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 British Columbia government is lifting a restriction on gasoline for the general public that was put in place after flooding and landslides cut off supply. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the 30-litre limit per visit to the pumps proved effective and will lift on Tuesday.
Melanie Mark, the minister of tourism, arts and culture, says COVID-19 and recent natural disasters have had devastating impacts on events and tourism, and expanding the program to nearly $30 million is a way to help communities safely resume activities.
The survey conducted by Leger and commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies suggests four in ten Canadians have a friend or family member who is not vaccinated. Seventy per cent of these don’t discuss the matter with them, with half of those saying they have given up trying to persuade them to get protective shots.
Figures obtained through an access to information request show 8.5 million trees had been planted as of mid-November, representing just over 0.4 per cent of what the Liberals have repeatedly promised.
Canada’s central bank has been told to keep the annual pace of price gains at its historic target, but also to help build up the labour market. Since 1991, the Bank of Canada has targeted an annual inflation rate of between one and three per cent, often landing in a sweet spot at two per cent.
Canada's top doctor is urging the federal government to transform its public health system so the country is better equipped to handle future and present health threats. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call on the need for "public health renewal" in Canada.
