Bill C-2, a Liberal border security bill, threatens to criminalize businesses and charities that accept cash payments of $10,000 or more, even in smaller transactions. It could serve as a precursor for digital ID and currencies, warn freedom advocates.

"This is similar to Quebec's Bill 54, adopted in March 2024, which empowers police to presume that any person carrying $2,000 or more in cash must have obtained it as the proceeds of crime," warns the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF). "Police can seize the money, and the citizen must prove his or her innocence to get it back."

Criminalizing large cash transactions, even if rare, risks a slippery slope where the government could drastically reduce the legal limit, eventually eliminating cash altogether.

When questioned about the potential for abuses of civil liberties, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, former general counsel for the Canadian Tamil Congress, asserted his lifelong commitment to protecting human rights. "I fundamentally believe we have struck the balance," he claimed, saying the legislation "is essential to maintaining the safety and security of our country."

Meanwhile, the JCCF says that "Restricting the use of cash is a dangerous step towards tyranny and totalitarianism," as cash provides privacy, autonomy, and freedom from government, banks, and corporate surveillance. 

"If we cherish our privacy, we need to defend our freedom to choose cash, in the amount of our choosing. This includes, for example, our right to pay $10,000 cash for a car, or to donate $10,000 (or more) to a charity," said the freedom-oriented group. 

"Law enforcement already has the tools to fight crime," they claimed. "In a free society, violating our right to use cash is not the answer."

The Justice Centre forewarned a central bank digital currency under Prime Minister Mark Carney in a scathing March report, Central Bank Digital Currency.

The report cautions that a cashless economy enables total financial surveillance and government interference, citing the 2022 Freedom Convoy as an example, since all transactions become traceable in a digital system.

In a Globe and Mail column, Carney pushed for financially targeting Convoy organizers and supporters. Over 800 Canadians have been "de-banked" since 2018, including hundreds of freedom advocates, with an estimated $7.8 million in holdings.

The Canadian Bankers Association confessed to freezing bank accounts, including those not on the RCMP's 257-person convoy blacklist.

If Bill C-2 passes, any government agency can simply claim "detecting money laundering, terrorist financing, or sanctions evasion" to target funds, without needing a conviction or proof.

Part 16 of the contentious bill would grant federal officials permanent power to secretly collect and share personal financial data based on mere suspicion, bypassing the need for emergency orders to penalize dissenters financially.

"A crucial lesson emerged: Canadians should always have access to cash," writes Benjamin Klassen, lead author of the report, who worries that programmable CBDCs would allow governments to control Canadians with "built-in rules and constraints."

CBDCs can be programmed to enforce agendas, such as limiting food or gas purchases for environmental goals, or restricting unhealthy food and drinks to promote health.

Carney, a former Bank of Canada (BoC) governor, is a WEF advocate for digital currencies and net-zero policies, who has promoted digital currencies for convenience and inclusivity.

The Bank of Canada stated the decision to proceed with a digital dollar rests with Parliament, though it clarified that it will not eliminate cash. A 2023 central bank survey showed 79% of Canadians oppose CBDCs over growing distrust, privacy and autonomy-related concerns.

"It could usher in a cashless economy, thereby removing access to the intangible but important benefits cash provides," warned the JCCF.

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