Page 51 - ACTL Journal Win24

Nicholas St. Louis. Involved in facilitating fundraising efforts, St. Louis played a role in transferring Bitcoin from fundraisers to individuals and truck operators as- sociated with the Convoy.
KEY EVENTS
The Freedom Convoy and its related events unfolded rapid- ly over a short period.
Fundraising commenced on January 14, initially through a GoFundMe platform. Lich expected to raise tens of thousands of dollars but ultimately collected $25 million in a very short period.
In late January, protesters began to converge at several points of entry across Canada, with Ottawa as the pri- mary focal point. The Convoy rolled into Ottawa on January 28, marking the beginning of the protest.
Blockades of the Ambassador Bridge, which links De- troit and Windsor, began on February 5, causing sig- nificant disruptions to trade between Canada and the United States.
On February 4, a proposed class action lawsuit was initiated, and the court granted an injunction against some protest activities.
GoFundMe decided to halt fundraising for the Convoy due to legal concerns and the objections raised by law
The Blue Water Bridge port of entry in Sarnia, Ontario witnessed protests. Additionally, there were solidarity protests in various parts of the world, including France.
The Emergencies Act was invoked in three jurisdictions: two Ontario cities (Ottawa and Windsor) and the prov- ince of Ontario.
The federal government declared an emergency on Feb- ruary 14.
Chief Sloly resigned from his position on February 14, and the next day protesters were arrested in Coutts, Al- berta.
The emergency declaration was revoked on February 23.
The fundraising efforts that raised $25 million came from various sources, and the breakdown differed depending on the fundraising platform. On GoFundMe, the majority of donors were from Canada, with a smaller percentage from the United States and globally. In contrast, GiveSendGo saw a significant portion of donors from the United States (59%), with a smaller Canadian (35%) and global (6%) contribution. The protest managed to capture the atten- tion and support of individuals around the world.
The Freedom Convoy and associated blockades had a sub- stantial impact on cross-border trade between Canada and the United States in multiple trading corridors – British Co- lumbia to Washington State; Alberta to Montana; Manitoba to Minnesota; Ontario to New York; Quebec to New York.
enforcement. Protesters then shifted to the GiveSend- Go platform to continue fundraising efforts.
The protest spread from Ottawa to other regions, with protesters targeting not only critical infrastructure but also provincial legislative buildings in Toronto, Mani- toba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Law enforcement in these areas responded more robustly than in Ottawa, having learned from what was occurring in Ottawa.
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