Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke to reporters for the first time since Monday’s shocking arrest of an independent journalist who was attempting to ask her a question, and refused to condemn the incident.
After speaking on a Toronto housing initiative, Freeland was asked by a reporter in Toronto “What do you make of your security detail arresting David Menzies?”
The question follows a viral video from Monday evening showing Rebel News reporter David Menzies asking her a question on a public sidewalk, before getting arrested by police.
Freeland’s response began with a two minute word salad that had nothing to do with the incident, before finally saying “Canada is a rule of law country.”
The Finance minister continued: “Operational decisions about law enforcement are taken by the police jurisdiction. Quite appropriately, elected officials have no role in the taking of those decisions and that’s why I have no further comment.”
The arrest of Menzies came from an officer who wasn’t dressed in uniform. The officer sneakily stepped in front of Menzies from behind a pole, instigating extremely minor contact between the two men.
The officer then proceeded to arrest Menzies for assault, only later to release him without pressing any charges.
Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leader Pierre Poilievre chimed in on the viral incident, suggesting the police have been corrupted by the Trudeau Government.
The CPC later demanded a parliamentary investigation into the incident.
