Canadian Convulsions > Trucker Convoy Organizers facing up to 2 years in prison and loss of a truck for freedom protest

 

In one of the worst cases of injustice ever perpetrated in Canada, two of the organizers of the truck convoy of 2021 were convicted of mischief and could face 2 years in prison, with one of them losing his truck.

Protesting the illegal and immoral actions of Justin Trudeau around the Covid_19 pandemic will go down in history as a heroic moment in Canadian character building. No one was injured or killed, no one was in danger, a few people were irritated and inconvenienced, big deal!

The extreme overreaction of the Liberal government came from a frightened, adolescent Justin Trudeau, whose response to the pandemic made a lot of people very rich, and few people with any real benefit. In fact, the untested safety of the vaccines predictably ended up in the unnecessary deaths of several people.

If anyone should be in jail, it is Trudeau and any judges who allowed him to weaponize them.

Crown Seeking Two Years in Prison for Lich and Barber Following Mischief Verdict

Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich sit in the gallery as they wait for the start of the day's hearings at the Public Order Emergency Commission, where they were to appear as witnesses, in Ottawa on Nov. 2, 2022. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Crown prosecutors are seeking two years of prison time for Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, after the two were found guilty of mischief but had most of their other charges dropped, Barber’s lawyer has confirmed to The Epoch Times.

“The Crown prosecutor wants to lock Tamara Lich and me in prison for two years for standing up for freedom,” Barber said in a social media post on April 15. 

In addition to the Crown seeking a penitentiary sentence for Lich and Barber, which involves two years or more of imprisonment, Barber said that the Crown is also seeking to auction off his truck, “Big Red,” which led part of the convoy from Saskatchewan to Ottawa in January 2022. 

“It’s not about a vehicle, it’s about erasing hope,“ Barber said in the social media post. ”They want to erase the spirit of the convoy and make an example out of us so no one ever dares to stand up again.”

When the government is as wrong as Trudeau's was, those who stand up against it are heroes and ought to be recognized as such. To put them in prison says something very dark and sinister about Canada. These prosecutors ought to be very disgusted when they look in the mirror every morning.

On April 3, 2025, Lich and Barber were found guilty of mischief, while Barber was found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order. Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled that there was insufficient evidence for the other charges of intimidation, obstructing police and counselling others to do the same. Both were also found guilty of counselling others to commit mischief, but that finding was stayed at the request of Crown lawyers.

In a social media post on the same day, Lich confirmed that the Crown is seeking two years prison time for the two organizers and has filed an application to confiscate Barber’s truck.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Crown prosecutor’s office but did not immediately hear back.

Lich and Barber were the main organizers of the 2022 protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions, which culminated in vehicles parking in downtown Ottawa and other locations for several weeks. The Liberal government eventually invoked the Emergencies Act to bring the demonstration to an end.

The last time the Emergencies Measures Act was invoked was by Justin Trudeau's father, Pierre. But at that time, in the 1960's there were bombings, high-profile kidnappings, and political murders in Montreal. And still there were questions of excessiveness by the government. There is no question of excessiveness by Justin, it is without doubt!

A public inquiry determined that the government had met the threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act, but a federal judge ruling on a case brought forth by some of the protesters later said that the government’s use of the act was unreasonable and unjustified.

Application to Stay Proceedings

On April 16, Barber’s defence lawyer Diane Magas filed an application in court for a stay of proceedings on the basis of an “officially induced error of law.” Magas argued that Barber sought legal advice from lawyers, police officers, and a Superior Court judge on the legality of the protest he was involved in, and was given erroneous advice.

In the application, Magas said Ottawa Police Service’s incident commander during the protest, Insp. Russel Lucas, had testified that OPS was aware of the protest in advance of its arrival and had approved the plan for where the demonstrators would park. She also said Barber was directed by police officers where to park his truck in downtown Ottawa.

At two injunction hearings related to silencing the honking of truck horns, Barber was told by his lawyer at the time that he could continue protesting in the location as long as he did so peacefully and safely, according to Magas. Barber was also advised by his legal counsel that he could honk his horn in situations of emergency, and that breaching the court injunction against honking would be civil contempt and not a criminal offence. 

Barber was charged with counselling others to disobey a court order when he encouraged protesters in a Feb. 7, 2022 TikTok video to honk if they saw police arriving, which violated the court injunction against honking.

Magas said her application for a stay of proceedings applied to Barber because he considered the legal consequences of his actions and sought legal advice, obtained advice from an appropriate official, and reasonably relied on that advice even though it later turned out to be erroneous.

If the justice were to accept Magas’s application and stay the proceedings, Barber’s case would be put on hold and he would likely not face charges.

As it should be if there is any integrity in the justice system whatsoever.