At an inquiry into the invocation of the Emergencies Act Thursday, senior officials with the Department of Finance defended its use to order financial institutions to freeze the accounts of people involved in the convoy protests against COVID-19 restrictions in early 2022. (The Logic)

Talking point: Deputy Minister of Finance Michael Sabia told the inquiry the measures were necessary to bring the protest to a swift end—especially in Windsor, where they were snarling the cross-border trade in auto parts—and prevent long-term harm to the economy and Canada’s relationship with the U.S. A drawn-out protest risked damaging Canada’s economic relationship with the U.S., especially amid negotiations over making the purchase of Canadian-made electric vehicles eligible for an American tax credit. “The automotive industry was the centrepiece,” Sabia said. Existing legislation was not sufficient and enacting new legislation or regulations would have taken too long, officials said.