Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has ended the use of the Emergencies Act invoked last week to deal with the Freedom Convoy trucker protest. The Canadian police have also instructed financial institutions to unfreeze accounts previously frozen. “The situation is no longer an emergency, therefore the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act … We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are sufficient,” said the prime minister.
Trudeau Ends Emergencies Act
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that he is revoking the use of the Emergencies Act which his government invoked last week to deal with the Freedom Convoy trucker protest.
While acknowledging that the “threat continues,” Prime Minister Trudeau said in a press conference:
The situation is no longer an emergency, therefore the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act … We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are sufficient.
“We were very clear that the use of the emergencies act would be limited in time,” Trudeau reiterated.
Canada’s governor general signed off on the revocation Wednesday afternoon, formally ending the state of emergency.
The state of emergency in Ontario has also been lifted. However, Premier Doug Ford’s office said the “emergency tools provided to law enforcement will be maintained at this time as police continue to address ongoing activity on the ground.”
Canadian Police Instruct Financial Institutions to Unfreeze Accounts
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) instructed financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze accounts and crypto wallets tied to the Freedom Convoy protest last week. At least 34 crypto addresses were flagged. The Trudeau government subsequently announced that more accounts would be frozen.
Isabelle Jacques, Canada’s assistant deputy minister
