GoFundMe blocks Freedom convoy

GoFundMe blocks millions raised for truckers protesting Covid vaccine mandates.

GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform based in the United States, has blocked access to more than CAD $5 million (about $4 million) received by the 'Freedom Convoy 2022,' a trucking convoy headed to Ottawa to protest the vaccine mandate.

Approximately 50,000 vehicles are expected to take part in a large protest against government legislation forcing truck drivers to be vaccinated in order to escape a 14-day quarantine after crossing the border from the United States.

GoFundMe said the money "will be carefully stored" until the Freedom Convoy submits the papers "regarding how donations will be properly dispersed," in response to its decision to temporarily freeze the funds earned by the campaign.

"We require that fundraisers be transparent about the flow of funds and have a clear plan for how those funds will be spent. In this case, we are in touch with the organizer to verify that information," the platform's spokeswoman, Rachel Hollis, told CTV News in an email.

According to the campaign's GoFundMe page, the money was supposed to pay "the cost of petrol first, and hopefully meals and hotels" for the carriers to "ease the stresses" of their "arduous duty."

In a video posted on the campaign's Facebook page, Tamara Lich, the campaign's organizer, advised supporters not to be alarmed.

"Believe me, we've got this," she said, adding that when the government is "frightened," the first thing they'll want to do is take your money.

"And when that doesn't work, they're going to try and shut us down,", Lich said.

Lich previously explained the mission of the Freedom Convoy, saying that Canada is "a peaceful country that has helped protect nations across the globe from tyrannical governments that oppressed their people, and now it appears that it is happening here, " and that people now have the responsibility "to put an end to these mandates."

The Canadian Trucking Alliance, which opposes the campaign, issued a joint statement with the government ahead of the demonstration scheduled for January 29 in Ottawa, claiming that "vaccination, when combined with preventative public health measures, is the most effective tool to reduce the risk of COVID-19 for Canadians and to protect public health."

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