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.”
OTTAWA – The Conservatives have asked Canada’s lobbying commissioner to investigate whether it violates ethics rules for the prime minister to make Mark Carney his own personal adviser.
The Liberals announced at their recent caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., that Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor, had been appointed chair of a task force on economic growth and adviser to the Liberal leader.
They said Carney will help shape the party’s policies for the next election, and will report to Justin Trudeau and the Liberal platform committee.
Tory ethics critic Michael Barrett says in a letter to the commissioner of lobbying that Carney is not registered to lobby federally, but his corporate positions put him in several potential conflicts of interest.
Carney is the chair of Brookfield Asset Management, which is in talks with the government to launch a $50-billion investment fund with support from Ottawa and Canadian pensions.
When asked about Carney’s potential conflict of interest in the House, the finance minister has repeatedly accused the Conservatives of mudslinging and says the Liberals are fortunate to have the advice of world renowned experts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2024.
OTTAWA – Government business has been put on indefinite pause in the House of Commons and the Conservatives say it will stay that way until the Liberals hand over documents related to misspent government dollars.
Last week, Speaker Greg Fergus ruled that the government “clearly did not fully comply” with an order from the House to provide documents related to a now-defunct foundation responsible for doling out hundreds of millions of federal dollars for green technology projects.
The House has been seized by an indefinite debate on the issue ever since, and Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer says it will continue until the government hands over the unredacted documents.
The government abolished Sustainable Development Technology Canada after both the auditor general released a scathing report about the organization’s management.
Liberal House Leader Karina Gould says ordering the production of documents to be handed over to the RCMP blurs the lines between Parliament and police.
The Liberals have had to postpone a vote on government tax reform twice while the debate drags on in the House.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2024.
FREDERICTON – The New Brunswick Liberals say that if elected, teachers will no longer need parental consent before they can use the preferred first names and pronouns of transgender students under 16.
Liberal Leader Susan Holt made the announcement today as she released her party’s platform.
The Liberals’ promise is a response to a reform imposed in 2023 by the Progressive Conservative government under Premier Blaine Higgs, who said parents must be informed if their children are questioning their gender identity.
Higgs’s changes were criticized across the country, including by the prime minister, but polling suggests the policy is popular in the province.
Meanwhile, the Tory leader promised today that if re-elected his party would introduce legislation forcing people into drug treatment if authorities deem they “pose a threat to themselves or others.”
Holt says the province doesn’t have resources to force people into treatment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.
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