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.
In his letter to Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, NDP critic Daniel Blaikie says an appeal of the tribunal ruling would only prolong access to justice for new parents who lose their jobs.
A post on the City of Kamloops Facebook page says Jane Deelstra received a certificate from Kamloops RCMP Supt. Syd Lecky on Tuesday, recognizing her "great bravery and perseverance."
Downtown Ottawa Coun. Catherine McKenney has floated the idea of working with federal officials and the community to close Wellington Street, which runs directly along Parliament Hill, to all vehicles except public transit, pedestrians and cyclists.
Surrey RCMP say they responded to reports of a stabbing on the school grounds Tuesday afternoon. They say in a news release that teenagers were found with non-life-threatening injuries and taken to hospital.
Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen announced the reversal on Tuesday, saying she was writing to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to have Tory MPs Michelle Rempel Garner and Rob Morrison appointed to the committee.
Canada's proposal, which includes a three per cent tax worth $3.4 billion in revenue over five years, would only take effect in 2024 if those efforts don't come to pass.
