06 December 2017•Update: 06 December 2017
By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Ontario
A flap broke out Tuesday as Canada blamed the U.S. and China for using fake Canadian flags as backdrops during visits by Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Canada’s foreign affairs ministry said the two countries were “responsible” after Trudeau was greeted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday with erroneous Canadian flags displayed behind the two men.
Canada’s national flag has a maple leaf with inside rounded corners, whereas the flags behind Trudeau as he met various Chinese officials had maple leafs with pointed inside corners.
The origin of the fake flags is a mystery, since Canada does not supply the flags.
One also appeared behind Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland in August when she met U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington.
“During official visits, the host government is responsible for supplying the flags that will be flown or displayed,” Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Brianne Maxwell told Canadian media.
“There are instances when slight variations are present due to the manufacturer’s limitations.”
There was no explanation as to what limitation would stop a manufacturer from producing rounded rather than pointed inside corners on a maple leaf.
