Evidence of meeting #29 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was documents.
A video is available from Parliament.
9:25 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Something is bothering me: why did you seize assets and freeze the bank accounts of demonstrators? For what purpose? Where did you get that idea?
I'm trying to see in what free and democratic society in the world it would be possible to seize the assets and freeze the bank accounts of people demonstrating in the streets, without warrants.
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
I reject that characterization, Senator. There was no seizure. There was a freezing for a temporary period of time of the assets, which were then unfrozen.
9:25 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
When the bank accounts belonging to those individuals were frozen, they were prevented from using them and, by the same token, their assets were taken away from them for a period of time. Where in the world could this happen without judicial authorization, simply because those individuals took to the streets?
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
Senator Carignan, I think that after two years on this committee you probably know the answer to your own question—that we were dealing with a situation where there were unlawful and illegal activities, and where people were being financed from Bitcoin sources and from foreign sources. The idea was to destabilize the illegal blockade by cutting off its finances, which is, effectively, exactly what happened.
9:25 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
That was the goal, then. As the former minister, Mr. Lametti, already stated, it was intended to pull the rug out from under them.
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
I certainly don't recollect those words being used, and those were not my words.
9:25 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Understood.
The goal was to exert economic pressure on them by stopping them from being able to buy groceries, pay rent, make child support payments or pay their life insurance premium, in the hope that they would get the message and go home.
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
That is not the characterization that I would put on it. The objective was to ensure that those who were funding the continued illegal blockade of this city and other cities were no longer able to do so.
9:25 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
You didn't answer my initial question: in what democratic country is it possible to do that?
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
It was pursuant to democratically passed legislation in this country, pursuant to the Emergencies Act in Canada.
9:25 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
You used the law, then. Were you inspired by North Korea?
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
I'm not going to respond to that type of question, Madam Chair.
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
Mr. Carignan, you're a lawyer.
I presume that you have the ability to consult the statutes that are in the statutes of Canada, the revised statutes of Canada. I'm sure you're perfectly aware that a bill called the Emergencies Act was passed by the Conservative government around 1987 or 1988. In fact, I remember sitting on this committee with you when Perrin Beatty testified to the passage of that very law.
9:25 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
—to that law in this country that we enacted these declarations.
9:25 p.m.
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
Excuse me, Senator Carignan. Your time is up.
On behalf of the joint committee, I would like to sincerely thank our witnesses for taking the time to appear before us this evening.
Honourable colleagues, members of Parliament and guests, this concludes our public hearing.
Does the committee wish to go in camera?
9:25 p.m.
Some hon. members
No.
9:25 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.