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.
Work on the actual regulations is set to begin in early March with invites to consultations set to go out Friday, just as O'Regan is scheduled to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts.
Budget documents trumpet billions of dollars flowing into provincial sectors that don't necessarily scream Alberta. Tech, aerospace, financial technology, film and television have all seen growth, as well as more traditional mainstays like petrochemicals.
Canada has promised to prioritize immigration applications from Ukraine to bring people fleeing the country to safety as quickly as possible. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced the creation of a new hotline Thursday, "for anyone at home or abroad with urgent Ukraine-related immigration questions."
The idea of strengthening economic shortfalls unearthed by the pandemic has become a rallying cry for Canada and many of its allies, such as the United States.
The campaign, which is to begin today and run until March 18, will see the government match donations by Canadians dollar for dollar to a maximum of $10 million, says a senior government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss matters not yet public.
Dr. Theresa Tam says she hopes Canada is past the pandemic crisis and is now in a transition phase, headed toward recovery. She says Canada must still be ready to bring some public health measures back if cases begin to shoot up again.
