WARMINGTON: Tamara Lich and Chris Barber show trial drags on shamefully
The world has changed dramatically since the pair were arrested for their roles in the 2022 Freedom Convoy
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OTTAWA — Some things change and some things stay the same.
Exactly 918 days have passed since Ottawa Police slapped the handcuffs on Tamara Lich on Feb. 17, 2022, which was the beginning of the end of the Freedom Convoy to end COVID pandemic lockdowns.
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It’s like three hockey seasons: Jim Watson was still in place as Ottawa’s mayor, John Tory was still at the helm in Toronto, and Lisa LaFlamme was still the CTV News anchor.
Queen Elizabeth was still on the throne and very much alive, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was still married to Sophie and his Liberal government had just enacted the Emergencies Act. Elon Musk was still two months away from making his offer to purchase Twitter, and so many people with cancelled accounts still had no voice on the social media platform.
From China spy-gate to the Trudeau Foundation conflict of interest scandal, to Chinese election interference, to the ArriveCan scam, to a Nazi-unit soldier appearing in the House of Commons — so many big news stories have come and gone.
But not this case.
A lot of things are different since I first tweeted about Lich being arrested in snowy Ottawa. But things have not moved on for Lich, a Metis grandmother from Alberta, and Saskatchewan farmer and trucker Chis Barber.
As I sat behind them in an Ottawa courtroom listening to legendary lawyer Lawrence Greenspon’s effective closing argument to equally capable and professional Justice Heather Perkins-McVey, I couldn’t help but think: What would Rex Murphy, Gordon Lightfoot and Robbie Robertson think of their country, watching this seemingly endless persecution go on.
And then I remembered: They have all died since this ordeal began.
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This is a forever trial. A show trial. A public vendetta and warning to anyone who considers standing up to a federal government’s edict in the future.
As Greenspon pointed out, Lich and Barber were “co-operative with police,” were seeking “peaceful” resolutions and had “attempted” to “sign a code of conduct” to make sure that if any of the truckers lost their cool and broke the law, it would be “reported to police.”
Charged with mischief and various counts of counselling to commit mischief, these two people — who had never protested before the Freedom Convoy — could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
Lich has already served 49 days. It’s obvious the worst mischief in this case was not done by those charged with it.
“It has changed my life in every way,” Lich said Friday. “And it hangs over me. I have many court conditions on me and I can’t move around freely.”
It’s ironic because what she and others were fighting against was a draconian, dystopian, over-the-top lockdown mandate that required people to show their passports to access a food court, and prevented many Canadians from attending a family member’s funeral, not to mention travelling to the United States.
It was all madness. And it still is.
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These people are nothing but political prisoners held by a government looking for scapegoats to cover up its pandemic overreach. This case, in terms of time on the calendar, has taken longer than the Paul Bernardo, Col. Russell Williams and Yonge Street van attacker trials combined.
In those cases, 16 people were murdered and many others were wounded. No one was reported dead in the Freedom Convoy and the only people hurt were those roughed up by cops or trampled by a police horse.
When you compare what happened during the February 2022 protest to what we have seen in Canada since Israelis were slaughtered at the hands of Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and the constant raucous demonstrations that have unfolded, it makes the Freedom Convoy look entry level.
Meanwhile, the judge in Lich and Barber’s trial is a pro and whatever Perkins-McVey decides, Canada will have to accept. Her verdict is expected to come this fall, but regardless of how she rules, the process has been the sentence.
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When Lich and Barber were first arrested, the mortgage rate was 2.5% and Candice Bergen was the interim Conservative leader.
Many issues and scandals have come and gone since that day, but their prosecution rolls on, shamefully.
The trial was adjourned until Friday, Sept. 13 for the Crown’s rebuttal to Greenspon’s final submission.
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