Among the many loathsome aspects of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “Emergencies Act” is targeting any funding for the protesters by broadening its anti-money-laundering rules to cover crowdsourcing sites, utilizing practices designed to protect against the financing of terrorism.
…Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the new powers give institutions the ability to freeze corporate accounts and cancel insurance tied to trucks that are being used in the blockades.“The government is issuing an order with immediate effect under the Emergencies Act, authorizing Canadian financial institutions to temporarily cease providing financial services where the institution suspects that an account is being used to further the illegal blockades and occupations,” she said. “This order covers both personal and corporate accounts.”Crowdfunding and payment service providers, which are being used to raise funds for the protests, will have to register with Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, the country’s main monitor for money laundering and terrorist financing, “and they must report large and suspicious transactions,” Freeland said.“The illegal blockades have highlighted the fact that crowdfunding platforms and some of the payment service providers they use are not fully captured under the proceeds of crime and terrorist financing act,” she said, adding that the changes announced Monday “cover all forms of transactions, including digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies.”
Part of the rage being directed at the truckers by Canada’s current leadership is that the protesters are willing to innovate and utilize new approaches in finding workarounds to logistical problems.
For example, the Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank froze two personal bank accounts, one of which included C$1.4 million ($1.1 million), that were being used to support the Freedom Convoy protesters who are pushing back against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 procedures.
The decision to freeze the accounts was confirmed by a spokesperson for the bank in a statement, according to a report from Reuters.The move, according to the statement, came after TD applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice this week about taking funds sent through bank transfers and GoFundMe and giving them to the intended recipients or returning them to the donors “who have requested refunds but whose entitlement to a refund cannot be determined by TD.”The outlet reported that one bank account received C$1 million through GoFundMe and the rest was sent to a second account through a variety of bank transfers. The spokesperson said TD is unsure of where the GoFundMe payment originated.
If the Trudeau government thought the truckers would easily roll over by any of the tactics they thought would work, they are in for a surprise. To begin with, the truckers are taking the bank to court.
TD has been put “on notice that their actions are improper and disappointing,” Keith Wilson, a lawyer for the convoy, said in an email on Saturday, adding the convoy will seek a court order next week to release the donations to a new not-for-profit corporation that has been set up to manage and distribute them.
Interestingly, prior to Trudeau’s odious move, the Freedom Convoy had just begun turning to cryptocurrency to fuel the movement in a supremely successful manner.
Vancouver entrepreneur Jeff Booth said he does not like being called an “organizer” for the funding going toward the self-described freedom convoy protests. And he insists he’s not a “facilitator” either.But Mr. Booth said he helped create a Bitcoin wallet that has helped channel donations toward those demonstrations. More than $500,000 has been raised through the wallet so far.In a wide-ranging interview, Mr. Booth said he believes in freedom of speech and his entire family is double-vaccinated against COVID-19. He also “understands both points of view” about pandemic restrictions across Canada, which he believes were “right at first.” And he said he’s not a COVID-19 denier.“I’m a keyholder for this – that’s it,” he said. “I haven’t raised a dollar. I haven’t donated a dollar of my own and I’m not an organizer. I am just a keyholder in a decentralized platform … I could be replaced by anyone tomorrow. Tomorrow, there could be 10 people.”
It is being reported that 2 cryptos funds had successfully raised close to $1 Million in censorship-resistant digital assets….that appears to be up for grabs by the Trudeau government under its harsh orders.
[T]wo cryptocurrency funds have successfully completed their goals, as one fundraiser has raised 100 bitcoin cash (BCH) and another raised 21 bitcoin (BTC). 29 contributors donated the bitcoin cash worth over $32K today, using current BCH exchange rates.The BTC fundraiser for 21 bitcoin went over the goal amount, with 21.75133856 BTC worth $932K raised by 5,318 contributors. One contributor donated 5 BTC worth more than $214K at press time, and wrote: “The grasp of the tyrants is waning”.Reports from Toronto’s CTV News indicate that Canadian officials are well aware of the cryptocurrency crowdfunding efforts dedicated to the Freedom Convoy’s truckers. Documents filed in an Ontario court, verify Ottawa Police are monitoring the cryptocurrency fundraising techniques. One officer in Canada reportedly spoke about the crypto fundraising in an affidavit. Erica Pimentel of Queens University explained to Toronto’s CTV News reporter Jon Woodward that the crypto fundraising could very well become a mainstay.“I think bitcoin is going to become the currency of social movements. And they are going to be playing international whack-a-mole trying to stand in the way of those transactions,” Pimentel remarked to Woodward during her interview.
I suspect that Trudeau’s actions are going to backfire loud enough for the entire country of Canada to hear.
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