A prosecutor said Wednesday she is seeking stiff sentences for “Freedom Convoy” leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber because of the broad community harm caused by the three-week 2022 protest in Ottawa’s downtown core.
Lich and Barber were both convicted of mischief in April for their key roles in the convoy protest, which occupied downtown Ottawa for three weeks beginning in late January 2022 to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic measures.
The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber, who was also convicted of counselling others to disobey a court order.
Diane Magas, Barber’s lawyer, called the Crown’s sentencing proposal “cruel and unusual.” She referred the judge to several mischief sentences emerging from the massive protests that attended the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit — including one six-month sentence for a person who pleaded guilty to smashing windows in two police vehicles.
Lich’s attorney Lawrence Greenspon has not yet presented his submissions.
Barber attended court virtually Wednesday due to the sudden death of one of his parents, while Lich is attending in person.
The convoy protest ended after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time ever. The convoy was cleared out of Ottawa’s downtown core in a three-day police operation that began on Feb. 18.
The Crown is calling for a longer sentence for Barber because he was also convicted of counselling others to disobey a court order related to an injunction against protesters honking truck horns. Lich was not charged with that offence.
Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said in her April decision that she found Lich and Barber guilty of mischief because they routinely encouraged people to join or remain at the protest, despite knowing the adverse effects it was having on downtown residents and businesses.
Crown prosecutor Siobahn Wetscher said she is seeking these sentences because of what Lich and Barber did, not because of their political beliefs.
Wetscher said that while Lich and Barber may have come to Ottawa with noble intentions, they continued to encourage people to take part in the protests even when it became impossible for them to ignore the effect it was having on downtown residents and businesses.
Justice Perkins-McVey said it’s hard to draw comparisons between the G20 protests and the convoy protest because the crimes in Toronto were “old-fashioned mischief.”
She said that if someone smashes a $400 window, the damage has a tangible cost, while the damages from the convoy protest are less tangible. She said this makes for a difficult sentencing decision, one that she does not take lightly.
Magas also referred to the sentencing of fellow “Freedom Convoy” organizer Pat King for mischief and disobeying a court order in February.
The Crown sought a sentence of 10 years in prison for King but he was sentenced to three months of house arrest, 100 hours of community service at a food bank or men’s shelter and a year of probation.
He received nine months credit for time served before his conviction.
Wetscher said that while the protest was not violent, it was not peaceful. She read a summary of victim impact statements that include one from an employee of a downtown Ottawa church who talked about still feeling ill at the sight of large trucks with Canadian flags.
That drew some chuckles from the gallery.
Wetscher added that the Ottawa Police Service has reported policing the protest cost $55 million, while the City of Ottawa pegged its own convoy-related costs at over $7 million.
The prosecutor said that while Lich and Barber aren’t responsible for every dollar spent because of the protest, those cost figures give the judge a sense of the protest’s impact.
Dozens of people have filled the courtroom to watch the proceedings.
Two days have been set aside for the parties to present their sentencing submissions.
Both Lich and Barber were found not guilty on charges of intimidation, counselling to commit intimidation, obstructing police and counselling others to obstruct police.
Justice Perkins-McVey said intimidation carries a sense of menace or violence. She said that both Lich and Barber repeatedly called for protesters to remain peaceful throughout the protest.
As for obstructing police, Perkins-McVey said both were arrested without incident and were in custody before the main police operation began to clear downtown Ottawa.
Charges for counselling others to commit mischief were stayed at the request of the Crown.
Comments