Tamara Lich’s defence team says there’s no evidence to support that she and a fellow Freedom Convoy organizer should be viewed as co-conspirators in court, because their actions were not illegal.
The Crown finished its case against Ms. Lich and Chris Barber on Nov. 20.
An Ontario tribunal has initiated a new hearing for a Windsor police officer appealing his conviction and penalty for a donation to the Freedom Convoy in 2022. A defence lawyer said the prior conviction was “unduly harsh” and disregarded the officer’s freedom of expression.
In the arena of justice, it is far too easy to exaggerate when we see injustice occurring, and we might be prone to resorting to hyperbole when we assess innocent people to be the victims of unjust charges and a ravenous, perhaps politically motivated, justice system.
But it is difficult to attend the trial of Freedom Convoy personalities Tamara Lich and Chris Barber and not marvel at how all of this has come to pass.
The judge in the criminal trial of two “Freedom Convoy” organizers is expected to deliver a ruling Friday about the admissibility of internal police documents as evidence.
Crown prosecutors and the Ottawa Police Service have argued the heavily redacted documents, which include emails and information about a software update for officers’ cellphones, are irrelevant or protected by solicitor-client privilege.
The criminal trial of two “Freedom Convoy” organizers is expected to resume with legal sparring between the defence and Ottawa police in an attempt to gain access to internal police communications.
The trial was stalled last week when the lawyers for Tamara Lich and Chris Barber asked for internal emails about the evidence that police disclosed in the case.
Seven weeks into the trial of Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, the court still hasn’t heard from all witnesses.
Crown prosecutors decided to stay a bail violation charge against Lich on Oct. 23 in an attempt to limit the scope of the court and reduce ongoing delays in the trial. With the Crown’s argument dragging on nearly twice as long as expected, prosecutors have chosen to drop the bail violation charge to focus on the other charges Lich is facing.
OTTAWA – The Crown has stayed a criminal charge against “Freedom Convoy” organizer Tamara Lich that alleged she violated her bail conditions last summer.
Lich was released on bail in early 2022 after spending more than two weeks in jail following her arrest in the final days of the protest.
We have Islamists celebrating mass murder & calling for a genocide of Jews in our streets but Trudeau serves up a show trial of radical horn honking revolutionaries.
Measures with the stated purpose of preventing discrimination are increasing in cities across Canada, but some say they put undue restrictions on free expression.
Waterloo, Ontario, added a section to one of its bylaws this month to ban speech on public property that makes others “feel harassed.” Calgary has a similar bylaw against causing “offence or humiliation” anywhere in public.
In recent years, Edmonton and London, Ontario, have also passed such bylaws.
Ottawa resident Paul Jorgenson felt “threatened” during “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations in winter 2022, he said in testimony today at the criminal trial of two protest organizers.
Five residents who have appeared as witnesses in the trial described a scene of overwhelming noise from truck horns and engines, and the persistent smell of diesel fumes during the protest in their testimony.
Jorgenson said that noise and odour emitted from idling vehicles caused him to be unable to work from his downtown home, so he left the city for more than a week.
The young public servant thrust into the spotlight when she agreed to become the lead plaintiff in a multi-million-dollar proposed class action against Freedom Convoy organizers is testifying in the criminal trial of two of them: Tamara Lich and Chris Barber.
Zexi Li’s testimony came on the 17th day of trial for Lich and Barber, who are each charged with mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, intimidation and obstructing police for their role in the weeks-long protest in January and February of 2022.
The mayors of Vancouver and Toronto characterized pro-Palestinian rallies in their cities this week as celebrations of Hamas’s recent terrorism in Israel and publicly called on local police to investigate any incidents of hate speech. Federal Conservatives went one step further and demanded police charge anyone in Canada who is cheerleading the recent killing of more than 1,300 in Israel.
Canada blacklists groups it designates as terrorists, including Hamas, allowing the federal government to seize any Canadian assets of the group and to pursue terrorism charges against its members. But it is not a crime in Canada to glorify acts of terrorism.
HONK HONK = NAZIS in Canada – That tells me this law is a bad idea.
In Berlin, pro-Hamas Muslim refuses to remove his Palestinian scarf. Arrested and scarf seized. There are around 250 arrests in Germany. pic.twitter.com/cYdVJgFull
— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) October 14, 2023
Testifying at the criminal trial of Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber on Oct. 13, several Ottawa residents said they were harassed by protesters for wearing masks outside.
“I didn’t feel safe. I was getting comments and insults. I was wearing a mask, because we were supposed to be wearing a mask at the time, and because of that, that would attract attention. So I would just try to avoid any run-ins as much as possible,” testified Chantel Biro, who owns a women’s clothing store on Sussex Drive near the Byward Market in downtown Ottawa.
OTTAWA – The sanctuary at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in downtown Ottawa was “brutally altered” during the “Freedom Convoy,” the church’s administrator told the criminal trial of two of the protest’s organizers on Thursday.
Vivian Leir told the court she was overwhelmed by the trucks surrounding the church when big rigs and other vehicles arrived in Ottawa to protest COVID-19 public health measures last year.
Crown lawyers intend on calling Ottawa residents impacted by what became known as the Freedom Convoy to testify in the criminal trial of two of the protest’s organizers, after the court ruled it would permit their testimony.
Residents are expected to start testifying Thursday morning.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled Wednesday that residents and business owners can testify in the trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, who are charged with mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, intimidation and obstructing police for their role in the weeks-long protest in January and February of 2022.
OTTAWA — The evidence put forward by the Crown and defence in the criminal trial of two prominent “Freedom Convoy” organizers is so similar, it reflects something of a Rorschach test for how people feel about the massive protest, said criminologist Michael Kempa.
The trial is set to reconvene Wednesday after a two and a half week break, and has so far focused largely on the social media posts of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. The two are co-accused for their role in organizing and allegedly orchestrating the events that unfolded in the streets of Ottawa in early 2022.
