ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

At least 76 financial accounts frozen since Emergencies Act invoked: Mendicino

Share

Dozens of accounts with financial services firms have been frozen under new powers granted by the Emergencies Act over the past five days, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday.

Speaking at a virtual press conference that began just as police officers cleared protesters from Wellington Street in front of Parliament, Mendicino said "at least 76" accounts containing approximately $3.2 million had been frozen under the powers of the Act.

"The numbers that we have been able to provide you thus far … show very obviously how the Emergencies Act is being used to bring about the peaceful conclusion of the illegal blockades," he said.

Federal officials had previously refused to provide specifics of how many accounts were affected, citing a desire to maintain secrecy while police operations were ongoing.

When the Emergencies Act was invoked on Monday, banks and other financial institutions were directed to stop providing services to accounts that are suspected of being used to further the 'Freedom Convoy' protest in Ottawa or other blockades. They were also given the power to do so without first obtaining a court order, which would be the normal course of business.

Mendicino said Saturday that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada is working with "small and medium-sized banks" to enforce the directives issued earlier in the week.

He described the new powers as "powerful financial disincentives" that can put pressure on protesters without the use of physical force.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

Stay Connected