"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." Northwoods is a ministry dedicated to refreshing Christians and challenging them to search for the truth in Christianity, politics, sociology, and science
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Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
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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.
The Federal Court has ruled the Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act during the so-called “Freedom Convoy” that descended on Ottawa in 2022 violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In his ruling, Justice Richard G. Mosley said the move was “unreasonable” and outside the scope of the law. Mosley is a 21-year veteran of the Federal Court and is a respected voice on national security legal matters. He has weighed in on some of the most high-profile recent cases in Canadian intelligence, including a 2016 decision that found CSIS had been illegally storing Canadians’ communication data for more than a decade.
The case was brought forward by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), the Canadian Constitution Foundation, Canadian Frontline Nurses and a handful of individuals.
Mosley wrote, “I have concluded that the decision to issue the Proclamation does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility — and was not justified in relation to the relevant factual and legal constraints that were required to be taken into consideration.”
“I think it’s in the interest of this government and future governments and all Canadians that the threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act remains high and that it is truly, as Justice Mosley says, a legislation of last resort,” CCLA lawyer Ewa Krajewska told Global News.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says that Ottawa will appeal the ruling.
Why is it in the best interests of Canada to appeal this ruling? The appeal should be paid for by the Liberal Party.
1:54
Use of Emergencies Act during Freedom Convoy protest violated Charter rights: Federal court
“We respect very much Canada’s independent judiciary, however we do not agree with this decision, and respectfully we will be appealing it,” Freeland said at the cabinet retreat in Montreal.
Freeland, flanked by Attorney General Arif Virani and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said that in the opinion of the government public, national and economic security was under threat during the protest, and said the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time was a “hard decision.”
“We were convinced at the time – I was convinced at the time – it was the right thing to do. It was the necessary thing to do. I remain and we remain convinced of that,” Freeland said.
Krajewska said it’s not unexpected the federal government is appealing the decision, but is surprised to see this intent announced so quickly.
“I hear the ministers that they sincerely felt that they were doing the right thing and invoking it, but they misapprehended the legal threshold that needed to exist in order for them to invoke it,” she said.
“They felt that they needed to react to the situation, and this was the best reaction. But it wasn’t.”
1:31
Feds justified in using Emergencies Act during ‘Freedom Convoy’: final report
LeBlanc discussed how the situation expanded beyond Ottawa to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, a key trade route with the United States, and the Coutts border crossing in Alberta.
“It’s not banal when security services tell you that they found two pipe bombs and 36,000 rounds of ammunition and ended up laying criminal charges as serious as conspiracy to commit murder and assaulting peace officers. So the context is important,” LeBlanc said.
Four people were charged with conspiracy to commit murder that were associated with the border blockade in Coutts.
Much of the Coutts blockade was cleared prior to the February 14, 2022 declaration of a public order emergency, the first step in invoking the act.
The CCLA successfully argued that the existing laws of Canada were sufficient in dealing with the blockades and extraordinary powers granted by the Emergencies Act were not needed.
“Yes, what was happening in Coutts may have been concerning, but [Mosley] finds that the existing laws of Canada were sufficient to deal with what was happening in Coutts and elsewhere in the country, and that is what the government was not able to demonstrate,” Krajewska said.
0:43
Singh says NDP only ‘reluctantly’ agreed to Emergencies Act after federal court ruling
During the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC), Justice Paul Rouleau said that the decision to invoke the act met the “very high threshold” outlined in the legislation.
The Public Order Emergency Commission was required under the law, which states that any time the Emergencies Act is invoked there must be an inquiry to probe whether the use was warranted and that the work on that needs to begin within 60 days.
Krajewska pointed out that while Rouleau’s report found the government was justified, he pointed out people could reasonably disagree with his decision and it was not a legal analysis.
What does the court ruling reveal?
The ruling includes a secret February 2022 memo from the Privy Council Office (PCO), the central government department that supports the prime minister, recommending Trudeau invoke emergency powers.
The document, which was partially censored and marked “cabinet confidence” – some of the most sensitive information in the federal government – noted that PCO believed the “examples of evidence to date” support the conclusion that the Emergencies Act was required.
Although from the outset, PCO noted their conclusion could be challenged.
“While there is no current evidence of significant implications by extremist groups or international sponsors, PCO notes that the disturbance and public unrest is being felt across the country and beyond the Canadian borders, which may provide further momentum to the movement and lead to irremediable harms – including to social cohesion, national unity, and Canada’s international reputation,” the document read.
