Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber wait for the Public Order Emergency Commission to begin on Nov. 1, 2022 in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The criminal trial for two of the most prominent faces of the trucker-led protests that paralyzed the core of the country’s capital for more than three weeks early last year is set to begin Tuesday.
The demonstrations prompted one of the largest police responses in Canadian history and largely led to the invocation of the federal Emergencies Act. In addition to the protests in Ottawa, traffic was blocked at vital border crossings in other parts of the country.
They face charges of mischief, obstructing police and intimidation of Parliament, as well as one charge of counselling for each of those three offences.
In a joint statement released ahead of the trial, lawyers for Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber said “we do not expect this to be the trial of the Freedom Convoy. The central issue will be whether the actions of two of the organizers of a peaceful protest should warrant criminal sanction,” the statement said.
Ms. Lich has worked primarily in the oil and gas sector and is based in Medicine Hat. She is a former member of the governing council of the separatist Maverick Party in Alberta. Mr. Barber is a commercial truck driver from Swift Current, Sask.
Separate from the criminal trial, Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber have also been named in a proposed $300-million class-action lawsuit. It calls for compensation after residents, businesses and workers in downtown Ottawa said they experienced “harms and losses” because of the protests.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), based in Calgary, said it is providing legal counsel for individuals named in the class-action lawsuit, including Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber.
Earlier this year, an organization called the Democracy Fund assumed fundraising responsibility for Ms. Lich’s legal bills for her criminal trial. Their website notes that Ms. Lich retained Lawrence Greenspon, one of Ottawa’s top lawyers, who is “accustomed to handling complex and serious cases” and “worth every penny.”
JCCF president John Carpay said the Justice Centre continues to receive donations for Mr. Barber’s defence and “other Canadians unjustly accused.”
In an interview on a YouTube channel last month, Mr. Barber said the criminal trial amounts to a “precedent-setting case” for anyone in Canada protesting.
The trial for Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber is expected to draw considerable attention, both from their supporters and those who vocalized dismay about the effects of the blockade of downtown Ottawa streets, including businesses that had to shutter their doors.
On Feb. 14, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would invoke the Emergencies Act in response to the protests. The move granted the government extraordinary powers, including the ability to allow banks to freeze personal and corporate bank accounts without court orders.
Mr. Trudeau described the act’s use at the time as a “last resort,” taken in response to prolonged and disruptive demonstrations against pandemic restrictions.
Under provisions of the Emergencies Act, the federal government was required to call a public inquiry. Justice Paul Rouleau, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge, was appointed its commissioner. Public hearings were held last year, beginning in October.
In February of this year, Justice Rouleau released a report stating that Mr. Trudeau’s invocation of the act in response to the protests was appropriate. However, he said in the report: “I do not come to this conclusion easily, as I do not consider the factual basis for it to be overwhelming.”
Justice Rouleau’s report also documented errors made by police and government officials.
Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber were arrested on Feb. 17, 2022, prior to a major police operation to clear streets in the core of the capital after big rigs remained parked for more than three weeks. The Ottawa Police Service had also called for protesters to leave the area. The City of Ottawa had issued a statement of emergency over the protests on Feb. 6.
Ms. Lich’s role in organizing the convoy included launching an online fundraising campaign through platform GoFundMe, where millions of dollars were collected for the protest. GoFundMe later cancelled the campaign and said it would refund all of the money to donors.
This summer, Ms. Lich held events as part of a book tour after the publication of Hold the Line: My Story from the Heart of the Freedom Convoy. “Hold the line” was a message that Ms. Lich relayed to other protesters and supporters during the protest in the event of her arrest.
Publication promotions describe Ms. Lich as the “woman at the heart of the trucker convoy” who is a “passionate organizer; loving mother and grandmother; proud Métis and proud Albertan; and defiant political prisoner, jailed for daring to criticize the government.”
In the book, Ms. Lich describes her experience during the convoy, including her arrest, and said the inquiry proved “we were a grassroots movement of real Canadians who simply wanted to come to the nation’s capital to be heard.”
WINNIPEG – The federal New Democrats have kept a longtime stronghold in the Elmwood-Transcona riding in Winnipeg.
