want to give you an accurate answer.
Liberal
Claude Carignan
You do know that the Ambassador Bridge was completely reopened by 8:30 p.m.
Wasn't it?
Claude Carignan
How did you react to the fact that you declared the state of emergency after the bridge had been cleared?
You knew at that point that the bridge had been cleared and that traffic had resumed. So it's possible to reopen a bridge by doing something other than declaring a state of emergency.
Isn't that so?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
At that point, we had received information to the effect that people were working non-stop to block other roads between the United States and Canada. Constant efforts were being made to continue blocking roads; that's an important fact.
In addition, as you well know, the illegal occupation of Ottawa, our national capital, was under way when we made the decision.
Claude Carignan
When you made the decision in the evening of February 13, you knew that the Ambassador Bridge had been cleared. You knew that authorities had managed to clear the bridge using the tools at their disposal at that time.
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
I think what's important is that there was a constant risk at that point that new blockades would be established. I remember it was one blockade after another, and there really was a risk of constant blockades at the border. I also want to emphasize that the occupation of our national capital was serious.
Claude Carignan
I understand that, during the discussions you had with the American government, the United States offered to send you tow trucks.
Would you please confirm for us that they offered to send trucks to tow vehicles away?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
When I spoke directly with U.S. government representatives, the main message was about the level of concern, which was very high.
Claude Carignan
Did the United States offer to send tow trucks, and did you accept its offer?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
The discussion I had with them concerned trade between Canada and the United States. That was important for the officials I spoke to.
