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OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen hammered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in parliament over his government’s decision to freeze the bank accounts of peaceful protesters.
The Prime Minister’s actions are not consistent with Canadians’ fundamental freedoms. Conservatives say NO to this Emergencies Act. pic.twitter.com/tTfGony06O
— Candice Bergen (@CandiceBergenMP) February 17, 2022
“He [Trudeau] may not like it … but in Canada civil liberties must be defended at every turn. Section 2 [of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms] guarantees our right to freedom of association and assembly; Section 7 guarantees our right to life, liberty, and security of the person; Section 8 guarantees our protection against unreasonable search and seizure,” exclaimed Bergen in Parliament on Thursday.
“Canadians can’t be expected to simply take this prime minister at his word, his plans are not consistent with fundamental freedoms, the government should not have the power to close the bank accounts of Canadians on a whim!” added Bergen.
“The prime minister is doing this to save his own political skin but … this is not a game; it comes at the cost to Canadians rights and freedoms … parliament should not allow the prime minister to avoid responsibility in this way, I urge all members of this House, proceed with extreme caution, now is the time to stand up for your constituents, to show real leadership, to help heal our divisions, to listen to those we disagree with, to not shut them down, to not tell them they are irrelevant, to not speak insults to them,” continued the leader.
“That is the job of each one of us as members of parliament, no matter who we represent, we have to represent them with integrity, with hope, with honor, and what the prime minister is doing, Mr. Speaker, [what] he has for the last two years — disregarded these Canadians, called them names, and insulted them — it is time to show leadership for everyone one of us and say no to this Emergencies Act.”
On February 14, Trudeau became the first prime minister ever to invoke the Emergencies Act, expanding the scope and intensity of the federal government’s power. Under the Act, the government declared an order that has forced financial institutions to freeze the personal bank accounts of private citizens “directly” or “indirectly” connected to the Freedom Convoy currently protesting COVID mandates in Ottawa.
Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland confirmed yesterday that banks have been cooperating, and accounts have been frozen, with more to be frozen as the protest continues.
Agreeing with Bergen that these actions constitute governmental overreach, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which announced yesterday that it was taking legal action against the Trudeau government over these orders, stated, “The emergency orders require financial institutions to turn over personal financial information to CSIS & the RCMP & to freeze the bank accounts of those who attended, or provided assistance to those participating in, a prohibited assembly — all without judicial oversight.”
“This use of the Emergencies Act is unnecessary, unjustifiable and unconstitutional. The high threshold to invoke the act has not been met. It is in light of all these violations of civil liberties that we will be taking the government to court.”