What’s Going on in Canada Could Affect Your Finances

For the past several weeks, truckers opposed to Canada’s COVID vaccine mandates tied up Ottawa with protests. The Canadian government refused to recognize the legitimacy of their grievances, and had gotten fed up with the truckers remaining in the capital city. And now the government used force to enforce its will, get the inconvenient truckers out of its way, and ensure that it prevents another protest.

One way that the Canadian government has done so is by evoking the Emergencies Act, a law that was designed to be used in cases of national emergency. The last time its legislative predecessor, the War Measure Act, was used was in 1970, during a wave of separatist violence in Quebec. And now a mere protest is being used to invoke extraordinary measures that essentially allow Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to govern by decree.

One of the things Trudeau has tried to do is cut off sources of funding for the truckers. If he can keep them from being able to buy food, fuel, and other necessities they need, he hopes he can starve them of resources.

To that end the Canadian government has ordered the financial accounts of those organizing the protest to be frozen. But it doesn’t end there. Anyone involved with or associated with the protests could see their accounts frozen. And popular online crowdfunding sites are being ordered by the Canadian government to freeze funds that have been donated by others in support of the truckers.

If this were Vladimir Putin doing this in Russia, Xi Jinping doing this in Hong Kong, or Alexander Lukashkenko doing this in Belarus, Western media would be up in arms about how oppressive, totalitarian, or undemocratic this is. But because this is a Western country with a young and attractive leader, and because the media supports that leader’s narrative, we hear no condemnation at all in mainstream media.

That’s dangerous on many levels. Legislation that was intended to allow the government to combat terrorism or foreign invasion is now being used against protesters who disagree with the government. And it seems that the Canadian government may even try to take action against Americans who have donated to the truckers.

How Canada’s Actions Affect You

This is a dangerous precedent that is being set, and one that every American should be up in arms about. The US government has the same types of tools at its disposal, and with the current administration and its views on COVID vaccines, it’s not inconceivable to think that anyone who falls afoul of the dominant narrative here could suffer the same fate.

This incident serves as a sobering reminder that the government has extraordinary powers available when it decides it needs them, and it doesn’t matter whether what you think you’re doing is legal or not. If the government suddenly decides that it doesn’t like what you’re doing, your financial well-being could suffer.

Despite the trucker protest being wound down by authorities, Prime Minister Trudeau insists that he still needs the powers of the Emergencies Act in order to do his job. And it looks like Parliament is going to give him the authority to go ahead. There’s no telling how far he will push in his quest to defeat those who disagree with him. Americans had better hope that our government isn’t taking notes and making plans to do the same thing.

Protect Your Wealth

The key then is to take steps to protect your wealth. We’ve all seen how easy it is for financial accounts to be frozen. All it takes is for the government to snap its fingers and suddenly every financial firm falls right into line. If 100% of your wealth is held in financial accounts that you access remotely or online, your wealth is similarly at risk.

That’s why it’s more important than ever to diversify your assets and ensure that you aren’t at risk of being canceled by the government. Leaving 100% of your assets within the mainstream financial system, where they are at the mercy of the government’s good graces, could mean that you’re playing with fire.

Many people have decided to protect themselves and their assets by buying gold. As a physical asset, gold offers stability and security that you just don’t get with an online bank balance. Not only that, but physical gold that you can hold in your hand is going to be a lot more difficult to seize if the government decides to freeze the assets of people it deems to be deplorables.

There are many ways to invest in gold, each of which has benefits and drawbacks depending on your particular financial situation. Many investors have chosen to invest in gold through a gold IRA, which gives them the ability to invest in physical gold coins or bars while still enjoying the same tax advantages as any other tax-advantaged retirement account.

With a gold IRA, you can roll over or transfer assets from a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar retirement account into a gold investment tax-free. That allows you to protect the assets you have already accumulated over the course of your career by moving them into gold. And when you decide to take a distribution, you can take it either in cash or in gold.

Of course, if you want to just go ahead and buy gold, you can do that too. Purchases of gold coins or bars can be made at any time if you have cash, bank accounts, or equivalent assets that you want to protect. Aside from just protecting against the prospects of a financial freeze, owning physical gold can also help protect your cash or cash equivalent holdings against inflation that continues to rise every month.

Since gold traditionally has performed well during times of high inflation, such as during the 1970s stagflation when its annualized gains were over 30%, gold is once again coming back into favor as inflation rises. And now you can put it to work for you too.

Don’t wait until you feel the negative effects of inflation, or until your financial accounts are frozen by the government, before you start defending your wealth. Take action today to safeguard your savings and ensure that your hard-earned money is there for you when you need it most.