4 ms·

I'm really happy to see that many people from many places on the political landscape see "debanking" as a line that should not be crossed. A great point I over

by api 5y ago

I'm really happy to see that many people from many places on the political landscape see "debanking" as a line that should not be crossed. A great point I overheard recently was that this precedent is likely to be used in Canada against indigenous peoples protesting resource extraction and other incursions onto their land. Now a blockade can be a "terrorist act," etc., and their finances can be frozen among other things. This power is not just going to be used against some wacky antivax truckers this one time and then forgotten about. I dislike the term "financial deplatforming" quite a bit as it minimizes the severity of freezing someone's assets. This isn't like being kicked off a media platform. Having your assets frozen doesn't just deprive you of your livelihood but also prevents you from defending yourself since lawyers cost money. It's one step short of imprisonment. It's also being done by the government. Get kicked off a private platform by the owners and you can just go elsewhere. That's not the case if the government is seizing your assets and also says its illegal for anyone else to do business with you.

sinyug 5y ago
> I'm really happy to see that many people from many places on the political landscape see "debanking" as a line that should not be crossed. It depends on the politics of the people involved. The Obama DOJ executed Operation Choke Point nearly a decade back.[1] > Critics of the operation accuse it of bypassing due process; the government is pressuring the financial industry to cut off the companies' access to banking services including access to capital, without first having shown that the targeted companies are violating the law. Critics also say that "it's a thinly veiled ideological attack on industries the Obama administration doesn't like, such as gun sellers and coal producers." [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Choke_Point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Choke_Point
commandlinefan 5y ago
> likely to be used in Canada against indigenous peoples Actually the emergency powers declaration specifically excludes indigenous people - that is, they can protest, but others can’t.
- radford-neal 5y ago
  I think this is a misinterpretation. The exemption applies only to the new regulations regarding entry to the country, probably because there are some cross-border reserves. It is, however, very likely that these new powers will be applied selectively, not according to how disruptive protesters are, but according to whether their message is congenial to those in power.
  - api 5y ago
    Canada is almost a petrostate. It’s likely that oil and gas projects will be considered congenial to those in power.

by api 5y ago

sinyug 5y ago

> I'm really happy to see that many people from many places on the political landscape see "debanking" as a line that should not be crossed. It depends on the politics of the people involved. The Obama DOJ executed Operation Choke Point nearly a decade back.[1] > Critics of the operation accuse it of bypassing due process; the government is pressuring the financial industry to cut off the companies' access to banking services including access to capital, without first having shown that the targeted companies are violating the law. Critics also say that "it's a thinly veiled ideological attack on industries the Obama administration doesn't like, such as gun sellers and coal producers." [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Choke_Point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Choke_Point

commandlinefan 5y ago

> likely to be used in Canada against indigenous peoples Actually the emergency powers declaration specifically excludes indigenous people - that is, they can protest, but others can’t.

radford-neal 5y ago
I think this is a misinterpretation. The exemption applies only to the new regulations regarding entry to the country, probably because there are some cross-border reserves. It is, however, very likely that these new powers will be applied selectively, not according to how disruptive protesters are, but according to whether their message is congenial to those in power.
- api 5y ago
  Canada is almost a petrostate. It’s likely that oil and gas projects will be considered congenial to those in power.