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.
Joël Lightbound told reporters in Ottawa today that federal COVID-19 measures, such as vaccination mandates for travellers and civil servants, need to be re-evaluated and the public needs a clear road map for when restrictions will be fully lifted.
The premier announced last week that such a plan was coming and that the first step would be ending Alberta's vaccine passports to access non-essential businesses such as restaurants and bars.
The throne speech comes two weeks ahead of the government's budget, which is expected to include a financial accounting of last fall's floods and mudslides that devastated communities, farms and highways throughout southern B.C.
Ravi Kahlon, the minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, said eight out of every 10 new openings in the next decade will require post-secondary education or skills training, which points to where the economy is headed and what is needed to get ready.
Kevin Falcon, who was elected party leader on Saturday, said Andrew Wilkinson has decided to resign his seat in Vancouver-Quilchena, clearing a possible path to the legislature.
There are 23,739 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 306,419 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 987 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital and 141 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
