Tory MP asks the Privacy Commissioner to confirm the freeze of the account under the state of emergency

The Conservative MP is asking privacy commissioners to consider the events surrounding the freeze on the financial accounts of Canada Convoy supporters in the event of a government-declared emergency that violates public order and morals in February.

MP Adam Chambers I have written To the Commissioner Philippe Dufresne on July 6th, to emphasize that the study on the issue conducted by the House of Commons Finance Committee raised some questions.

Based on witness testimony collected by the Commission from February 22nd to March 17th, Chambers said, “The receiving agency has instructions on how to properly store, retain, or use the data received from the RCMP. I haven’t received it. “

A “recipient” is a financial institution that has been told to freeze the accounts of convoy supporters on the RCMP list, such as banks, credit unions, and cryptocurrency platforms.

“There were no restrictions or instructions on how the data received by the receiving agency could be used or trusted, even after the law expired,” Chambers wrote.

“No instructions were given about how long the data will be retained or how long it will be destroyed”, “Instructions or restrictions on who or how many individuals in the receiving institution will be able to access it.” It seems there wasn’t. To the data, “he added.

In addition to these allegations, Chambers, a member of the Finance Commission, conveyed many unresolved questions he said the Commission could not make a decision.

He wants to know how many recipients were involved, how the information was transferred by RCMP, and exactly what information was shared.

A member of parliament representing Simcornorth, Central Ontario, said he hopes the Commissioner will conduct a review of government actions and provide guidance in the event of a similar situation in the future.

The Liberal Party government enacted an emergency law on February 14 to address transnational protests and blockades demanding the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

The Parliamentary Commission considered this issue and the Treasury Standing Committee presented something related to it. report In June.

It makes 15 recommendations, including “to engage in all organizations required to implement emergency measures to determine their efficiency”.

Care should also be taken when enforcing this law, and the government should refrain from using precedent as a template for dealing with the general public “especially in response to protests and demands from indigenous communities.” It states that there is.

The Conservatives have disagreed with the report, saying they cannot support the recommendation.

Most of the recommendations from Liberal lawmakers say they are trying to reaffirm the government’s actions.

Opposition also states that no financial measures were applied to clear the blockade.

“During the testimony, neither the government, law enforcement agencies, nor witnesses made a compelling claim that in the situation of Ottawa, the rights of the Canadian Charter need to be boldly revoked from unjustified search and seizure. It was. “

Justice Minister David Rametti previously refused to share an analysis of charter compliance, but stated that the measures were charter-compliant. Rametti said the account freeze did not result in a seizure.

Freezing accounts without court order was one of the most controversial measures brought about by the Emergency Act.

Proponents said it acted as a deterrent to protesters, but critics said it had nothing to do with it being overkill.

Additional concerns about the measures surfaced when witnesses said their application was not validated or would have a permanent impact.

Deputy Finance Minister Isabel Jack told the Finance Commission on May 3 that her department did not confirm account freezes with financial institutions and instead relied on their “integrity.” rice field.

“There is no verification done,” she said.

Angelina Mason, general counsel and vice president of the Canadian Bankers Association, told the Commission on March 7 that banks also used their own “decisions” to freeze their accounts beyond the RCMP list.

Mason also said that anyone who freezes an account will mark the file permanently.