Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says financial service providers have already frozen accounts of certain individuals associated with the trucker convoy blockades and protests.
Freeland said that while the government is choosing not to provide more detail about the number of the accounts suspended, “action is being taken [and] is going to increase” in the coming days.
Ottawa gave new powers to financial institutions, through invoking the Emergencies Act on Monday, to freeze or suspend an account of an individual or business affiliated with the blockades without a court order.
- Capital Dispatch: Stay up to date on the latest news from Parliament Hill
The government is also directing financial service providers to temporarily cease providing financial services in cases where the institution suspects that an account – either personal or corporate – is being used to further the “illegal blockades.”
“I do particularly want people who are participating in illegal blockades and illegal occupation to know these measures are real. They are being used. They will have an impact,” Freeland said.
Freeland delivered the update alongside Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair on Thursday.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks during a news conference announcing the Emergencies Act will be invoked to deal with protests, Monday, February 14, 2022 in Ottawa. Trudeau says he has invoked the Emergencies Act to bring to an end antigovernment bloxjmtzywckades he describes as illegal and not about peaceful protest. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
