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Trial begins for Canada ‘Freedom Convoy’ organisers

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Lawyer Keith Wilson and Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber, Tamara Lich, and Tom Marazzo arrive at the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada November 2, 2022.Reuters

The trial for the leaders of the so-called Freedom Convoy protest that gridlocked Canada’s capital for weeks in 2022 began on Tuesday.

Tamara Lich and Chris Barber each face counts of mischief and obstructing police.

The two were part of a group that led a convoy of lorries to Ottawa to protest against Covid-19 measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.

Experts say the outcome of the trial could reverberate beyond the courts.

The main charge that Ms Lich and Mr Barber will have to defend is that of mischief, defined under Canadian law as the wilful destruction, damaging, obstruction, or interference of property.

Joao Velloso, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, said legally, the case overall is quite ordinary.

But he anticipates an abnormal level of attention given its tie to the Freedom Convoy protests and the political tensions around issues like vaccine mandates and freedom of assembly.

The outcome of the case will be viewed differently depending on where people stand on these issues and their overall trust in the justice system, he said.

“In that sense, [the case] is bigger than the law itself.”

Judge Heather Perkins-McVey requested the largest room in Ottawa’s courthouse to allow as many spectators given the heavy public interest.

The February 2022 protests were initially sparked by a federal vaccine mandate for lorry drivers crossing the US-Canada border.

Convoys of some 400 heavy trucks and other vehicles descended on Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and blockaded city streets around parliament for three weeks.

City officials deemed it an “occupation”.

Separate protests also blocked a key US-Canada border crossing near Detroit, angering the White House and disrupting the flow of goods. Other border points were blocked in Alberta and Manitoba.

The protests received international attention and inspired similar copycat demonstrations abroad.

They came to an end after Mr Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act – the first time the Canadian law has been used – which allowed police to clear the streets and the government to impose bans on public assembly and freeze the bank accounts of protesters.

Ms Lich and Mr Barber were arrested shortly afterwards.

Paul Daly, Chair in Administrative Law and Governance at the University of Ottawa, said a key question will be to what extent the pair were responsible for the disruption experienced by Ottawa residents.

Many complained of excessive noise, daily disruptions and instances of harassments during the protest.

 

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The trial “pits the free speech and free association rights of convoy organisers against the public interest in keeping city streets liveable for residents,” Mr Daly said.

In Tuesday’s opening remarks, Crown prosecutor Tim Radcliffe accused the two of directing people to Ottawa and asking them to stay and “hold the line”.

He argued their actions had “crossed the line, and in so doing they committed multiple crimes”.

Lawrence Greenspon, Ms Lich’s lawyer, said in a statement to the BBC that “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 organisers of a peaceful protest should warrant criminal sanction.”

Still, during a recent book event, Ms Lich said she believes the outcome of the trial will set a precedent for other protesters awaiting trial.

“That’s why I’m not going down without a fight and we will come out swinging,” she said in July.

Crown prosecutors have argued that, if Ms Lich is found guilty, she could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

But during a July bail hearing, an Ontario court judge said that due to this “very unusual case, there is significant uncertainty about the degree to which she will be held culpable for the assortment of alleged bad acts committed over many weeks by various persons in a crowd of thousands”.

Both Ms Lich and Mr Barber, along with other named organisers, are facing a separate C$300m ($222m; £175m) civil lawsuit brought against them by Ottawa residents over the disruptions in the city.

The trial of Ms Lich and Mr Barber is set for 13 days, followed by another six days in October.

Pat King, another organiser of the protests, is facing a separate trial in November.

 

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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