‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers Tamara Lich, Chris Barber face sentencing
Global News
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.
The sentencing hearing for “Freedom Convoy” leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber is set to begin Wednesday morning, months after the two were found guilty of mischief.
Two days have been set aside for the parties to present their sentencing submissions.
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.
Lich and Barber were key figures behind the convoy protest that occupied downtown Ottawa for three weeks beginning in late January 2022 to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic measures.
The 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.
Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said 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.
Barber also was found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order for telling people to ignore a judge’s injunction directing convoy participants to stop honking their truck horns. Lich was not charged with that offence.
In a separate Ottawa-based trial for Pat King, another convoy leader, the Crown sought a sentence of 10 years in prison for mischief and disobeying a court order.
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