The NDP’s Leila Dance won a close battle over Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds, and says the community has spoken in favour of priorities such as health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was formed in 1988.
The seat became open after three-term member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
A political analyst the NDP is likely relieved to have kept the seat in what has been one of their strongest urban areas.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh worked hard to keep the seat in a tight race.
“He made a number of visits to Winnipeg, so if they had lost this riding it would have been disastrous for the NDP,” Adams said.
The strong Conservative showing should put wind in that party’s sails, Adams added, as their percentage of the popular vote in Elmwood-Transcona jumped sharply from the 2021 election.
“Even though the Conservatives lost this (byelection), they should walk away from it feeling pretty good.”
Dance told reporters Monday night she wants to focus on issues such as the cost of living while working in Ottawa.
“We used to be able to buy a cart of groceries for a hundred dollars and now it’s two small bags. That is something that will affect everyone in this riding,” Dance said.
Liberal candidate Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third,
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say the Liberals have “all sorts of reflections” to make after losing a second stronghold in a byelection in Montreal Monday night.
His comments come as the Liberal cabinet gathers for its first regularly scheduled meeting of the fall sitting of Parliament, which began Monday.
Trudeau’s Liberals were hopeful they could retain the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, but those hopes were dashed after the Bloc Québécois won it in an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP.
Louis-Philippe Sauvé, an administrator at the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics, beat Liberal candidate Laura Palestini by less than 250 votes. The NDP finished about 600 votes back of the winner.
It is the second time in three months that Trudeau’s party lost a stronghold in a byelection. In June, the Conservatives defeated the Liberals narrowly in Toronto-St. Paul’s.
The Liberals won every seat in Toronto and almost every seat on the Island of Montreal in the last election, and losing a seat in both places has laid bare just how low the party has fallen in the polls.
“Obviously, it would have been nicer to be able to win and hold (the Montreal riding), but there’s more work to do and we’re going to stay focused on doing it,” Trudeau told reporters ahead of this morning’s cabinet meeting.
When asked what went wrong for his party, Trudeau responded “I think there’s all sorts of reflections to take on that.”
In French, he would not say if this result puts his leadership in question, instead saying his team has lots of work to do.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet will hold a press conference this morning, but has already said the results are significant for his party.
“The victory is historic and all of Quebec will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa,” Blanchet wrote on X, shortly after the winner was declared.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his party had hoped to ride to a win in Montreal on the popularity of their candidate, city councillor Craig Sauvé, and use it to further their goal of replacing the Liberals as the chief alternative to the Conservatives.
The NDP did hold on to a seat in Winnipeg in a tight race with the Conservatives, but the results in Elmwood-Transcona Monday were far tighter than in the last several elections. NDP candidate Leila Dance defeated Conservative Colin Reynolds by about 1,200 votes.
Singh called it a “big victory.”
“Our movement is growing — and we’re going to keep working for Canadians and building that movement to stop Conservative cuts before they start,” he said on social media.
“Big corporations have had their governments. It’s the people’s time.”
New Democrats recently pulled out of their political pact with the government in a bid to distance themselves from the Liberals, making the prospects of a snap election far more likely.
Trudeau attempted to calm his caucus at their fall retreat in Nanaimo, B.C, last week, and brought former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney on as an economic adviser in a bid to shore up some credibility with voters.
The latest byelection loss will put more pressure on him as leader, with many polls suggesting voter anger is more directed at Trudeau himself than at Liberal policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The New Democrats have declared a federal byelection victory in their Winnipeg stronghold riding of Elmwood—Transcona.
The NDP candidate Leila Dance told supporters in a tearful speech that even though the final results weren’t in, she expected she would see them in Ottawa.
With several polls still to be counted, Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds conceded defeat and told his volunteers that they should be proud of what the Conservatives accomplished in the campaign.
Political watchers had a keen eye on the results to see if the Tories could sway traditionally NDP voters on issues related to labour and affordability.
Meanwhile in the byelection race in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Québécois remained locked in an extremely tight three-way race as the results trickled in slowly.
The Liberal stronghold riding had a record 91 names on the ballot, and the results aren’t expected until the early hours of the morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
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