Thu 17 February 2022:
Individuals from the United States and around the world are fueling rallies against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa and across Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.
“These illegal blockades are being heavily supported by individuals in the United States and from elsewhere around the world,” Trudeau said in the House of Commons during an emergency debate concerning his invocation of the Emergencies Act to quell the protests.
The Prime Minister referenced material obtained online by hackers revealing that the US provided around half of the funding for the Freedom Convoy protests. Hackers targeted the GiveSendGo crowdfunding site on Sunday, which helped generate $8.7 million for the Freedom Convoy participants.
A prior attempt by the authorities to limit donations to the demonstrators led in another crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, freezing $9 million in donations and stating that the monies will be sent to a charity of their choice.
Following public outcry and warnings from US lawmakers that the platform would be investigated for theft, GoFundMe repaid the funds.
The Trudeau government has called the protests in Canada “illegal” and a “occupation,” and has given himself more powers to deal with them in Ottawa and across the country, despite widespread criticism in Canada and abroad of government overreach.
Thousands of truckers and other activists converged on Ottawa in mid-January to demand that the government repeal the COVID-19 vaccine regulations.
Since then, the protest has attracted a varied range of residents and has turned into a protest against the Trudeau government.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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