Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Feb, 2022 01:15 PM
An Ontario court has extended to March 9 a freezing order on funds donated to the recent Ottawa convoy protest, as a class-action civil suit against protest organizers continues.
Parties in the case have agreed to move some donated funds and cryptocurrency into escrow, which could be redistributed to affected Ottawa residents and business owners should the class action succeed.
Norman Groot, a lawyer representing some convoy protest leaders, says ChristopherGarrah, Benjamin Dichter and Nicholas St. Louis have agreed in principle to moving donated funds within their control to an escrow account.
Groot notes the funds that Garrah, Dichter and St. Louis have agreed to move to escrow might not account for all the cryptocurrency that was donated, and he proposed parties meet next week to take stock of what has been transferred.
An escrow agent will oversee the transferred funds, and will be permitted to change the passwords for cryptocurrency.
The class-action lawsuit seeks a total of $306 million in damages related to the three-week anti-government convoy protest near Parliament Hill that snarled traffic, shut businesses and plagued residents with near-constant honking.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says November home sales increased by almost 12 per cent from last year as demand continued to outpace supply. The B.C. board says sales for the month amounted to 3,428, up from 3,064 last November but down from 3,494 in October 2021.
Rumours of the bike stash began circulating last week, after social media posts suggested someone was using a Gastown rooftop to store the stolen bikes. Officers began investigating, and quickly determined that the bikes were being lowered to the rooftop by rope from a neighbouring building. After getting several tips, they pinpointed the stash spot and moved in to seize nine bikes on November 22.
There are 2,936 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 213,394 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 301 individuals are in hospital and 98 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
A 45-year-old man was shot during the early morning hours of Nov 29th in Surrey. Surrey RCMP were called to the 9600 block of 135 Street and found the man suffering from life threatening injuries.
Ottawa announced on Tuesday that all air travellers entering Canada, except for those coming from the U.S., would need to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival at the airport and isolate until they get their results, even if they are fully vaccinated against the virus.
For the first time, the COVID-19 virus has been detected in Canadian wildlife. Environment Canada says the virus was detected late last month in three wild white-tailed deer in Quebec.
