One year ago, the world was gripped by scenes of big rigs parked in downtown Ottawa, people protesting and dancing on Parliament Hill, and the nation’s capital being besieged by bouncy castles and hot tubs. Thousands of Canadians were protesting the covid-19 response and vaccine mandates in a once-in-a-generation movement.

Yet after three weeks of protesting the destructive policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Canadian government invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act, which gave it power to freeze bank accounts, arrest protesters, and brutally break up the demonstrations in the capital. It was a controversial moment that the entire world watched.

A full year later, the Emergencies Order Commission led by Justice Paul Rouleau, who was tasked with investigating the use of the Emergencies Act and other connected issues, released its full report on February 17. “The five-volume, 2,092-page report tabled in Parliament on Friday,” reported the cbc, “is likely the most comprehensive account that will ever be produced of last year’s unrest, and it provides an authoritative and objective verdict on Justin Trudeau’s historic decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. ‘The decision to invoke the act was appropriate,’ Rouleau wrote.”

After hearing from 76 witnesses and 50 experts, and seeing over 8,900 exhibits of evidence, the official government investigation has concluded that Trudeau was justified in giving himself extraordinary powers to seize property without due process, to allow police brutality, and to intimidate Canadians for peacefully protesting his government. While the commission’s report does not absolve the federal or provincial government of error, it does authoritatively conclude that the legal threshold to suspend civil liberties was reached.

Is that actually what happened? What does this mean for the future of Canada?

You might agree with the commission or you might be angered by the verdict. Either way, the only way to explain what is happening inside Canada is to understand what the Bible says about these modern events.

Much has happened in the past year. Watch the video below to remind yourself of the scenes from Ottawa.

While the protests were certainly disruptive to daily life in Ottawa, there were no instances of crime or violence. All law enforcement officials and government officials admitted under oath during the commission that there were no instances of violence, only that it “felt violent.” The Emergencies Act may only be enacted if there is an existential threat to Canada. Watch that video, and ask yourself, does that protest look like a threat to the existence of Canada?

The policies of the Trudeau government have been far more damaging to Canada than the Freedom Convoy protest.

Now remind yourself of how the Trudeau government cracked down on the protesters, who were disruptive, but committed no violence, committed no crimes, and were cooperating with police.

In addition, Canadian banks froze up to 210 bank accounts following the government order to do so, freezing a total of $7.8 million. Some financial institutions made blacklists of people who had “suspicious” transactions. This created a run on the banks, leading some banks to shut down their atm services. Imagine living in a country where you commit no crime, but the government freezes your money without a court order.

But it didn’t stop there. Several cabinet-level politicians were in favor of sending the military to break up the protesters.

One of the major issues is that the federal and provincial governments and law enforcement did not properly follow legal procedures when dealing with the Freedom Convoy. The police already had tools in the legal code to remove vehicles and people if they desired, but they didn’t use them. Never once was the Riot Act read to protesters, which is required to declare a protest illegal. By using the Emergencies Act, the judiciary was removed from the equation. The government and police didn’t need to go to a court to approve any actions, and individuals couldn’t seek relief from a judge. This amounts to a circumvention of the rule of law. Lawyer Keith Wilson explained some of these issues in an interview on cpac:

With the official report by Justice Rouleau, a precedent has been set that allows the government to give itself wartime powers in order to stop a political protest. This legal precedent is a dangerous moment for the country, and it has legalized the dictatorial direction of Trudeau’s government.

But you shouldn’t be surprised by this result. In fact, the Trumpet predicted in May of last year that the government inquiry would cover up the corruption, not expose it. The Trumpet wrote: “This inquiry is a political commission to target and attack those challenging the Trudeau government. To make things worse, Paul Rouleau used to work for the Liberal party as an adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office in the 1980s and is a Liberal party donor. How can the inquiry be ‘independent’ and fair with such a clear conflict of interest?”

As the Hill Times commented, the Rouleau report was a “big win” for Liberals: “The release of the Rouleau commission’s report into the use of the Emergencies Act represents ‘a big win day for Liberals,’ which allows them to say, ‘This is what we told you all along,’ say observers.” As the Trumpet described it, this is the biggest cover-up in Canadian history.

While some legal challenges are still ongoing in court, it is extremely unlikely they will have any legal traction now that it is “officially official” that Trudeau behaved correctly.

The Freedom Convoy and its support across the country was a display of anger, frustration and dismay at government overreach into people’s lives during the pandemic. When I went to see the protest myself as the Freedom Convoy was traveling to Ottawa, Canadians of all ages stood in the freezing cold for hours to make a statement. An official report a year later may whitewash the government, but the anger and frustration remains.

This is clear from the angry protesters who appear anywhere Trudeau travels in the country. People are angry, but they don’t see any clear solutions. There doesn’t appear to be any accountability for the individuals who are driving the country into the ground.

You might be frustrated at the direction of the country. You might be frustrated with the high cost of living, the breakdown of government services, higher crime, rampant drug problems, government scandals and inept leadership. Everything seems to keep getting worse. No matter where you look, the country is broken. A massive, once-in-a-generation protest didn’t work. The last election didn’t change anything. What can be done to change the disastrous direction of the country?

All of these events are forcing Canadians to face a hard truth: Only God can save Canada.

The downward trajectory of Canada is due to the convergence of several different forces. First, there is the deliberate sabotage of the country by its own leaders. As the late Herbert W. Armstrong prophesied in the 1950s and ’60s, the United States and British Commonwealth nations suffered a Communist infiltration of education and key institutions that sought to perform an ideological revolution from the inside. One generation later, nearly all leadership positions in these countries are held by Communist ideologues like Trudeau. This is causing bitter affliction, as 2 Kings 14:26 prophesied. (You can read more about this prophecy in Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s free book America Under Attack.)

A second force is the fault of the people of these nations. While they suffer from destructive policies, successive generations of Canadians have rebelled and rejected obedience to God’s laws. Instead of embracing the Ten Commandments, our societies have embraced a lifestyle of Sodom and Gomorrah, promoting transsexuality, drug use, promiscuity, pornography, atheism and broken families. Mr. Armstrong explained in The United States and Britain in Prophecy that these nations are descended from ancient Israel, and so God catapulted our nations to greatness because of His promise to the patriarch Abraham, with great wealth and security. But by disobeying His laws, we have brought curses on ourselves. Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28, Isaiah 3 and numerous other prophecies explain the curses Canada is suffering under.

The Trudeau government has been a curse on the Canadian people for eight long years, and it has caused a great deal of misery and suffering. Yet the Bible points out that the Canadian people are also accountable for their own disobedience to God. And the solution for both is the same: turning to the great God of the Bible.

The dramatic events of the Freedom Convoy and the subsequent cover-up are all meant to teach the lesson of repentance toward God. No man or political movement can fix the country. Only God can save our nations from bitter afflictions and forgive our sins against Him. Look at what God promises in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” You can claim this promise. You can turn the direction of your life and escape the curses the country is suffering from, but it requires action. This is one of the hardest lessons for us to learn, but it is the only path to a better future.

To learn more about this important moment in Canada’s history, please read our book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.