Evidence of meeting #5 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 question.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
It was frozen for as long as individuals participated in an unlawful protest. We've done it in the case of individuals engaged in tax evasion, and we've done it under anti-terrorism statutes.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
You have the authority to do it in those cases, but you didn't in this case.
Liberal
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
We enacted legislation to give us the authority to do it.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
No. The father of the act said it didn't confer that power.
Liberal
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
With all due respect, Senator, I know Mr. Beatty well, and he's a great man, but he couldn't have predicted all the situations that might arise in future. We used the act as Mr. Beatty and Mr. Mulroney intended, and we applied it in a reasonable and specific manner.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
The Emergencies Act doesn't give you the authority to conduct searches or seizures. You froze bank accounts, which is tantamount to seizing them. I suggest you read the case law. You're a brilliant lawyer, so you know how to do that.
Liberal
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
If the Government of Canada consulted me as a lawyer and told me that, according to one of its lawyers, the act of seizing or freezing a bank account without a warrant or legislative authority was consistent with the charter, I'd recommend that it find another lawyer.
Liberal
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
I would too. That's what I would've done if you'd said that.
We had powers under the act, and there were no seizures. We took very specific measures, which were temporary.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
What was your objective when you decided to freeze the bank accounts?
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
So it was also designed to cut off something.
Liberal
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
It's an expression, Senator. You know what I mean. It was to cut off funding for the illegal protests at its source.
Liberal
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
Senator, don't you think terrorism is illegal? Don't you think tax evasion is illegal? We use the same measures to combat that.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Minister, how long did it take for you to unfreeze the bank accounts?
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
So the funding source wasn't as bad as that, if you unfroze the accounts immediately.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
What did you do with the money? Did you leave it there?
Liberal
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
You said the source was illegal, but you nevertheless released the bank accounts.
Liberal
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
It was the protests that were illegal. When the protests stopped, we revoked the act and released the bank accounts.