It's worth looking at who gets unbanked and what they do to deserve it
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Summary
A prominent Canadian civil rights lawyer, Eva Chipiak, has had her bank account frozen, or in fact, as we described it in our story this morning, she has been given notice to find a new bank. According to the correspondence from the Royal Bank of Canada, the situation was triggered by a Bitcoin transaction, and if transactions appear suspicious, then banks are actually required by law to take action. On the other hand, lots of people buy and sell Bitcoin, so do they all get investigated? Was that really all it was? And was it nothing to do with Ms. Chipiak's public support for the Freedom Convoy and her well-attested political views?
Transcript
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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is Thursday, July the 24th, and welcome to Hannaford.
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I'm quite concerned to read that a prominent civil rights lawyer,
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Or in fact, as we described it in our story this morning,
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Now, it's not unheard of for banks to fire clients.
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However, when somebody like high-profile lawyer Eva Chipiup gets unbanked,
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it should catch your attention as it caught mine.
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The details are somewhat opaque and protected by client confidentiality.
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However, according to the correspondence from the Royal Bank of Canada that Ms. Chipiup released,
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the situation was triggered by a Bitcoin transaction.
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And if transactions appear suspicious, yes, banks are actually required by law to take action.
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On the other hand, lots of people buy and sell Bitcoin, so do they all get investigated?
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And was it nothing to do with Miss Chipiot's public support for the Freedom Convoy
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and her well-attested counter-establishment political views.
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The bank just says the transaction was beyond what they call their risk tolerance,
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After all, people are allowed to switch banks, and do.
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Two years ago, on the other side of the Atlantic, though,
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the private bank, Kut's, an ancient and estimable institution in banking in Great Britain,
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dumped Nigel Farage, the controversial leader of Great Britain's UK Independence Party.
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Farage was a prominent, ferocious even, critic of the British government and of the World Economic
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Forum. Eventually, Kutz found a loophole in their agreement and showed Farage the door. So yes, it
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happens. But then when you're talking about a controversial politician getting unbanked,
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and an Edmonton lawyer who takes an interest in people who governments don't like,
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and speaks up for them. When people like that are shown the door by a bank,
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there is a consistent look and feel. So are Chipiok's banking troubles just about Bitcoin?
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Do all lawyers who buy Bitcoin face scrutiny? Or is a commercial bank in Canada, one that
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cooperated with the government of Canada in freezing bank accounts of convoy protesters,
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and the people who donated to the convoy cause wanting to send a message.
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It seems they are operating within their rights.
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But in 2022, they weren't on the side of feisty people picking bones with their government.
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Shepiat is feisty, after all. I had a look today at her ex-posting as she reviewed the
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events of the week. Looking at this leech barber sentencing hearing, she said on her
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ex-posting that the lengthy sentences demanded by the prosecution, seven years and eight years,
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were cruel and unusual punishment for a charge of mischief.
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Leach and Barber were associated with a non-violent protest
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how did a protest resulting in minor criminal charges
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turn into the threat of nearly a decade in prison.
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Chipiot also commented that the Federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
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a bureaucratic nightmare, and frankly, a fraud on the people it was supposed to help.
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Years later, she writes, most injured Canadians still haven't seen a cent. And once again,
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she adds, that the RBC froze her bank accounts, citing vague risk concerns.
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They did it once before, in 2022, she said. The year of the convoy.
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This is not about whether you supported the protest or not. It is about principle. It is
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about fairness and process, the rule of law, and the kind of Canada we want to live in.
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What kind of country is this becoming, and are we okay with it?" she asks.
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Good questions for all of us, but not perhaps ones to bring up with your bank manager.
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Ladies and gentlemen, for the Western Standard, I'm Nigel Hannaford.