QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Lack of Guidelines for Freezing Bank Accounts
February 21, 2022
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
When the Minister of Finance issued the economic measures order, she created a significant and potentially dangerous precedent for allowing political authorities and law enforcement to order financial institutions to freeze bank accounts and suspend or cancel insurance policies, without first requiring a court order.
According to my sources, the so-called black list sent to financial institutions went from 15 or so names on Friday to more than 60, including some business owners.
There appears to be considerable uncertainty about the parameters used by authorities to come up with this list and, most importantly, there are no guidelines for financial institutions regarding the conditions to “unfreeze” these bank accounts.
Leader, in a democratic society like ours, where we do not want our actions to be arbitrary, can you assure this chamber that the offending truckers and protesters who have already left Ottawa and returned to their jobs will soon have access to their bank accounts, until their case is heard in court or they are convicted?
As Government Representative in the Senate, I thank you for the question, senator.
I would point out that RCMP Deputy Commissioner Michael Duheme has emphasized the importance of the powers granted by the Emergencies Act, as well as the close cooperation that has been established with financial institutions to freeze the protesters’ funding sources.
The RCMP provided financial institutions with the names of the leaders and organizers, as well as people whose trucks were part of the blockades and illegal protests. At no time did they provide the financial institutions with a list of donors. I have been assured, senator, that the measures are targeted, that they are aimed solely at disrupting illegal activity in Canada, and that they are neither retroactive nor permanent.
These are exceptional circumstances, and these measures are appropriate within the framework of the orders issued by the government under the Emergencies Act.
As a final point, I have also been informed that, according to the statement issued by the RCMP today, officials are currently working with financial institutions to establish guidelines related to the freezing of bank accounts.
