Minister Lametti Addresses His Previous Threat to Seize Bank Accounts of ‘Pro-Trump’ Convoy Donors

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti appears as a witness at the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa, on Nov. 23, 2022. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Justice Minister David Lametti yesterday addressed his previous threat made in February that bank accounts of “pro-Trump” Freedom Convoy donors were at risk of being frozen after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act.

Lametti made the comment while appearing on CTV News’ “Power Play” on Feb. 16, in response to reporter Evan Solomon’s question on which individuals should be concerned about their bank accounts being frozen for donating to the Convoy.

“If you are a member of a pro-Trump movement, who’s donating hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions of dollars to this kind of thing, then you ought to be worried,” Lametti replied.

Lametti told the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) on Nov. 23 that he “chose language that I probably shouldn’t have used” in reference to Freedom Convoy donors.

“What I meant to say is that if you happen to live in the United States and you’re supporting what’s going on in Canada, then you ought to be worried that these financial measures could kick in,” Lametti told the commission on Nov. 23.

The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, which brought with it several financial measures to stop the funding of the Convoy protests in Ottawa. The measures included the power to freeze bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets suspected of donating to the protesters.

Five days after the emergency powers were enacted, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said “at least 76” accounts had been frozen, representing $3.2 million.

“The numbers that we have been able to provide to you thus far … shows very obviously how the Emergencies Act is being used to bring about the peaceful conclusion of the illegal blockades,” Mendicino told reporters during a virtual press conference on Feb. 19.

Frozen Accounts

Two days after Mendicino’s comments, RCMP deputy commissioner of federal policing, Mike Duheme, told reporters that police had frozen 206 financial products, which included bank and corporate accounts, and had also shared 253 bitcoin addresses with virtual currency exchangers.

“We continue to work at collecting relevant information on persons, vehicles, and companies and remain in daily communication with the financial institution to assist them,” Duheme said on Feb. 21.

Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the government’s freezing of personal bank accounts on Feb. 18, saying that the Convoy presented a “serious and foreign-funded threat” to Canada.

“These illegal blockades and occupations cannot be allowed to usurp the authority of democratically elected governments,” she said.

GoFundMe, one of the online crowdfunding platforms through which individuals donated to the Freedom Convoy, said 88 percent of funds contributed through the platform were from Canada.

GiveSendGo, another crowdfunding platform used after GoFundMe shut down its Freedom Convoy page, said 59 percent of funds donated to the Convoy through the platform originated in the U.S., while 35 percent were from Canada.

Andrew Chen, Noé Chartier, and Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.