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 Senate gave speedy approval Tuesday to legislation banning conversion therapy in Canada. After minimal debate, senators agreed to fast-track Bill C-4 through all stages of the legislative process and deem it passed.
Five cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant have been confirmed in British Columbia so far among people whose illness is associated with travel to places like Nigeria and Egypt, the provincial health officer says. Dr. Bonnie Henry said three of the people were fully vaccinated and two were unvaccinated, and all have had mild or asymptomatic cases.
There are 2,814 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 215,577 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 242 individuals are in hospital and 82 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
A 17-year-old girl who was reported missing Sunday has been found dead inside a home on Tsawwassen First Nation lands south of Vancouver, B.C. Delta police say officers searching for Maaike Blom discovered her body Tuesday.
David Cohen is finally getting down to business as the newest United States ambassador to Canada — the first to take on the role full-time since 2019. Cohen, a lawyer, lobbyist and former U.S. tech executive, presented his letters of credence today to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon in a ceremony at Rideau Hall.
An RCMP officer in northern B.C. says protesters outside a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for children have been warned their actions are illegal, and any parents who feel intimidated at such facilities should immediately contact police.
