- The Federal Court of Canada has declared the Canadian government’s emergency law to curb funds for protesting truckers both unreasonable and unconstitutional in a recent decision
- Justice Richard Mosley observed “no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act”
- In 2022 the government froze the Freedom Convoy’s bank accounts, leading to crypto donations
In a significant legal decision, the Federal Court of Canada declared that the Canadian government’s emergency law to curb the flow of funds and cryptocurrencies to protesting truckers was unreasonable and unconstitutional. In a decision dated January 23, Justice Richard Mosley stated that there was “no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act” and that the decision to do so was “therefore unreasonable.” The freeze was enacted on Canada’s Freedom Convoy in 2022 in opposition to border restrictions over COVID-19 vaccinations.
Emergencies Act Used Against Protestors
The controversy over the freezing of the truckers’ cryptocurrencies began in February 2022 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government utilized the Emergencies Act for the first time to freeze funds, including cryptocurrencies, donated to truckers protesting COVID-19 restrictions.
These protesters, known as the “Freedom Convoy,” used trucks to block streets in Ottawa in protest of a mandate that required truck drivers crossing the Canada-United States border to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The freezing orders came after the truckers’ regular bank accounts were frozen by the government, leading to the group receiving donations in digital assets, such as Bitcoin. While the exact total raised remains unclear due to the decentralized nature of such assets, millions of dollars were estimated to have been received by the protesters. The effort was praised by crypto executives, including Kraken founder Jesse Powell, who criticized Canada’s freeze of digital assets during the protests.
Government Plans to Appeal
The government argued in court that invoking the Emergencies Act was necessary, considering the protests as an illegal occupation. However, the recent court ruling deemed this action unconstitutional, with Justice Mosley saying, “The government cannot invoke the Emergencies Act because it is convenient or because it may work better than other tools at their disposal.”
Several groups, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation, contested the government’s use of the emergency law, asserting it was unnecessary and unconstitutional, with CCLA commenting that the ruling “sets a clear and critical precedent for every future government.”
In response to the court’s decision, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that the government intends to appeal the ruling.
