LIVE UPDATES: Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich's trial continues in Ottawa
The drawn-out trial of Tamara Lich and co-accused Chris Barber is set to resume this morning as two of the most prominent faces of the Freedom Convoy return to court in Ottawa.
Lich and Barber have been charged with mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation for their roles in the peaceful anti-mandate demonstrations that took place in Ottawa in early 2022.
The Crown finally wrapped up its closing arguments last week in a legal saga that began for Lich approximately two-and-a-half years ago after her first arrest during the Freedom Convoy.
Today's proceedings are expected to begin with submissions from Barber's lawyer Diane Magas as both sides eye the conclusion of the trial.
Mark Joseph, senior litigation counsel at the Canadian charity The Democracy Fund, will be providing live coverage of today's proceedings.
Follow along below for live updates:
7/ Ms. Magas says there is no active inducement here. The Court notes that Wilson’s words are careful: he says do not come if your purpose is to block infrastructure, etc.
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
She says the Crown’s position is that the amount of protesters and length of time that roadways were…
6/ Ms. Magas turns to counseling mischief and obstruct police.
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
There is no actus reus, as a principal, of metaphorically standing shoulder to shoulder after his arrest.
She says Barber always encouraged compliance and peaceful protest. Barber, when arrested, was compliant and…
Ms. Magas then turns to the intimidation count. She says the mens rea of the intimidation has to be intending to compel the citizens to block the streets of Ottawa - not to pressure the government to drop the mandates - but the Crown has argued the latter, which is not proper.…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
4/ Ms. Magas suggests that, considering the context and the totality of the evidence raises a reasonable doubt. The Court does not understand how this goes to Barber’s mens rea. Ms. Magas says Barber did not want the truckers to honk: only if police riot approach and attempt to…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
3/ Ms. Magas then argues that there is a reasonable doubt about the existence of the subjective mens rea with respect to the counseling charge. She says when Barber says honk the horns, he makes it conditional on certain things occurring (eg: when police approach in the context…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
2/ Ms. Magas suggests that there is a doubt about whether we have the entirety of the exchange: and there appears to be a gap here. It is not the responsibility of the defence to establish a complete record: the Crown should establish this to show there can be only one meaning,…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
1/ We’re back from the lunch break. Ms. Magas continues her submissions.
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
She mentions the actus reus of the offence in the context of social media posting. She says case law requires the entirely of the social media exchange because additional tweets may change the context and,…
10/ Ms. Magas notes that in other cases, where the evidence does not include the entirety of the statement that is said to comprise the offence of counseling mischief - which is the problem here - the Crown cannot be said to have proven the actus reus.
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
We break for lunch -…
9/ Ms. Magas says Barber then texts officer Bach asking for the truth of a potential police operation. She says she is not aware of any kind of sweep. Ms. Magas says the context here is there is a build up of fear. She says this assists the interpretation of an “exception of an…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
8/ We’re back. Ms. Magas continues. She addresses each count against her client. She seeks to raise a reasonable doubt. With respect to breach of court order against honking, she says there are problems with this charge. She plays a video by Barber about the trucker horns where…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
7/ We briefly adjourn: back at noon.
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
6/ She refers to Justice Mosley who found that the invocation of the emergency was improper. She mentions that though a defendant can be found liable for mischief if they participate in a group mischief, it must be more than mere presence, and the law must accommodate lawful…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
5/ Nor is there evidence of an agreement to be violent after their arrest. Additionally, there is no evidence of violence during the protests. The videos on the 18th and 19th are peaceful. There is no evidence of tumult.
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
She says there is no evidence that Barber was an aider or…
4/ She goes through case law showing that tumult requires violent conduct and/or words. The Crown says there was a meeting of the minds to desire or promote violence or the threat of violence. But there is no evidence of violence as at February 17th: they were in jail. Before…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
3/ She turns to the Carter application. With respect to unlawful assembly, she says the Crown is suggesting there is an agreement between the defendants here. She reminds the Court of case law re: G20 protests - the law should allow for peaceful assembly. The offence of unlawful…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
2/ Court is in session again. Ms. Magas rises to continue her submissions on behalf of Barber.
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
She references the “thumbs up” her client gave to honking a mentioned by the Crown. She shows a still of Barber’s “thumbs up.” She then shows the video. She says he says “hello,…
1/ Welcome to Day 42 of the Tamara Lich and Chris Barber trial. I’m Mark Joseph - senior litigation counsel at TDF - and I’ll be providing live daily coverage and updates. We have a late start today but we’re expected to continue with submissions from Diane Magas - counsel for…
— The Democracy Fund (@TDF_Can) August 19, 2024
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