The Government of the province of Ontario in Canada on Thursday successfully sought a court order to freeze over $8 million U.S. dollars in funds made to the Freedom Convoy on GiveSendGo. The Epoch Times has the story.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered that all donations made through the “Freedom Convoy 2022” and “Adopt a trucker” campaigns on the Christian fundraising platform be frozen until further notice, according to a statement from Premier Doug Ford’s office.
The statement said Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey brought the application for the restraint order, in which 490.8 of the Criminal Code was cited as grounds to freeze the funds. The section reads, in part: “The Attorney General may make an application … for a restraint order … in respect of any offence-related property.”
Ivana Yelich, spokesperson for the Premier, said the order “binds any and all parties with possession or control over these donations”.
In a statement on Twitter, GiveSendGo wrote in an apparent response to the court order, “Know this! Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo.”
It adds, “All funds for EVERY campaign on GiveSendGo flow directly to the recipients of those campaigns, not least of which is The Freedom Convoy campaign.”
The GiveSendGo fundraising page was set up after GoFundMe said last week it would not give the donated money to the truckers.
The legal standing of the order in respect of GiveSendGo is not yet clear.
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