PUBLIC ORDER EMERGENCY COMMISSION INSTITUTIONAL REPORT – DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

The role of the Deputy Minister is to provide the Minister with the broadest possible expert advice and support needed for the Minister’s portfolio responsibilities, and to undertake the day-to-day management of the department on behalf of their Minister. [...] The Financial Institutions Division and the Financial Crimes and Security Division were involved in both the development and drafting by Justice Canada of the EEMO and in engagement between the Department and financial industry stakeholders regarding the implementation of the EEMO. [...] Assessments of Economic Impacts From the start through to the revocation of the Emergencies Act, the Economic Policy Branch prepared and provided briefings to the Deputy Minister of Finance (and the Minister of Finance) on the economic impacts of the blockades, including on real GDP growth and cross-border trade (the “economic briefings”).8 This type of exercise is usual for the Branch as part of. [...] Subsequent versions of the assessment included a quantitative estimate of the impact on GDP.9 An email was sent to the Deputy Minister of Finance on February 22 summarizing the Department of Finance’s estimate of the impact of the blockades on Canadian real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2022, as well as an estimate on the impact of the blockades on the automotive sector.10 The Economic Policy. [...] The objective of this work was to provide the government with advice on additional tools to address the issues surrounding the use of the financial system to support the blockades.20 The policy options considered the development of new tools based on the Minister of Finance’s oversight of federally regulated financial institutions and changes that would make it a requirement for crowdfunding platf.