**** RCMP Media Release
The Emergencies Act allows law enforcement and monitoring agencies to work more closely with Canadian financial institutions. This will help police conduct investigations into the blockades more effectively.
Emergencies Act and Finance:
- The Emergencies Act allows law enforcement and monitoring agencies to work more closely with Canadian financial institutions; enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement conducting investigations into blockades.
- It allows financial institutions to freeze financial products of individuals and companies suspected of involvement in the illegal acts mentioned in the law, and for law enforcement to share information with financial institutions for that purpose.
- Through the Act’s powers, the RCMP is broadening the scope of Canada’s anti-money laundering / anti-terrorist financing rules to now include crowdfunding platforms and the payment service providers, including digital assets. All crowd funding platforms and the payment service providers they use now must register with FINTRAC, and report large and suspicious transactions to FINTRAC.
- With regards to the enacting and application of the Economic Emergency Measure Order, the RCMP is diligently working with municipal and provincial partners, such as the Ottawa Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police, to collect relevant information on persons, vehicle and companies. To that effect, the RCMP and its partners have developed an internal process to corroborate and validate collected information prior to sharing it with financial institutions.
- The RCMP is in constant communication with the financial institutions to help them make the proper determination, as per the powers of the EEMO, before they take action to freeze financial products within holding. Thus far the RCMP has shared several information packages of persons, vehicles and companies involved directly or indirectly in an activity prohibited under the Order.
- Presently, the RCMP is aware that several accounts and other financial products have been subject to a freeze.
- It remains the responsibility of the banks to make the decision of freezing the accounts, not an order from the law enforcement.
- While we are using the measures in place, we will not be sharing the numbers of accounts frozen as operational actions are being taken, and we want to be very careful not to jeopardize any of those ongoing actions.
- We remain in daily communications with the financial institutions to assist them, when possible, to determine when assets can be unfroz
Via Canada.ca
Emergencies Act
R.S.C., 1985, c. 22 (4th Supp.)
An Act to authorize the taking of special temporary measures to ensure safety and security during national emergencies and to amend other Acts in consequence thereof
More information on the emergency act here
