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    • Freeland says some protesters' accounts have been frozen, more to come

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    Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says financial service providers have already frozen accounts of certain individuals associated with the trucker convoy blockades and protests.

    Freeland said that while the government is choosing not to provide more detail about the number of the accounts suspended, “action is being taken [and] is going to increase†in the coming days.

    Ottawa gave new powers to financial institutions, through invoking the Emergencies Act on Monday, to freeze or suspend an account of an individual or business affiliated with the blockades without a court order.

    The government is also directing financial service providers to temporarily stop providing services to either personal or corporate accounts that they suspect are being used to further the “illegal blockades.â€

    “I do particularly want people who are participating in illegal blockades and illegal occupation to know these measures are real. They are being used. They will have an impact,†Freeland said.

    Freeland delivered the update alongside Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair on Thursday.

    As part of the suite of financial measures, crowdfunding platforms must also now comply with Canada’s financial reporting rules under the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

    This means that in order for a company such as GiveSendGo, which is the current hosting platform for the convoy’s fundraising campaign, to operate in Canada, they are obliged to flag suspicious and large transactions, .

    The Freedom Convoy has raised more than US$9.5 million on the website.

    Freeland said she’s meeting frequently with the heads of Canada’s major banks, with the director of FINTRAC, and with the commissioner of the RCMP to discuss next steps.

    “It gives me no pleasure to impose any of these measures. In fact we do so with great sorrow but do not doubt our determination to act, to defend our democracy, to defend our economy, and to restore peace,†she said.

    “The consequences are real and they will bite.â€

    Asked what safeguards are in place to ensure the right people are being targeted, Freeland said those involved are seized with this concern.

    “That is something that we, law enforcement, and the financial service providers have been working on very, very carefully. And that’s why I say the use of financial tools is actually going to increase in the coming days because it was important for us to be sure that safeguards were in place,†she said.

    In terms of information-sharing between law enforcement and banks, the deputy prime minister said the names of both individuals and entities, as well as crypto wallets, have been shared by the RCMP with financial institutions.

    Parliamentarians’ debate of the Emergencies Act kicked off Thursday morning, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noting it was a needed step, and that existing laws wouldn’t have been able to rectify the issue.

    The Conservative Party has said the move is a “power grab†by the Liberals, specifically taking issue with the financial measures introduced.

    Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen said on Thursday that the government’s declaration isn’t consistent with fundamental freedoms.

    “The government should not have the power to close the bank accounts of Canadians on a whim. The prime minister is doing this to save his own political skin, but this is not a game. It comes at a cost to Canadians' rights and freedoms,†she said.

    Justice Minister David Lametti responded that all measures applied would be compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

    “Any and all of our government action will be subject to the charter, and it is my job as attorney general to ensure this. I take that responsibility incredibly seriously. There is, therefore, a further check in the parliamentary oversight process as well,†he said.

    Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner wrote a letter to the privacy commissioner on Thursday citing concerns about the potential risks the Act might pose to personal privacy.

    “I continue to call for an immediate peaceful resolution to this ongoing situation in our country. Bust Justin Trudeau cannot take unprecedented powers without scrutiny. Canadians have the right to privacy, and I am concerned about what potential risks such a move poses. I am also concerned about the precedent this sets for the future,†the letter reads.

    She calls on the government to “immediately†disclose whether it has consulted with the commissioner about the Act and take any concerns that the commissioner raises “seriously.â€

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    Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

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    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • Two people emerged unhurt after a float plane had a hard landing late Friday morning on Lake Temiskaming.

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    • 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.

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    Autos

    • 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.

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

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    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.

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    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.

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    • The Ford government is considering restricting Ontario municipalities from installing new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes of traffic, a source confirms to CTV News Toronto.

    • For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her 'worst nightmare.' On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu 'Jay' Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.

    • A field trip aimed at educating Toronto students about the plight of a northern Ontario First Nation ended with them taking part in a protest where pro-Palestinian slogans were shouted.

    • Defence counsel for accused murderer John-Christopher Arrizza argues he was in an “altered state of mind†due to days of drug and alcohol use, sleep deprivation and not eating, when he fatally stabbed a man at a Banff nightclub in 2022.

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    • Calgary pickleball players will soon have a dozen new courts to play on.

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      Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.

    • Ottawa Fire Services says a driver has been safely extricated after being trapped following a two-vehicle collision near a high school in the city’s south end.

    • The Ottawa Police Service Arson Unit is seeking witnesses to a fire that happened early Friday morning in a two-storey commercial building in Little Italy.

    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    • 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.

    • A man who asserted his right to work in French has won his case before the Tribunal, invoking the new provisions of the province's French-language law (Bill 96) to that effect.

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    • The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) has made an arrest following a fire that claimed the lives of two people.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

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    • Driving into the tunnels of Nutrien's Rocanville mine, the largest potash mine in the world by production volume, feels like driving down a lonely highway in the middle of the night.

    • A tornado in Langbank, Sask. on Wednesday was the third latest in the province on record, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • Levels of hydrogen sulfide gas are being monitored after a leak in Brantford Collegiate Institute’s geothermal system.

    • Guelph resident, Susan Bard, is being remembered as a vibrant community advocate and volunteer who died doing what she loved – cycling.

    • Emergency services responded to a vehicle fire Friday morning in the area of Samuelson Street in Cambridge.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • A 69-year-old woman from Outlook, Saskatchewan is dead and three people are injured after a truck and SUV collided on Highway 15 on Thursday.

    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • Two people emerged unhurt after a float plane had a hard landing late Friday morning on Lake Temiskaming.

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    • Members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and supportetrs greatly outnumbered the people attending a '1 Million March 4 Children' event along Central Avenue.

    • Today, the 71 year old is marking 50 years a paramedic. He said he never aspired to move into management or a desk job, he enjoys being on the road, helping patients too much.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • Police are investigating after they say several firearms and other valuables were stolen from a home in Tiny Township.

    • A truck driver from Orillia is proof that saying yes to Encore can pay off in a big way.

    • Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family’s backyard pool.

    • Windsor fire is on scene at an incident on McDougall Street.

    • On Thursday, just after 9:30 a.m., a man was found and taken to police headquarters, where he was released with conditions and a future court date.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • Getting a bed at one of British Columbia's drug detoxification facilities is like winning the lottery, the vice-president on the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council says.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

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