Lawyers for Ottawa-area resident Evan Blackman have filed an appeal arguing that the freezing of his bank accounts under the federal Emergencies Act violated his rights under section 8 of the Charter, which protects Canadians against unreasonable search and seizure.Blackman was arrested on February 18, 2022, during a large police operation that cleared Freedom Convoy protestors from downtown Ottawa. He faced charges of mischief and obstructing a peace officer. Hours after his release, Blackman discovered he could no longer access funds in any of his bank accounts. His bank informed him that the accounts had been frozen under emergency financial measures enacted by the federal government during the protest.Court evidence showed police shared information with financial institutions identifying individuals connected to vehicles in the protest zone. Institutions were then required to freeze accounts and report financial information for those designated as part of the operation.In November 2025, the Ontario Court of Justice convicted Blackman of mischief and obstructing a peace officer and rejected his request to stay the charges, ruling the frozen accounts were separate from his arrest and did not affect criminal proceedings. .Blackman is now appealing to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, arguing the trial judge applied the wrong legal test and failed to consider whether the account freezes were part of the same coordinated operation against protestors.“Freezing someone’s bank account is an extraordinary use of state power," Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms lawyer Chris Fleury said."When the government interferes with a person’s ability to access their own money, the courts must carefully examine whether those actions respected the protections guaranteed by the Charter.”The appeal contends that the financial measures and police enforcement occurred simultaneously, involved the same law enforcement agencies, and were intended to achieve the same goal of ending the protest. If successful, the appeal could lead to a new hearing on Blackman’s application for a stay of proceedings.
