Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has ended the use of the Emergencies Act invoked last week to deal with the Freedom Convoy trucker protest. Canadian police instructed banks and financial institutions not to freeze accounts that were previously frozen. “The situation is no longer an emergency, therefore the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act … We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are sufficient,” said the prime minister.
Trudeau Ends Emergencies Act
Justin Trudeau is the Canadian Prime Minister. He announced Wednesday the revoking of the Emergencies Act that his government had invoked last week for the Freedom Convoy Trucker Protest.
While acknowledging that the “threat continues,” Prime Minister Trudeau said in a press conference:
The situation is no longer an emergency, therefore the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act … We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are sufficient.
“We were very clear that the use of the emergencies act would be limited in time,” Trudeau reiterated.
Canada’s governor general signed off on the revocation Wednesday afternoon, formally ending the state of emergency.
Ontario also declared an end to the state of emergency. However, Premier Doug Ford’s office said the “emergency tools provided to law enforcement will be maintained at this time as police continue to address ongoing activity on the ground.”
Canadian Police instruct financial institutions to unfreeze accounts
Royal Canadian Mounted Police instructed crypto exchanges and financial institutions last week to immediately freeze cryptocurrency wallets and accounts tied to Freedom Convoy. No less than 34 crypto addresses were reported. The Trudeau government announced later that additional accounts would be blocked.
Isabelle Jacques, Canada’s assistant deputy minister for finance, told a parliamentary committee that up to 210 bank accounts holding about $7.8 million were frozen but are now in the process of being unfrozen.
“Information was shared by the RCMP with financial institutions and we were informed yesterday by financial institutions that they were unfreezing the accounts,” she revealed, elaborating:
The vast majority are currently unfrozen. This is subject to any additional information the RCMP might have.
Addressing concerns that protest donors’ accounts were also frozen, the RCMP said in a statement released Monday that it only provided banks with the names of Freedom Convoy organizers and the truck owners who refused to leave the protest area. Canadian police stressed that:
In no way did we ever provide a listing of donors for financial institutions.
Jacques pointed out that the Emergencies Act’s financial provisions came into effect on February 15th and that they should not be affected by anyone who had donated to Freedom Convoy truckers prior.
Additionally, she stated that these measures were designed specifically to encourage protest organizers as well as participants to return to their homes. While stating that “It would appear to be unlikely” that accounts of donors were frozen, she admitted, “It’s not impossible.” The assistant deputy minister for finance opined:
Based on the knowledge that I have, I think it would be unlikely that someone who gave … $20 three weeks ago, or even $20 post Feb. 15, that they would have been captured by a freeze.
How do you feel about Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, ending emergency powers? What does he think about police freezing accounts? Please comment below.
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