Judge set to sentence Canadian Freedom Convoy leaders to up to 8 years in prison not aware their bank accounts were frozen by Trudeau government

Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich will have to wait until Oct. 7 to find out whether they will spend up to eight years in jail or receive an absolute discharge. On Wednesday and Thursday, Ontario judge Heather Perkins-McVey heard sentencing appeals from both the prosecution and the defense after she found the truckers' convoy leaders guilty on Apr. 3 on mischief charges.

At one point in the hearing, Perkins-McVey expressed astonishment that Barber's bank accounts were frozen as a result of his participation in the Convoy and asked, “Who froze his accounts?” The exchange produced a collective gasp from the packed courtroom, almost all of whom were supporters of Barber and Lich.

In a well-publicized decision linked to the invocation of the Emergencies Act, it was Trudeau Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland who froze the bank accounts of thousands of Convoy protesters and donors. The move was viewed by commentators around the world as flagrant government overreach.

The two day sentencing hearing was focused on demands by the Crown prosecutors that Barber and Lich spend eight and seven years in jail respectively for being key organizers of the Freedom Convoy trucker protest of February 2022 that sought to end Covid mandates and lockdowns nationwide. Defense lawyers argued that this would be an outrageous sentence. The judge’s comments on the frozen bank accounts occurred while Barber’s lawyer, Diane Magas, was explaining how much financial hardship her client had already endured as a result of his participation in the Convoy.

The Crown continued to vilify Barber and Lich as deserving of an “extraordinary sentence” and severe punishment for their part in organizing the protest. That peaceful protest saw truckers bring families, set up bouncy houses for children, and sing songs of solidarity including the Canadian national anthem.

Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher claimed that Lich and Barber were “criminally responsible for extraordinary harm” and referenced a sentencing document that also calls for Barber’s truck—an icon of the protest known as “Big Red”—be expropriated by the province of Ontario.

“For this and reasons set out below, having regard to the nature, duration, impact, and context of the offences as well as the circumstances of the offenders, the Crown is seeking a period of incarceration of seven years on the count of mischief for each Lich and Barber, and one year consecutive for counselling others to disobey a court order for Barber. In addition, the Crown also seeks a Forfeiture Order pursuant to s. 490.1(1) of the Code for a red 2004 Kenworth truck with license plate 639FCZ CA-SK, vehicle identification number 1XKWDB9X34J974263 (“Big Red”), registered to C.B. Trucking Ltd., a company owned by Barber. The Forfeiture Order will be argued at a separate hearing, yet to be scheduled.”

On Thursday, that hearing was scheduled for Sept. 12.

Lich attorney Lawrence Greenspon, who has always maintained that the charges against his client and Barber were an affront to basic free speech rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights, spent much of his time on Thursday outlining how Lich had protested peacefully, encouraged others to protest peacefully and had even cooperated to the fullest extent with police.

“Her efforts, and even more so, the efforts of Chris Barber, are not just a mitigating factor. They are unprecedented. There is no reported case where a protester has attempted to work with the police to lessen the impact of the protest,” Greenspon told the court.

Greenspon also argued that in considering the sentence, Perkins-McVey should consider “the positive effect that the Freedom Convoy had on the lives of thousands of people across this country” and that “the Crown sentencing position [is] completely untenable.”

Greenspon read a number of letters from Convoy supporters, including one “who was a public servant who actually lived in the downtown area. She described the convoy as an inspiring, dynamic, creative, collaborative and peaceful event. She said that she was fully comfortable visiting the Convoy on her own, and ‘I knew everyone looked out for one another and took care of one another.’ She refers to these amazing souls who have the courage to risk it all in sub- zero temperatures in all parts of Canada.”

“‘I recall myself feeling my hope waning just before the Freedom Convoy, feeling a sense of despair how Canadians’ essential and Constitutional rights and freedoms were being blatantly infringed upon in the name of public health, including the loss of citizens rights and freedom of choice,’” Greenspon read from the letter.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the hearing, Greenspon noted that “the Crown themselves admitted that the sentencing position that they took was extraordinary. I agree it is extraordinary, but I also think that it was completely uncalled for … My dad used to say, if you want to make yourself bigger than somebody else, get up on a chair. Don't dig them a hole. I don't think I want to dig a hole for the Crown, but I think what we tried to do today was get up on a chair and talk about what it was that Tamara and Chris did, not just on their own behalf, but on behalf of thousands of Canadians.”

When asked by The Post Millennial if he should have read letters of support earlier in the trial or called in witnesses to testify on behalf of Barber and Lich, Greenspon noted that he has been deluged by people approaching him in restaurants to tell him that they “experienced nothing but joy and assistance from the people who are involved in the Freedom Convoy” and that many have said, “Hey, look, this is this was a good thing for us. Tamara and Chris were standing up for us. They were fighting for our freedom. They were recognizing that the government mandates were intrusive and harmful to some. So we could have called these people just to show the positive side, but my feeling was that we didn't, we didn't need to,” Greenspon told TPM.

When asked if he was optimistic about the judge’s verdict, Greenspon responded, “I’m hopeful.”