Canada: GoFundMe cancels 'Freedom Convoy' fundraiser for truckers after violation of rules

GoFundMe, an online fundraising platform, has announced on Friday that the 'Freedom Convoy' fundraiser has been officially canceled and the platform will withdraw millions of dollars raised for truck drivers protesting vaccination requirements in Canada. GoFundMe stated that the leftover $9 million in donations will be sent to genuine and established charities picked by the convoy organisers and validated by the site -- Daily Mail reported. 

The fundraiser, which gathered $10 million Canadian dollars ($8 million USD) in favour of truckers opposing COVID-19 vaccination mandates, was found to have broken the crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe's rules of service, which forbids the encouragement of violence and harassment. 

GoFundMe supports peaceful protests

A statement posted late Friday night by the company stated, “GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created. We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity,” Daily Mail reported. 

This announcement came just a day after Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau noted that a military intervention to the demonstrations was "not in the cards right now," and the House of Commons Public Safety, as well as National Security Committee, asked GoFundMe to explain how these donations would not be utilised to promote extremism and hate.  

Furthermore, a number of authorities have proposed that the platform be sued in order to prevent further monies from being released, BBC reported. The demonstrations began over a week ago, over a law requiring COVID-19 vaccines to travel the US-Canada border. 

On Wednesday, a message on the Freedom Convoy donations website stated that the fundraiser has been currently paused and "under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations," as per BBC.  

Meanwhile, GoFundMe stated that it has been tracking the fundraiser to verify that the money generated from over 120,000 donors will go to the right people. Following GoFundMe's move, Freedom Convoy organiser Tamara Lich stated on Friday night that they had partnered with GiveSendGo, another online site, to continue fundraising for the truckers, Daily Mail reported.  

In addition to this, several of the donations, according to Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly, were from the United States. Other donations, according to CBC News, said they were from the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland. 

The Freedom Convoy was formed in reaction to a federal vaccination mandate enacted by the Canadian government on January 15th, which forces unvaccinated truckers coming from the US border to be quarantined. Other Covid-19 limitations, which supporters see as government overreach, are also being pushed for removal. 

(Image: Twitter/ @INCINDIA/AP)