Taxpayer-funded state broadcaster host Stephen Quinn is afraid to be misperceived as a “convoy type” if he’s seen with the Canadian flag.
Quinn refers to the 2022 Freedom Convoy, a movement of Canadians from east and west to gather in Ottawa to protest overreaching COVID-19 mandates.
Quinn says he doesn't want to be lumped in with "those guys" if he's seen with a Canadian flag. Former Coach's Corner host, the infamous Don Cherry, was fired from the CBC show in 2019 after he referred to immigrants who refuse to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day as "you people."
Quinn posted an image of the flag to obscure social media platform Bluesky on Wednesday, posing a questions to his followers:
“Have we decided that we're taking back the Canadian flag from the convoy types?” wrote Quinn, in a post that has since gone viral on X.
“Is it okay to fly a Canadian flag again without being mistaken for - you know - those guys?”
Quinn has been employed by the state broadcaster for 25 years. He hosts CBC morning show The Early Edition, which he describes as his “dream job.” He previously hosted a CBC BC-based radio show called On The Coast, a show that focused on social media commentary, and was the CBC civic affairs reporter.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal cabinet condemned the protest and cracked down by sending in riot police and freezing bank accounts of participants and even those who donated to the cause after invoking the historical Emergencies Act.
Federal Justice Richard Mosley in January 2024 ruled Trudeau’s invocation was unlawful and unnecessary. The Liberals the same day submitted an appeal, which was heard in the Federal Court of Appeal on February 5 and 5. A panel of three judges will release their decision within six to eight months.