Canada freezes hundreds of accounts tied to protests

OTTAWA, ONTARIO >> With the capital's streets cleared of the heavy trucks and cars that made some of them impassable for three long weeks of protest, Canadian authorities are turning their scrutiny to the finances of those behind the chaos.

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided a week ago to invoke his country's Emergencies Act, it gave police sweeping new powers to go after the finances of protesters. Some may now face long-term consequences.

But for one protest organizer who was arrested last week, the effect was more immediate.

Appearing before a judge Tuesday, the organizer, Tamara Lich, told the court she had been frozen out of all of her accounts and could not come up with the 5,000 Canadian dollars (about $3,919) requested by prosecutors.

The issue may have been moot: The court denied bail.

About the time the bail hearing was taking place, lawmakers in the Canadian Senate began debate over Trudeau's Emergencies Act order. The previous evening, overcoming opposition from Conservative members of Parliament, Trudeau persuaded the House of Commons to endorse his decision.

Since the declaration was made, police have been turning over the names of organizers and people who actively blocked Ottawa's roads with their trucks and other vehicles during the blockade, which was set off by opposition to the government's pandemic restrictions.

As of Sunday, the national police force said in a statement, 219 “financial products” had been frozen, 253 Bitcoin addresses related to protesters and organizers had been given to virtual currency exchange operators, and a bank had frozen 3.8 million Canadian dollars (about $3 million) held by a payment processor.

Lich, who is from Alberta, was the driving force behind a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than 10 million Canadian dollars (about $7.9 million) for the protest.

About 1 million Canadian dollars (about $784,000) was turned over to her before the crowdfunding site shut down the campaign. Authorities charged Lich on Thursday with counseling to commit mischief, a serious offense under Canadian criminal law.

All of the accounts that have been frozen will remain so for up to 30 days from Feb. 14, the date of the national emergency declaration. But the government could extend or shorten that period.