Prime Minister of Canada invokes ‘Emergencies Act’ targeting crypto crowdfunding platforms

Canada, the country which is known for being crypto-friendly, is seeing an Emergencies Act invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, giving him the authority to seize the bank accounts of Freedom Convoy protesters and monitor “large and suspicious transactions,” including cryptocurrency.

During a press conference on February 14, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland remarked that this latest strategic move against the protesters expands the scope of Terrorist Financing rules.

Notably, the KPMG Canada bought Bitcoin and Ethereum to diversify its treasury, as TheCoinRise reported.

Canada targets crowdfunding platforms

According to the Prime Minister of Canada, “crowdfunding platforms and the payment service providers they use” are the targets.

“These changes cover all forms of transactions including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.”

Through the fundraising portals GoFundMe and GiveSendGo, protesters had gathered over $19 million worth of funds in total. However, those funds were unable to reach the convoy, prompting some to create a Bitcoin-based fundraising drive.

Through the Tallycoin BTC fundraising tool, the HonkHonk Hodl organization raised 22 BTC worth around $1 million. HonkHonk Hodl’s Tallycoin page was closed on February 15 after they achieved their fundraising goal. Those funds are scheduled to be delivered to protesters in the near future.

The Tallycoin bitcoin fundraiser supporting the Canadian Freedom Convoy protests has been voluntarily shutdown by organizers. Known private key holders have transferred funds to new key holders. pic.twitter.com/9cgwlaroZ1

— no bullshit bitcoin (@nobsbitcoin) February 14, 2022

According to The Daily Dot writer Michael Thalen, GoFundMe cooperated with the government of Canada and refunded donations, but GiveSendGo had an information leak that exposed the identities of “thousands of names of those who donated to the Freedom Convoy.”

BREAKING: GiveSendGo, the crowdfunding website used by the Freedom Convoy, is now redirecting to the domain GiveSendGone[.]wtf.

A video from the Disney film Frozen now appears alongside a manifesto condemning the website and the Freedom Convoy. pic.twitter.com/3TLAwfvZ3w

— Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) February 14, 2022

Backlash follows

By invoking the Emergencies Act, the Prime Minister has crossed a line within its power, according to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. 

“The federal government has not met the threshold necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act,” the statement read.

For the time being, it is unclear which payments will be halted. Freeland only mentioned at the press conference that all crowdfunding platforms must report “large and suspicious transactions” to Fintrac, Canada’s Financial Transactions, and Reports Analysis Centre.

The deputy governor of the Bank of Canada said that the crypto poses no significant risk to the country’s economy.