Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu says she’s “bound by confidentiality” to not identify a constituent she said in a Twitter post had her bank account frozen for buying a $20 “Freedom Convoy” T-shirt.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland both raised doubts on the weekend about a similar Twitter post by Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl alleging a “single mom” who legally donated $50 to the truck convoy had her bank account frozen.
In a Twitter post Friday, Gladu asked constituents who had bank accounts frozen for buying a $20 shirt or or donating a minimal amount to the Freedom Convoy to call her constituency office.
On Sunday, she Tweeted: “I have a lady in my riding had her bank account frozen for buying a $20 Freedom Convoy T-shirt.”
Contacted Tuesday, Gladu said in a text she wouldn’t identify the woman or provide details about the incident.
“I am actually bound by confidentiality to not release her name or details,” Gladu said.
Gladu said she reached out to the woman after being approached by reporters to ask if she would be willing to tell her story but had not heard back as of Tuesday morning.
“The government is denying they are taking this action, but local financial institutions have said they are being instructed this way,” Gladu said.
The RCMP released a statement Monday.
“Under the emergency economic measures order (Emergencies Act), the list that was provided to financial institutions included identities of individuals who were influencers in the illegal protest in Ottawa, and owners and/or drivers of vehicles who did not want to leave the area impacted by the protest. At no time, did we provide a list of donors to financial institutions.
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“We are now working with the banks to build a process to address the accounts that were frozen.”
Gladu said she was contacted Tuesday by a second constituent who said their accounts were also frozen for buying a T-Shirt. She said a constituent also sent her a link to an online map with names of local donors to the Freedom Convoy from the GiveSendGo US online crowdsourcing site. The release of that information is “very disturbing,” she said.
If she receives additional reports of constituents with seized bank accounts, Gladu she will put them in touch with a “class action suit against the government being put together.”
“Freezing someone’s bank account not only keeps you from being able to buy food, etc., but ruins your credit rating permanently,” she said.
Gladu said other constituents told her they contacted their financial institutions “and asked if they had donated would they have their accounts frozen, and were told, ‘yes.’”
Strahl caused a stir on Twitter Sunday when he posted the claim.
“Briane is a single mom from Chilliwack working a minimum wage job. She gave $50 to the convoy when it was 100 per cent legal. She hasn’t participated in any other way,” Strahl said in a tweet. “Her bank account has now been frozen. This is who Justin Trudeau is actually targeting with his Emergencies Act orders.”
At a press briefing Monday, the prime minister was asked if ordinary people making small donations were being locked out of their bank accounts for their support of the protests.
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“The measures we put in place are designed and focused on ensuring the people in the current illegal occupations leave,” said Trudeau. “That has been the intent and the focus right now. If there are specific cases that Conservative ministers can bring forward to highlight where that is not the case, we would happily look at them and look to resolve them.”
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the financial sanctions are aimed at targeting leaders and those whose trucks were involved in illegal blockades.
“It’s important for all of us to be very, very careful to get our facts exactly right in each circumstance, and I would urge all of us to take that care in every situation,” she said of the Twitter claim.
“The RCMP has given to the financial institutions names of leaders and organizers of the protests and of people whose trucks were part of occupations and blockades. That is the only information given, according to the RCMP, that the RCMP has given to financial institutions.”
Freeland pointed out the financial sanctions were only put in place on Feb. 15, long after the legal fundraising campaign had been pulled from the internet.
“For anyone who is concerned that their accounts may have been frozen because of their participation in these illegal blockades and occupation, the way to get your account unfrozen is to stop being part of the blockade and occupation.
“These measures were put in place to disrupt illegal activity in Canada,” Freeland continued. “We were very clear last Monday that we would be following the money, that we would be using financial tools to disrupt illegal blockades and occupations.
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“The focus absolutely has been on leaders and on the vehicles. … That has been the only focus of law enforcement.”
The House of Commons on Monday night approved the extraordinary and temporary measures in the Emergencies Act, heeding Trudeau’s warning the “state of emergency is not over,” even though police ended a three-week occupation in Ottawa and reopened border points to the US
The motion to confirm the declaration of emergency passed 185-151, with the New Democrats voting in favor alongside the minority Liberal government.
The Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois opposed it.
The vote to approve the measures will keep them in place until mid-March at the latest and the Senate must also vote on the government’s request.
“Conservatives and legal experts agree that the Emergency Measures were not needed and protests could be cleared with current laws and resources,” Gladu said Tuesday.
“It is concerning that after all the protest in Ottawa was cleared that the Liberals and NDP voted to give unlimited powers to the government for 30 days.”
With files from The National Post and The Vancouver Sun.