‘Freedom Convoy’ organisers in Canada go on trial

The trial for the leaders of the protest called Freedom Convoy, which caused a long traffic jam in Canada‘s capital for several weeks in 2022, will start on Tuesday.
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Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are accused of behaving badly and not cooperating with the police.

The two were part of a group that drove a line of large trucks to Ottawa to show their disagreement with Covid-19 rules and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.

Experts believe that the result of the trial could have a significant impact outside of the legal system.

Mr Lich and Mr. Barber have been accused of carrying out mischief. In Canada, mischief is when someone intentionally destroys, damages, obstructs, or interferes with property. They will need to defend themselves against this charge.

According to Joao Velloso, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, the case is normal from a legal perspective.

However, he expects a lot of attention because the event is connected to the Freedom Convoy protests and the political tensions on topics such as vaccine mandates and freedom of assembly.

The way people see the result of the case will vary depending on their opinions on the issues and how much they trust the justice system.

“The case is more important than the law. ”

The protests in February 2022 started because the government required truck drivers to get vaccinated before crossing the border between the US and Canada.

Groups of about 400 large trucks and other vehicles went to Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, and stopped traffic around the parliament buildings for three weeks.

City officials called it a “occupation”.

Protests occurred, blocking an important border crossing between the US and Canada near Detroit. This made the White House angry and caused problems with the transportation of goods. Some borders in Alberta and Manitoba were closed off.

The protests got noticed around the world and encouraged other demonstrations in different countries.

They ended after Mr. Trudeau used the Emergencies Act, which is the first time the Canadian law has been used for this purpose. This allowed the police to remove people from the streets and the government to stop protests and block the bank accounts of protesters.

Miss Lich and Mr. Barber were caught by the police not long after.

Paul Daly, who is an expert in rules and regulations at the University of Ottawa, said a very important question is how much the two people were responsible for causing problems for the people of Ottawa.

Many people said that during the protest, there was too much loud noise, things were always being disturbed, and some people were being bothered.
MrDaly said that the trial is a conflict between the rights of convoy organizers to speak freely and associate freely, and the public’s interest in maintaining livable city streets for residents.

Lawrence Greenspon, who is Ms Lich’s lawyer, said in a statement to the BBC that “we don’t think this will be the trial about the Freedom Convoy. ”

The main question is whether the actions of two people who planned a peaceful protest should be considered a crime.

However, at a recent book event, Ms. Lich expressed her belief that the trial’s result will establish a rule for other protestors who are also waiting for their trials.

She said in July, “I won’t give up easily and we will fight hard. ”

The lawyers who work for the government said that if Ms. Lich is proven to be guilty, she might have to go to prison for as long as 10 years.

However, during a court hearing in July to determine bail, a judge in Ontario stated that because of this “very unusual case,” it is unclear how much responsibility she will have for the range of alleged bad actions done by different individuals in a crowd of thousands over several weeks.

Both Ms Lich and Ms Barber, along with other organizers, are being sued for C$300m by Ottawa residents because of the disruptions caused in the city.

Ms Lich and Mr Barber’s trial will last for 13 days, and after that, there will be six more days for the trial in October.

Pat King, who is also helping to organize the protests, will have a trial that is different from the one happening in November.