Canada’s suspension of demonstrators’ cryptocurrency donations under the law was unconstitutional
A federal court ruled that the government’s ability to freeze assets under the emergency statute was unwarranted since no national emergency had occurred.
A federal court in Canada found that a government emergency statute that allowed it to seize cryptocurrency and other assets held by protesting truckers was both irrational and violated the constitution.
Justice Richard Mosley reached the conclusion in a decision dated January 23 that “there was no national emergency that warranted the invocation of the Emergencies Act; thus, the decision to do so was irrational.”
The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first used the legislation in February 2022 to seize cryptocurrency and other donated funds belonging to truckers who were protesting COVID-19 regulations; however, the court later ruled that this action was unlawful.
Protesters in Ottowa, Ontario, known as the “Freedom Convoy,” blocked traffic with trucks in an effort to draw attention to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for truck drivers who cross the U.S.-Canada border.
The administration justified its use of the Emergencies Act by saying the demonstrations constituted an unlawful occupation.
Several parties, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation, contested the government’s use of the emergency statute to restrict the flow of funding, arguing that it was unnecessary and unconstitutional. After the ruling, the CCLA said that it “sets a clear and critical precedent for every future government.”
Mosley argued that the government should only employ the Emergencies Act as a last option, saying that it should not be used for reasons of convenience or because it may be more effective than other measures available to them or to the provinces. Chrystia Freeland, the minister of finance, said that the government would be appealing.
It is believed that protestors got millions of dollars in cryptocurrency during the 2022 trucker demonstrations, but the actual amount is unknown because of difficulties in monitoring decentralized digital assets.
In February 2022, GoFundMe frozen the nearly $9 million raised for the demonstrations. The HonkHonk Hodl group collected around 22 Bitcoin, which is roughly $925,000 at the time, when organizers shifted their efforts to Tallycoin, a crowdfunding site based on the Bitcoin network.
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