- The government invoked the Emergencies Act to freeze funds donated to truckers
- According to Court Justice Richard Mosley, this law should be a tool of last resort
The Federal Court of Canada ruled that the Canadian government broke the law by stopping the flow of funds, including digital assets, to support protesting truckers, Cointelegraph reported.
In February 2022, the government invoked the Emergencies Act to freeze funds donated to truckers protesting against COVID-19 restrictions. In a January 23 decision, the federal court ruled this move was unconstitutional.
Truckers blocked streets in Ottawa to protest the government’s order, which required them to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they wanted to cross the Canada-US border. The government declared the protests illegal and invoked the Emergencies Act as a result.
Use of the law was illegal
Civil liberty groups like the Canadian Constitution Foundation and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) claimed the government’s use of the emergency law was not only illegal, but also unnecessary. According to Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley, this law should be a tool of last resort and the government should have used another mechanism.
Govt to appeal decision
Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the government intended to lodge an appeal against the federal court’s decision.
Cryptocurrency played a prominent role in funding the trucker protests. It is believed truckers received millions of dollars. The exact amount is unknown because crypto is challenging to track.
History of the protests
By February last year, supporters had raised more than $9 million via GoFundMe, which the platform froze. They moved their efforts to crowdfunding site Tallycoin, which runs on the Bitcoin blockchain. The HonkHonk Hodl group raised more than $925,000 in Bitcoin at the time.
Another popular platform was the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo, which raised over $8 million for the protesters. Eventually, the government froze bank accounts linked to GiveSendGo donations as well. Crypto community leaders like Kraken founder Jesse Powell condemned the government’s actions.
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