WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) –– Several high-profile U.S. Republican Congressmen took the opportunity to rip Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s freezing of truckers’ bank accounts during the 2022 Freedom Convoy while debating a bill that would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing a “surveillance-style central bank digital currency” unless Congress approves.
Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed Congressman and Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s H. R. 5403, or CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, in a 216 to 192 vote.
According to Emmer, his bill “[w]ould prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a surveillance-style central bank digital currency (CBDC) that could give the federal government the ability to monitor and control individual Americans’ spending habits.”
While debating the bill, Emmer, along with no less than two other Republican representatives brought up Trudeau’s Liberal government’s handling of the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID jab mandates in early 2022. The lawmakers noted how the Emergencies Act (EA) was used to crush the truckers’ protest in an authoritative manner.
“In China, the Communist Party employs a CBDC that can be used to monitor citizens’ spending habits,” noted Emmer.
“Closer to home in the Western Hemisphere, the Canadian government demonstrated the power of federal financial surveillance and control when it froze the bank accounts of hundreds of truckers protesting the COVID vaccine mandate in 2022.”
Emmer observed how his bill “affirms that if the federal government seeks to create a digital version of the U.S. dollar, they can only do so with the explicit authorization from Congress. They can do that. But they have got to get authorization from Congress and they’ve got to make it open, permissionless, and private.”
In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Trudeau’s government enacted the EA on February 14, 2022.
The EA controversially allowed the government to freeze nearly $8 million from some 206 bank accounts of protesters, conscript tow truck drivers, and arrest people for participating in assemblies the government deemed illegal.
Trudeau eventually revoked the EA on February 23, after all the truckers had been forced out.
‘Lessons’ need to be learned regarding ‘governmental powers’
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), when speaking to Emmer’s anti-CBDC bill, warned against how being lukewarm regarding governmental powers is foolhardy.
“We should learn the lessons from the oppressed citizens everywhere from Canada to the communist Chinese before it is too late,” said Perry.
Rep. French Hill also spoke about how Emmer’s legislation is warranted considering what happened in Trudeau’s Canada.
“This legislation is necessary because we live in a world where government can abuse the tools that they have,” he observed.
“As noted by the whip, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was freezing bank accounts of people protesting COVID-19 restrictions in his country.”
Earlier this month, LifeSiteNews reported on how a Canadian Conservative MP’s request for information revealed that the cabinet of Trudeau waited until after it had invoked the EA to get legal advice from Canada’s attorney general on whether its use was lawful.
Earlier this year, Canada’s Federal Court announced that the use of the EA by the Trudeau government was a direct violation of the nation’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and thus was “not justified.”
Of note is that the judge who ruled Trudeau’s government’s use of the EA was “not justified” was Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley, a Liberal-appointed and well-respected judge with decades of experience.
Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have been in a ongoing legal battle with federal officials.