The federal government’s emergency orders meant to throttle funding for convoy protests in Canada imposed obligations on practically any institution in the country that handles people’s money.

The orders revealed late Tuesday require them to “determine on a continuing basis whether they are in possession or control of property that is owned, held or controlled” by anyone participating in a blockade or occupation.

On Wednesday, that was still news to some of the people ordered to act.

What the emergency orders do: One set forbids demonstrations that obstruct the movement of people or goods, or interfere with critical infrastructure. A second set forbids financial institutions from transacting with anyone violating the first set.

Who’s covered: Banks, trust companies, crowdfunding platforms, portfolio managers, credit unions, payment processors and more. Insurance companies are allowed to maintain coverage, except policies for vehicles involved in blockades.

What they need to do: Besides stopping transactions with people engaged in illegal protests—freezing their accounts, essentially—financial institutions are required to report to the RCMP or CSIS “without delay” if they have funds belonging to someone they think is involved in such a protest. The Mounties sent a “cryptocurrency alert” to crypto-trading platforms, which The Logic obtained, listing numerous addresses the platforms are barred from dealing with and demanding to be informed of any transaction or proposed transaction involving them.

How they reacted: Protesters’ bank accounts are the obvious big target. Individual banks let their trade association speak for them, and the Canadian Bankers Association issued a statement saying they would comply: “All financial-service providers, including banks, covered by the federal Emergencies Act will need to diligently implement the required measures, as stipulated by the government in the corresponding Emergency Economic Measures Order, which are not expected to impact the vast majority of customers.”

But other players in the financial system seemed taken aback. “This really affects banks, crowdsourcing firms and their payment providers rather than firms like ours,” wrote Peter Kahnert, senior vice-president of corporate communications and marketing at investment firm Raymond James, in an email to The Logic, though securities dealers, portfolio managers and investment counsellors are specifically named in the orders.

Allan Small, an investment advisor in Toronto, said in an interview he doesn’t typically check what clients are going to do with money they withdraw, beyond filling out a standard form with lines like “Buy a car” or “Take a vacation.”

The government’s crackdown “hasn’t really reached the stock market or the investment world,” Small said. He added he hasn’t heard from the government or the larger financial firms he deals with about any new demands.

“I think it’s Big Brother watching us,” Small said, “I think a lot of people would have a problem with that.”