Chilliwack MP Mark Strahl insists ‘Briane’ is a real person, defends her privacy

A Fraser Valley MP isn’t backing down over his claims a constituent’s bank account was frozen over a donation to the trucker convoy, despite the RCMP saying that is not the case.

Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl insists a single mom named Briane is a real person. He released a statement following heavy criticism over his claim that Briane’s account was frozen after she donated $50.

Strahl says he has verified her identity but won’t be sharing those details to protect the woman’s privacy. He has refused interview requests from CityNews to defend or identify the validity of the claims.

The Emergencies Act orders that allow for the bank accounts of Canadian citizens to be impacted without a court order and without legal recourse against the government or the banks is an outrageous overreach. Parliament needs to revoke these powers. pic.twitter.com/CxkdVWRsLp

— Mark Strahl, MP (@markstrahl) February 22, 2022

“While her name may not be on the hacked, stolen and illegally distributed GiveSendGo donor list, I have seen her donation receipt. Briane informed me that her bank account had been frozen at the same time that the government began freezing the accounts of other freedom convoy supporters.”

Strahl also says he’s been told by officials in the finance department that some small-time donors’ accounts may have been frozen under the Emergencies Act.

Related Articles:

• RCMP pokes holes in Conservative MPs’ claims over trucker convoy donation

• RCMP working to release frozen bank accounts of Ottawa protesters

• Do COVID-19 mandates violate my human rights?

However, Isabelle Jacques, an assistant deputy minister at the federal Department of Finance, says the accounts that were frozen are only those who are connected to participation in the blockade after Feb. 15.

“If somebody was giving money to a third party to enable them to participate in the illegal blockades that were occurring on the hill, that person can be captured,” she said in standing committee on finance on Feb. 22.

Jacques says they didn’t physically need to be at the protests.

“If that person gave the money after Feb. 15, it is possible, although very unlikely, in view of the circumstances,” she said, calling the “risk basis approach” one of the methods which discredits the claims.

Related Video:

When asked outright if a person who gave a small amount would see their account frozen, she said “I found that scenario would be in rare circumstances.”

Jacques further told the committee that on Monday the RCMP provided a list of accounts to financial institutions to unfreeze accounts. She says she has not heard of any accounts that were frozen mistakenly.

Feb. 15 is when the Emergencies Act came into effect, which gave police more powers to respond to the ongoing protests.

Both the GiveSendGo and GoFundMe fundraising campaigns for the Ottawa protests were frozen well before that day. However, the GiveSendGo fundraiser does appear to still be accepting donations.

The House of Commons voted Monday to keep the Emergencies Act in effect for the next 30 days. The Act is still before the Senate to receive a final vote, which won’t be conducted until next week once debates have been concluded.