Is Canada planning to make the financial surveillance act permanent? Is Canada planning to make the financial surveillance act permanent?
Canadians have been withdrawing their funds from traditional banks due to the financial surveillance regulations.
2 min read
Updated: Feb. 21, 2022 at 5:39 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The financial surveillance resulting from the Emergencies Act may become a permanent fixture of Canadian society.
Reports emanating from the country state that the government is considering making these laws permanent. If this happens, centralized crypto platforms operating in the country will become severely affected.
Canada wants to make surveillance permanent
Per a previous report, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau recently invoked the Emergencies Act to end the series of anti-vax demonstrations in the country. This law makes it possible for financial institutions to freeze individuals’ accounts without a court order.
Originally meant to curb terrorism financing and similar criminal activities, the government extended it to cover protesters involved in the protest. It also expanded the law to include cryptocurrency as part of the assets that can be frozen.
This was done to cut crypto donations to the protesters. More than 30 crypto wallets have already been frozen courtesy of the Act.
However, it seems the government is considering making the financial surveillance permanent. According to the deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, who’s also the finance minister, the government is reviewing making the financial surveillance rules permanent.
If this happens, it’ll mean the government has the enduring power to freeze an individual’s account without obtaining a court order.
Already, several stakeholders and citizens, both in Canada and outside, have criticized the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.
The premier of Quebec warned that such a decision could escalate the issue. That appears to now be the case in what critics consider an undemocratic action by the Canadian government.
Canadians stick to crypto option
While the government actions mean even centralized crypto exchanges could be forced to freeze users’ wallets, it hasn’t prevented many Canadians from adopting Bitcoin.
Available information shows that more Canadians consider crypto as a viable option to avoid government surveillance over their finances.
Not only that, but there is also growing evidence that several Canadians are withdrawing their money from banks. This shows that residents’ trust in traditional financial institutions is decreasing due to government actions.
This has led some to compare this moment to the Cyprus financial crisis of 2013, which spurred Bitcoin growth.
While the protest appears to have finally ended, the ripple effects might last for much longer. If the government should go ahead with its plans to make the financial surveillance laws permanent, Canadian crypto holders might have to stick to decentralized exchanges to retain control of their assets.
Author 
Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.
