Freedom Convoy organizer accuses Crown lawyer of deliberately leaking personal data, alleges 'unfair invasion of privacy'

In an affidavit filed in court last week, Assistant Crown Attorney Moiz Karimjee commented on the cellphone records he asked for that highlight communications between convoy leaders Chris Barber and Tamara Lich.

Freedom Convoy organizer accuses Crown lawyer of deliberately leaking personal data, alleges 'unfair invasion of privacy'
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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A Crown lawyer is condemning allegations that he deliberately released personal cell phone data belonging to an organizer of the Freedom Convoy, who argues they should drop his criminal charges over an "unfair" invasion of privacy.

In an affidavit filed in court last week, Assistant Crown Attorney Moiz Karimjee commented on the cellphone records he asked for that highlight communications between convoy leaders Chris Barber and Tamara Lich. The court briefly made those records available to the public, with the media reporting on some contents. 

After realizing this, Karimjee helped Barber's defence lawyer get a publication ban and sealing order to keep the communications private. According to his affidavit, he did not know they had Barber's personal and business-related messages before requesting those records.

"I was only interested in communications between Lich and Barber," said Karimjee's affidavit. 

"I did not expect all the text messages on Chris Barber's phone would be attached to the report. Therefore, I did not vet or review every page of the documents before filing them."

Karimjee received the records last summer after a police search of Barber's cell phone. He filed them for a bail hearing involving Lich after law enforcement arrested her for breaching the conditions of her release. They allowed Lich to be released on bail as Barber's co-accused in the case.

For their roles in the "Freedom Convoy" occupation in downtown Ottawa last winter, they are charged with mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to break the law and intimidation.

Karimjee said he did not provide the phone records to anyone outside the court system, including the media.

Barber's lawyer, Diane Magas, is pushing for the court to drop his charges without a guilty or not guilty finding. She alleged "abuse of the process" because the public disclosure violated her client's constitutional right to privacy.

In an argument attached to the affidavit, Dallas Mack, the deputy Crown attorney at the Ottawa courthouse, said the court should drop Barber's abuse of process motion. 

Mack called the disclosure of the entire data trove "inadvertent." He confirmed Karimjee only sought the communications between Barber and Lich, which he considered relevant to the Crown's case.

Karimjee did not deliberately disclose the personal messages to "gain an advantage" in the case, according to Mack, who disagreed the disclosure violated his right to privacy. 

Mack also said the Charter of Rights and Freedoms section does not apply to this case, as any harm caused would not meet the required threshold of "serious psychological harm that would breach his security of the person" if the disclosure did violate his Charter Rights.

On top of that, Mack said the remedy — the imposition of a publication ban and sealing order — is enough to address any privacy concerns.

He also noted Barber and his lawyer included the "very same" cell phone records in their abuse of process application that again became available to the public until the Crown flagged the issue.

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