On Wednesday, GoFundMe deactivated the “Freedom Convoy 2022” page for the Canadian #TruckersForFreedom, with a message suggesting it may be violating their platform’s terms of service.
The message on the fundraising site says “This fundraiser is currently paused and under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations. Our team is working 24/7 and doing all we can to protect both organizers and donors. Thank you for your patience.”
Before it was paused, the fundraiser had accumulated $10,102,900 in support of the trucker convoy.
The very same day, a member of the Ottawa City Council, Diane Deans, implored the mayor to call GoFundMe and stop these funds from going to the truckers protesting the vaccine mandate.
“I want to ask the mayor if he will pick up the phone and call GoFundMe in the States directly and demand that they cease and desist sending money to these unlawful protestors,” said Deans prior to the freezing of the fundraiser. “And, perhaps while he’s at it he could pick up the phone and ask the Prime Minister to do the same. We’ve had some conversations about perhaps suing GoFundMe, but legal action takes time, and this is urgent. We need to cut off the pipeline of funding to these people… mercenaries, if you will, that are unlawfully protesting and occupying our communities.”
Ottawa City Councilor Mathieu Fleury also spoke out condemning the GoFundMe, suggesting the money should go towards the policing costs that have been incurred, approximately over $800,000 a day.
On Monday, Fleury Tweeted out a message saying, “This morning I have asked the city manager and city solicitor to immediately launch court proceedings targeting the millions of dollars in funds frozen by GoFundMe so Ottawa taxpayers are not left holding the bag for these protests.”
