“Criminalizing Dissent”

OTTAWA—A lawyer representing Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber argued in court that the Crown can’t seize Barber’s long-haul truck “Big Red,” as the property has been neither seized previously nor subject to a restraint order.

“This is a very strange thing that the Crown is trying to do. It makes no sense within the statutory scheme,” lawyer Brendan Miller said in an Ottawa court on Sept. 12.

A key figure in the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” who’s seeking asylum in the United States is being sought on a Canada-wide warrant after he failed to appear in court in Ottawa to face criminal charges for his role in the protest.

James Bauder, who left Canada this summer, is facing charges including mischief and intimidation. He claims he’s being politically persecuted and said he’s raised nearly $13,000 online to cover his legal fees.

Earlier this week, Bauder missed a Superior Court date in Ottawa, prompting a judge to order his arrest.

Lucy Connolly has accused Sir Keir Starmer of holding her as a political prisoner in her first interview following her release from jail.

Mrs Connolly, 42, a childminder from Northampton, said it was “bizarre” she had spent more than a year behind bars for posting a tweet inciting racial hatred in the wake of the Southport murders.

Mrs Connolly, a mother of two, explained she was “upset and angry beyond belief” and that a “red mist” had clouded her judgment. She accepted the post on X was not her “finest moment” but insisted she did not “advocate violence”.

Prosecutions for stirring up “racial hatred” through social media posts have reached record levels in Britain, triggering calls for urgent reform of the law amid growing fears for freedom of expression.

Ministry of Justice figures show a dramatic rise over the past decade. In 2015, just one person was convicted of the offence under the Public Order Act. By 2024, that number had surged to 44.

Almost a third of all convictions in the past ten years were recorded last year alone, following nationwide unrest in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

Freedom Convoy protester Evan Blackman is back in court to defend his presence at the 2022 protest and challenge the freezing of his bank accounts.

According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), the Ontario Court of Justice will hold a retrial for Blackman, who was charged with mischief and obstruction for his participation in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests and subsequently had his bank accounts frozen.