Finance committee  If I may just add, I would draw your attention to subsection 47(2) of the act, which states that while persons can be subject to immunity, the Crown does remain responsible pursuant to the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act. Therefore, should there ever be a case where damages were to be awarded, the act provides that the Crown is ultimately liable.

Finance committee  I don't feel, myself, comfortable to suggest how folks should seek legal advice, but there are various mechanisms out there that people can access.

Finance committee  If I may answer, Isabelle, I would say the measures have been tailored to limit the impact on the charter rights to being no more than reasonably necessary for the unlawful assembly. The obligation to freeze accounts applies only to people who are participating in the illegal activities that are described in sections 2 to 5 of the emergency measures regulations.

Finance committee  I might pass the floor back to my colleague Isabelle. It was effective as of the date the regulation was made, so as of February 15. Anything that occurred prior to that date is not captured. There is no retroactivity to this regulation at all.

Finance committee  In short, the Emergencies Act was passed in 1988. The charter came into force in 1982. It applies. Any governmental action, be it the statute, the regulation or the implementation, must be compliant with the charter. The War Measures Act was a different statute. To be very explicit about it, the Emergencies Act included a specific reference to the fact that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms would apply.

Finance committee  There were definitely some criminal aspects involved.

Finance committee  Absolutely. Thank you very much. Specifically, with respect to the orders and regulations themselves, the Emergencies Act provides that members of both Houses of Parliament can actually move motions forward. To the extent there was a desire to see amendments made, that is a possibility enabled by the act.

Finance committee  The recently implemented emergency measures regulations clarified the meaning of an unlawful assembly that would be considered criminal. Once this clarification was provided, the connection to the related offences was made very clear to Canadians.

Finance committee  I'm sorry, but that's not what I said. I said that the very clearly defined criteria in section 2 of these regulations specified what would be considered an unlawful assembly.

Finance committee  I'm sure that there were some aspects in the legislation. However, when the declaration was made, the government looked at the situation at hand and took the necessary steps to end it.

Finance committee  The measures needed to end the siege hadn't been taken. That's why it was considered necessary to implement the emergency measures.

Finance committee  I believe the statute administered by FINTRAC would allow some freezing, but I will offer the floor to my colleague Isabelle in the financial sector.

Finance committee  I can start, and perhaps my colleague Isabelle can follow up. The War Measures Act, which was in place and was replaced by the Emergencies Act, didn't contain the express provision indicating that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies notwithstanding the invocation of an emergency.

Finance committee  I can take that question. [Technical difficulty—Editor] this isn't a statute under which normal charter statements are made. These are indeed regulations made pursuant to the Emergencies Act. No legal opinion would be forthcoming in normal circumstances. The measures put in place have been tailored to limit any impact.

Finance committee  Perhaps I'll start. I attended a briefing yesterday where Ministers Mendicino and Lametti were briefing the Senate. The communication at that point in time was that the assessment of whether the Emergencies Act and the regulations and order made under it continue to be necessary.