A Canadian parliament committee recently met to discuss the implementation and future of the Emergencies Act. One official even said it was possible that small donors to Freedom Convoy bank accounts were frozen.
A meeting was held by the Standing Committee on Finance of the Canadian House of Commons on the Emergencies Act use by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Isabelle Jacques (assistant deputy minister of Canada Ministry of Finance) admitted that anyone who donated to Freedom Convoy’s fundraiser after February 15th could have their bank accounts frozen if asked by Philip Lawrence, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).
Jacques claimed that it was unlikely that people who contributed small amounts to the Freedom Convoy protests would see their accounts frozen, but acknowledged it was possible.
Lawrence said that Canadians were afraid of the Emergencies Act measures. These allow Prime Minister Trudeau’s government to immediately freeze bank accounts of anyone connected to Freedom Convoy protests, without the need for a court order.
Jacques, deputy minister, said that the government had stopped freezing bank accounts. On Monday, however, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shared a list of accounts with financial institutions.
Many CPC MPs claimed that they received statements from constituents regarding frozen bank accounts. This was after they had given small amounts to Freedom Convoy.
Mark Strahl, British Columbia CPC MP stated that Briane, a single mother, had her account frozen.
“Briane, a single mother from Chilliwack, works a minimum wage job. When the convoy was legal, she donated $50. She has not participated in any other manner. Her bank account was frozen. Strahl stated on Twitter that this is the person Justin Trudeau is really targeting with his Emergencies Act orders.
Marilyn Gladu, Ontario CPC MP, made a similar claim Sunday. She claimed that one of her constituents was having their accounts frozen because they bought a $20 Freedom Convoy shirt.
The RCMP said earlier this week that they hadn’t provided lists of convoy fund donors to financial institutions. It stated, “Under Emergency Economic Measures Order, (Emergencies Act),” that the list that was given to financial institutions contained the identities of individuals who were influential in the illegal protest in Ottawa and the owners and/or drivers who didn’t want to leave the affected area by the protest.
“We never provided a list to financial institutions. The statement said that we are working with banks to create a process to deal with accounts that were “frozen”.
The website GiveSendGo’s donor list was compromised earlier in the month. This list was then spread via Twitter, despite the fact that there are no policies prohibiting the sharing of hack materials.
Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti expressed concern that large numbers of Canadians could see their bank accounts frozen after Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act.
Lametti stated, “Well, I think that if you’re a member of pro-Trump movements who’s donating hundreds, thousands, and millions of dollars, they oughta to be concerned.”
