Your money isn’t as safe as you think

The Emergencies Act proved how quickly bank accounts can be weaponized. Alberta must act now to protect its citizens

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When Eva Chipiuk—the Alberta lawyer who famously confronted former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertions at the Emergencies Act inquiry—found out her Royal Bank account was being shut down, it confirmed a chilling truth: those who challenge Ottawa are not safe from retribution.

Chipiuk committed no crime and was not charged with any offence. However, the Montreal-based Royal Bank refused to provide her services, citing an unspecified risk. The message is clear: if you challenge Ottawa, you may risk being treated as an economic non-person. This comes just months before Tamara Lich, an Alberta resident, is expected to be sentenced for standing up against COVID overreach.

The Alberta government cannot ignore these threats against its citizens. There is plenty Ottawa doesn’t like about Alberta and Albertans today. Given that, in a February 2022 Globe and Mail op-ed—written before he became prime minister—Mark Carney described civil protesters as “seditionists,” one doesn’t need much imagination to see how his government could treat Albertans who push for greater control over their future. The province must prepare now to shield its citizens from financial retaliation.

Albertans who think their money is safe if it’s parked at a credit union or ATB, instead of a chartered bank, are mistaken. It isn’t. Under the Criminal Code, the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and the Emergencies Act, Ottawa can force any “financial service provider”—including provincially regulated credit unions—to freeze accounts. For example, when Tamara Lich tried to open an account with ATB—Alberta’s Crown-owned financial institution—she was denied even an appointment.

Events such as these show that it doesn’t take a judge to determine you have run afoul of those laws—only a government that disagrees with you.

Alberta has the tools to defend its citizens, and it should use them. It should start by making ATB and its provincially regulated credit unions fortresses against politically motivated financial punishment. ATB, created in 1938 to shield farmers from the aggressive lending practices of Laurentian bankers, has a distinct status as an arm of the Alberta government. That status can be leveraged today to keep Ottawa at bay by:

• Refocusing ATB on serving Albertans, not advancing trendy corporate agendas.
• Amending the ATB Financial Act to require judicial orders for any account freezes or closures, mandate public reporting of such actions, and enshrine political neutrality to ensure no Albertan is denied service for lawful political activity.
• Preparing to invoke the Sovereignty Act if Ottawa attempts another Emergencies Act-style move, instructing ATB and its credit unions to disregard unconstitutional federal orders unless validated by Alberta courts.
• Creating a Québec-style integrated financial regulator to oversee ATB and Alberta’s provincially regulated credit unions, insulating them from Ottawa’s reach.
• Exploring alternative payment systems to reduce reliance on Ottawa-controlled clearing mechanisms. Payments Canada—which Ottawa controls—could be used as a choke point against Alberta institutions. A provincial or private settlement system would blunt that weapon before it can be deployed.

Finally, Alberta should enact an Alberta Financial Rights Act guaranteeing that no one will be denied financial services and that no account can be frozen or closed without due process in open court.

Ottawa will not take this lying down. It can seek court injunctions, threaten ATB’s and our credit unions’ access to national payment systems, or pass legislation directly targeting provincial Crown corporations. Alberta must anticipate these moves now by drafting constitutional challenges, forging alliances with like-minded provinces, and building backup clearing systems.

When the federal government can freeze your account for giving $50 to the “wrong” cause, you are not a free citizen. You are a subject. The treatment of Tamara Lich and Eva Chipiuk’s debanking is a warning.

Alberta can either wait for the next wave of financial punishments to hit its citizens, or it can act decisively to make ATB and its provincially regulated credit unions fortresses that protect them. Premier Danielle Smith has a unique opportunity to put Alberta first again—and she should take it.

Marco Navarro-Genie is vice-president of research at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and co-author, with Barry Cooper, of Canada’s COVID: The Story of a Pandemic Moral Panic (2023).