OTTAWAโCanada told banks to unlock financial accounts belonging to individuals involved in aย weekslong Covid-19 protestย in Ottawa thatย police shut down this past weekend, according to a finance ministry official.
โThey started [Monday] to unfreeze accounts,โ Isabelle Jacques, a senior official in Canadaโs finance department, told lawmakers Tuesday.
The step marks a reversal for the Liberal government, which has argued the sweeping power to freeze bank accounts and other assets was crucial during what was declared an emergency period.
The power became available over a week ago, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invokedย rarely used emergency measuresย in an effort to end a roughly three-week protest calling for all Covid-19 vaccine mandates and related social restrictions to be rescinded. The Ottawa protest, involving thousands of individuals and hundreds of trucks, inspired blockades at crucial U.S.-Canada border crossings.
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A representative from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police didnโt respond Tuesday evening to a request for comment about why officials started unlocking financial accounts.
People signaling support for a trucker in Ottawa on
Saturday.PHOTO:ย PATRICK DOYLE/REUTERS
On Monday, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the freezings, which some financial-law experts warned could affect people unaffiliated with the protest.
โThese measures were put in place to disrupt illegal activity in Canada,โ she said. โWe were very clear that we would be following the money, that we would be using financial tools to disrupt illegal blockades and occupations. The focus absolutely has been on leaders and on the vehicles that were such an important part of the illegal blockades and occupations.โ
โThe way to get your account unfrozen is to stop being part of the blockade and occupation,โ she added.
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A key U.S.-Canada trade corridor has reopened for travelers and freight, marking an end to protests over Covid-19 restrictions that lasted roughly a week and caused economic repercussions. Photo: Nicole Osborne/Associated Press
The organizers of the Ottawa protest said in a statement posted on social media that the freezing of bank accounts and other financial assets has shocked Canadians. โThe more severe implication, however, is that by using [emergency powers] as financial warfare, it will sow mistrust in both the banking system and the government and the repercussions will be felt for years to come.โ
A representative for the organizers, who operate under the Freedom Convoy banner, didnโt respond to a request for comment about Canadian officialsโ instructing banks to start unlocking accounts.
Police and protesters facing off in Ottawa on
Saturday.PHOTO:ย AMRU SALAHUDDIEN/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Under the same cabinet order allowing authorities to freeze bank accounts, police could also designate certain areasโincluding the streets around Ottawaโs Parliament Hillโas no-protest zones, where demonstrators could be subject to arrest, and compel service providers, like tow-truck operators, to remove vehicles.
The Canadian legislature voted Monday toย extend the emergency powersย for a total 30-day period. The extension still requires approval from the Senate, whose members are appointed by the prime minister and which rarely overturns measures approved by the lower house.