“In PCO’s view, this fits within the statutory parameters defining threats to the security of Canada, though this conclusion may be vulnerable to challenge.”
Nevertheless, Canada’s most senior bureaucrat at the time – Clerk of the Privy Council Janice Charette – approved the memo recommending the Emergencies Act be invoked.
PCO’s recommendation noted that “while municipal and provincial authorities have taken decisive action in key affected areas,” the situation was “concerning, volatile and unpredictable.”
“In addition, PCO is of the view that this is a national emergency situation that is urgent, critical, temporary and seriously endangers the health and safety of Canadians that cannot be effectively dealt with uniquely by the provinces or territories,” the document reads.
Krajewska tells Global News that the document was first produced during POEC, and the CCLA had it submitted to the court during this case.
“I think it’s very important from a democracy and transparency perspective that the government produced this document during POEC and that it’s now been appended to this decision,” Krajewska said.
“It’s important for Canadians to understand how the decision was made and what information the government had before it when it was making this decision.”
The document is a remarkable window into the advice Trudeau was getting from the public service during the crisis. Cabinet documents are very rarely released, and even the censored version contained some revelations.
For instance, it shows PCO was in active talks with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) about how the military might assist in ending the protests should they be required.
“Nothing in the invocation implies a role for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in the response to this emergency. Planning does continue to explore whether, how and when military assets could be used to advise and assist with the management of the situation,” the document read.
“This could include CAF providing available resources and equipment support such as towing operations. CAF could also be deployed to support law enforcement in certain situations, in response to a request from a province/territory.”
Trucker protests: Docs show Canadian military grapple to deal with members taking part in convoy
The PCO memo revealed on Tuesday also notes that while Premier Doug Ford was an enthusiastic supporter of Trudeau invoking emergency powers, other premiers were more skeptical.
“A large number of other premiers expressed concern about the need to act carefully to avoid enflaming the underlying sentiment they considered to lie behind the protest, which they linked to public health measures including vaccine mandates,” the document read.
“These premiers were not seeing the local manifestations of this movement yet in their jurisdiction.”
Quebec Premier François Legault“had a strong negative reaction to the proposal, saying that he would oppose the application of federal emergency legislation in Quebec,”where the memory of Trudeau’s father invoking the War Measures Act during the FLQ crisis is still alive.
Pierre Trudeau's overreaction in Quebec was greatly exaggerated by his pathetic son. At least in the Quebec crisis, there were kidnappings, murders, and bombs exploding. In Ottawa, there was nothing worse than a little noise and a big traffic jam. Justin's reaction was like that of a scared, little boy.
I have always said that Trudeau's invoking of the Emergencies Act in response to the truckers' protest was an act of sheer terror. This story lends credence to that theory.
Protesters participating in the truck convoy protest against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions gather
on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Jan. 29, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)
Agreement Was Reached for Convoy Protesters to Reposition
Vehicles Before Emergencies Act Was Invoked, Negotiator Says
By Andrew Chen
The Epoch Times
August 18, 2022
Dean French, who negotiated with leaders of the Freedom Convoy earlier this year, said the Liberal government didn’t give enough time for a peaceful resolution to transpire before invoking the Emergencies Act to have the protesters removed by force, even though an agreement for the convoy to leave was reached.
“This was a black mark on Canadian history. History will show this was a total overreaction … and the inquiry is going to show that as well,” French told CBC’s Vassy Kapelo in an interview on Aug. 17.
The public hearings part of the inquiry are set to take place next month to look into the unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act, invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 14, to clear the demonstrations in downtown Ottawa that began late January and called for an end to federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.
French, the former chief of staff to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, said negotiations for a peaceful resolution were carried out under a “very tight timeline,” with him speaking to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson on Feb. 10, and the convoy leaders, including Tamara Lich and convoy lawyer Keith Wilson, on Feb. 11.
But recently released documents show that the government had been discussing the possibility of invoking the act as early as Feb. 10.
The documents include minutes from a cabinet meeting held on Feb. 13 in which Trudeau told his cabinet that he and the Incident Response Group—a committee of ministers and senior officials—were weighing a response to the convoy protest, and had “explored measures to enhance the powers of law enforcement agents on the ground to enhance actions, relieve Canadians and distressed communities and address the disruptions to the economy.”
During the cabinet meeting, Trudeau’s national security and intelligence adviser, Jody Thomas, told cabinet members that “there was potential for a breakthrough” in negotiations with the protesters.
