Canada on Wednesday started to remove blocks on over 200 bank accounts that were frozen after being linked to the recent trucker protests in the country, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
About 210 accounts with roughly $8 million in total were frozen under the Emergencies Act, which was invoked in response to protests against Covid-19 safety restrictions. Canadian Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance Isabelle Jacques told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that the government is now in the process of unfreezing most of the accounts.
"Information was shared by the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)] with financial institutions and we were informed yesterday by financial institutions that they were unfreezing the accounts," Jacque said, according to CBC.
"The vast majority of accounts are in the process of being unfrozen, subject to any new information that the RCMP may have," she added.
Jacques also told the panel that the Emergency Act’s financial measures were utilized in order to push the protestors to end their demonstrations, and said that it’s unlikely that people who donated a small amount to the protests would have their accounts frozen.
"It's not impossible in view of the order, but in view of the exchange of information and the focused approach that was taken to stop the illegal funding of these activities, it would appear to be unlikely that this occurred, but not impossible," she said, according to CBC.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is currently suing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government over the issue, alleging that he went beyond his powers by invoking the Emergencies Act at this time.
Attorney Abby Deshman told Hill.TV that the legislation refers “to violent threats to overthrow the government. We're really concerned about the use of this type of national security legislation on what we essentially see as a domestic [and] very, very difficult protest situation."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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