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OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — A top government aide has been fired from her job following hackers leaking the details of donations made to an online fundraiser for the Canadian truckers “Freedom Convoy.”
Marion Isabeau-Ringuette, the former director of communications for Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, made a $100 donation on February 5 under the initials M.R., CityNews reported, with the funds being connected to her through the postcode and email address associated with the donation.
Isabeau-Ringuette’s information was exposed alongside some 100,000 other donors as part of an elaborate hacking scheme, allegedly involving the Canadian government, against Christian-based crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo, which had raised over $8 million for the truckers’ protest after GoFundMe decided to close its campaign and refund the $10 million it had raised.
News outlet QP Briefing took credit for deciphering Isabeau-Ringuette’s identity.
The former civil servant was asked to step down from her role in the government, according to the executive director of media relations at Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office, who confirmed that she “no longer works for the government.”
According to a report in CityNews, Ford’s spokeswoman said the office is “not commenting any further as this is a staffing matter.”
Isabeau-Ringuette is only one of many individuals facing discrimination over their support for the peaceful protests against COVID restrictions, including the Freedom Convoy blockading Parliament.
Publicly funded broadcaster CBC has scoured the list of donors, according to the Daily Mail, and has contacted Canadians whose details were part of the GiveSendGo data leak on Freedom Convoy donors.
Holden Rhodes, a businessman identified as the largest single donor after giving $25,000, did not cower to the CBC’s intimidation tactics, telling the outlet that government “overreach in the last two years has been astounding, but in the last two weeks in Canada it has been absolutely alarming for anyone who believes in a peaceful and free society.”
Continuing, Rhodes said “[g]overnment at all levels has to realize they are elected to represent the people of Canada rather than lock up and threaten to arrest people for exercising their legal rights of peaceful protest.”
Ezra Levant, journalist and founder of Rebel News, criticized attempts by the state broadcaster to use the leaked information for political gain, tweeting Tuesday that “Trudeau’s CBC state broadcaster is combing through the illegally hacked database of GiveSendGo donors, and emailing donors asking them to explain themselves,” adding that the company is “doxxing Trudeau’s political opponents.”
BREAKING: Trudeau’s CBC state broadcaster is combing through the illegally hacked database of GiveSendGo donors, and emailing donors asking them to explain themselves.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) February 15, 2022
“They’re teeing them up for financial punishments. This is not journalism, any more than Der Sturmer or Pravda was journalism,” he said.
The Post Millennial reported that local Canadian outlets are joining the smear campaign by publishing lists of the number of people who donated to the Freedom Convoy in their locale.
Meanwhile, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed Thursday that the bank accounts of those who are involved with the Freedom Convoy will begin to be frozen.
“The names of both individuals and entities, as well as crypto wallets, have been shared by the RCMP with financial institutions, and accounts have been frozen, and more accounts will be frozen,” Freeland said.