Millions of dollars raised to support Freedom Convoy truckers still remains frozen by banks, says a Liberal representative in the Senate..Blacklock’s Reporter said the Emergencies Act order that allowed blacklisting was suspended Wednesday..“Have all these accounts been unfrozen?” Sen. David Wells (Nfld. & Labrador) asked in Senate Question Period..“I can’t answer definitively that they have all been unfrozen. I suspect that is probably not the case,” replied Sen. Marc Gold (Que.), government representative in the Senate..The Department of Finance estimated as many as 210 accounts holding $7.8 million were affected by the Freedom Convoy freeze..“If accounts are still frozen it would be outside the purview of the Emergencies Act,” said Wells..“Therefore we would expect some immediate action.”.Sen. Pamela Wallin (Sask.) noted under cabinet orders any individual or small business that suffered hardship due to the account freeze was powerless to claim damages..“We all understand that with the revocation of the act that banks and financial institutions will have been asked to no longer freeze accounts or perhaps even scrutinize them,” said Wallin..“Financial institutions will continue to have immunity from liability yet customers have no access to due process.”.“I don’t really have any additional information,” replied Gold..Bank customers will continue to work together and it is hoped any issues that may arise will be resolved appropriately and quickly.”.Cabinet said its February 14 Emergencies Act order applied only to people who participated in truckers’ blockades. However the Department of Finance in testimony Tuesday at the Commons finance committee confirmed individuals who merely donated sums of as little as $20 could have been subject to blacklisting by banks..Blacklock’s yesterday confirmed one Crown bank, Farm Credit Canada, was compiling its own blacklist that included tips from informants on customers who may have been involved with the Freedom Convoy..Customers whose names were collected were not to be told their accounts were slated for review..Neither cabinet nor the RCMP to date have detailed what criteria were used to blacklist account holders. Legislators did confirm there was no requirement to notify customers before their accounts were frozen.
