OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) – Canada’s federal police force is standing by their unprecedented move of freezing citizens’ private bank accounts without a court order.
In a statement by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Assistant Commissioner Michel Arcand on Monday, the official told the House Finance Committee that freezing the bank accounts of the Freedom Convoy protesters “enhanced the effectiveness of law enforcement’s investigation” and aided in bringing a “peaceful and timely end to the public emergency.”
On February 14 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act to disband the three-week long “Freedom Convoy” peaceful protest against COVID-19 restrictions in the nation’s capital of Ottawa.
Included in the Emergencies Act provisions was the federal government’s ability to freeze the funds of those suspected of being involved in the protest without a court order, while giving financial institutions legal immunity to do so.
According to the Epoch Times, Conservative MP Ed Fast asked Arcand why the RCMP had not obtained a court order to freeze bank accounts before the use of the Emergencies Act. Arcand replied by saying that the RCMP was not the lead investigative agency during that time and only became a primary actor after the act was implemented.
During the same committee hearing on Monday, the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) revealed that even when the frozen accounts are unfrozen, they will be marked for life. The CBA also informed the committee that financial institutions went above and beyond what was instructed of them by the RCMP, by freezing an additional 257 accounts that were not flagged by police.
Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act was met with widespread disapproval by many public figures and institutions. Immediately after the act was invoked, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) condemned Trudeau for granting himself emergency powers, and shortly thereafter announced they would be taking legal action against the federal government.
While Trudeau ended up revoking the act following rumors that the Senate was going to strike down its invocation, many of the bank accounts remain frozen and the investigation into whether the act was used legitimately is still underway.