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Highlights
- The Canadian government has now invoked emergency powers in a response to the protest by truckers
- The news has fueled speculations, and some elements being discussed on social media may be hearsay
- It is best to rely on official statements than to hastily believe a message circulating on messaging apps
As the protest by truckers in Canada refuses to subside, the federal government has opted to invoke the emergency powers to deal with protestors. The self-proclaimed ‘Freedom Convoy’, which began in Ottawa in late January, is largely related to resentment against vaccination mandates.
Experts say that the protest has become a rallying point for people that are opposed to the policy stance of the Liberal government on pandemic prevention. Soon after the PM announced invoking of the Emergencies Act, it became a matter of speculation, even misinformation.
Let’s know what it is all about.
What is the announcement?
On Monday, the government announced that banking and other financial institutions would be able to temporarily freeze bank accounts. This has triggered speculation of sweeping and unrestricted powers.
It is pertinent to note that the government has outlined that only those accounts, personal or corporate, which are suspected of furthering the protests would be impacted by the measure. Canada’s federal government used the terms “time-limited” and “reasonable” with regards to the scope of action. An important aspect here is that the freezing of a bank account can be undertaken without an order from the court.
Also read: How is Canada affected by climate change?
Inclusion of cryptocurrencies
The official statement by Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister in Justin Trudeau’s government, included a mention of cryptocurrencies as well. Ms. Freeland stated that the Ambassador Bridge blockade had hampered trade.
As a measure to deal with the situation effectively, the federal government has widened the scope of anti-money laundering rules.
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It has decided to include crowdfunding platforms and the payment service providers used by these platforms under the purview of anti-money laundering and terror financing rules. Ms. Freeland specifically said the above changes would cover all transactions, including the ones done using digital assets like cryptocurrencies.
Data provided by CoinMarketCap.com
Also read: Bitcoin price prediction 2025: Can Web 3.0 catapult BTC to $300,000?
Bottom line
The invoking of the never-before-used Emergencies Act by the government has fueled much speculation. It is clear from the statement of the prime minister that the banks have the power to freeze bank accounts, but it has yet to be seen if this power is used arbitrarily by banks. It could be argued that the inclusion of transactions done using crypto assets in the anti-money laundering rules was always coming, protests or no protests.