French, who was trying to broker a deal for the trucks to leave the residential area in downtown Ottawa, said he was “surprised” that the wording from the national security adviser to the cabinet “wasn’t a little bit more direct,” since Mayor Watson had reached an agreement with the protesters on Feb. 11.
“I think the words should have been ‘there is an agreement,’ because Tamara’s own words in her letter—it’s a one-page letter from the mayor and one-page letter from Tamara … her final quote was, ‘we will do our best to start on Monday,’ which they did,” he said.
“We were done the deal that night, essentially.”
“Why wouldn’t Trudeau’s cabinet have waited on the Sunday night [Feb. 13] to say: Mayor Jim Watson, a very credible, respected mayor, has an agreement. Let’s just wait two or three days to see if this peaceful resolution works. If it doesn’t, if it’s not real, then let’s put down the hammer,'” French said.
Agreement
According to a Feb. 12 letter to Watson obtained by CBC, Lich acknowledged that the protest was “disturbing others,” but said “that was never our intent.”
“The Freedom Convoy Board agrees with your request to reduce pressure on the residents and businesses in the City of Ottawa,” Lich wrote.
“We have made a plan to consolidate our protest efforts around Parliament Hill. We will be working hard over the next 24 hours to get buy in from the truckers. We hope to start repositioning our trucks on Monday.”
In a separate letter issued that day, Lich revealed that the Freedom Convoy board had agreed to reposition the trucks, and had begun to work with road captains on the details.
French noted that the protesters were eager to comply with the mayor’s request as they wanted “a peaceful resolution.”
“All they really want is to get out of the residences so Mayor Watson will then talk to them. Remember, not a single politician had even listened to them—and that’s a Canadian trait: to listen—that wasn’t happening. And Mayor Watson made it clear: If you don’t move out of the residences, I’m not speaking to you,” he said.
Watson’s office confirmed this week that the mayor never met with Lich, CBC reported.
When asked to respond to French’s remarks, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office told CBC in a statement that “the government closely monitored the status of negotiations which were disavowed by many associated with the so-called Freedom convoy, and were ultimately unsuccessful.”
Trudeau moved to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, less than 24 hours after being informed of the likely breakthrough with the protesters. The act gave the police special powers to compel towing companies to remove the trucks and vehicles parked in the city’s downtown core, and the police cleared the protesters in escalated operations over the next few days.
The act also allowed financial institutions, without having to obtain a court order, to freeze the bank accounts of individuals and entities suspected of making financial contributions to the movement. It was later reported that some banks froze accounts beyond the list of names provided by the RCMP.
Canada just missed possibly one of the greatest opportunities in its history
Canada could have been using its LNG to save an embattled Europe ...
and make billions in the process
Author of the article: Tristin Hopper
Publishing date: Aug 24, 2022
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz at an event in Toronto on Tuesday. Scholz's attempts to secure Canadian LNG have mostly fallen on deaf ears in Ottawa. PHOTOBY THE CANADIAN PRESS/CHRIS YOUNG
It could well represent one of the biggest missed opportunities in Canadian history: An embattled Europe is clamouring for natural gas, and one of the world’s biggest producers of the stuff can’t sell it to them.
The economic hit is overwhelming: At current prices, even just one Canadian port exporting liquid natural gas could be adding nine figures to the Canadian GDP each day. Politically, Canada could be helping to deal a body blow to Russian hegemony over Western European energy. Instead, on both fronts, Ottawa appears content to watch from the sidelines.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is currently on a mad dash to secure alternate sources of gas before the onset of winter. In Toronto on Tuesday, Scholz said “Canada is our partner of choice” in transitioning away from Russian energy, adding “we hope that Canadian LNG will play a major role in this.”
The invitation was pooh pooh’ed almost immediately by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said there has “never been a strong business case” for moving Canadian LNG to Europe.
That was before Europe decided it can do without Russia's gas. Canada's debt has more than doubled under Trudeau who seems to think that it will take care of itself.
Oddly, Trudeau doesn’t share the same sentiment when it comes to hydrogen. Despite hydrogen having a dramatically smaller and less-developed European market, one of the signature features of Scholz’s visit was when Trudeau took him to Stephenville, Newfoundland to visit the proposed site of a wind-to-hydrogen facility. The hydrogen project hasn’t obtained regulatory approval and it’s still not entirely clear whether it will go forward.
