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.
If Delta remains dominant, then the number of cases by that date could be as low as 2,900, if transmission is reduced by 15 per cent, or as high as 15,000, if transmission increases 15 per cent. If transmission remains the same, Canada could see 7,000 daily cases.
China's ambassador to Canada says Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor confessed to crimes before their release from his country's prisons this past September.
Winter storm, snowfall and wind warnings are in effect across coastal and southern British Columbia, including areas affected by flooding last month. Environment Canada says rain in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley would intensify Friday night before easing, with up to 60 millimetres expected along with strong winds.
As farmers clean up after a series of storms hit southern British Columbia, an industry official and operator say some will be forced to leave the industry as costs pile up. A series of "atmospheric rivers" in mid-November forced thousands from their homes and left at least four people dead.
The 1,782 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths between January and October 2021 are the highest ever recorded in a calendar year, and the number of deaths in October equates to about 6.5 lives lost per day.
There are currently 2,915 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 216,185 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 220 individuals are currently in hospital and 73 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
