The Ontario government says it has successfully petitioned a court to freeze access to millions of dollars donated through online fundraising platform GiveSendGo to the convoy protesting COVID-19 restrictions in Ottawa and at several border crossings.
A statement from Premier Doug Ford’s office on Thursday said Attorney General Doug Downey brought the application for the order, under Section 490.8 of the Criminal Code, to prohibit anyone from distributing donations made through the website’s “Freedom Convoy 2022” and “Adopt-a-Trucker” campaign pages.
Ivana Yelich, a spokeswoman for Premier Doug Ford, said the order binding “any and all parties with possession or control over these donations” was issued Thursday afternoon. She cited a section of the Criminal Code that allows the attorney general to apply for a restraint order against any “offense-related property.”
Initially, using the GoFundMe platform, organizers of the Freedom Convoy 2022 raised over $10 million and had used about $1 million. But on Saturday, the social media platform said the group had violated its terms of service, and that the platform automatically refunded those who had donated to the cause.
Convoy organizers quickly set up new campaigns on the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, reports North Shore News. As of Thursday, “Freedom Convoy 2022” had raised $US8.4 million and “Adopt-a-Trucker” had amassed more than $686,000.
Since its initial founding in 2015 as a platform mainly intended to raise money for missionary trips and children needing medical treatment, GiveSendGo has, since 2017, become a haven for far-right fringe groups.
In response to the freezing of funds for the truckers convoy, GiveFundGo said this on its Facebook page:
“Know this! Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo. All funds for EVERY campaign on GiveSendGo flow directly to the recipients of those campaigns, not least of which is The Freedom Convoy campaign. Thanks for your concern but this recipient is receiving funds. Donate to Freedom Convoy 2022 Campaign here!”
Organizers have also touted the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as another way to generate funds for protesters and avoid other potential fundraising shutdowns, reports the Global News, including during a news conference that was live-streamed to supporters on Wednesday.
