Tamara Lich reveals Ontario still withholding $5.5 MILLION raised by Freedom Convoy

Lich and Barber are charged with mischief, counseling others to commit mischief, intimidation, and obstructing police as members of the Freedom Convoy that polarized residents of Ottawa in 2022 and arguably began to roll back Covid mandates.

But although Lich said she is managing to keep her legal bills paid, she notes that there is still $5.5 million in donations to Give Send Go that remain frozen by the Ontario government.

“It's locked up in an escrow I think. There's about $5.5 million that are locked up in an escrow seized by the Government of Ontario. They have a seizure order on it, as well as a forfeiture order on it. So I mean, the outcome of our criminal trial is definitely going to affect that,” Lich told The Post Millennial.

She noted that there is also a civil suit “hanging over our heads.” But she said if the donated funds ever surface, “we'll do what we said we were going to do, we've got registration forms, from some of the truckers and people that were in Ottawa, to reimburse them, as well. As you know, we always wanted to donate what was ever left over to the veterans, that was always our goal,” Lich said.

She is set to return to court on Aug. 13 for another three days of the trial and “they were trying to secure the following week. So we could finally get this wrapped up. I mean, it's the longest mischief trial in history. And mischief doesn't normally go to trial. You know, it's, it's a fine and a slap on the wrist. But in our case, you know, longest mischief trial in history.”

That lengthy trial, necessitating travel for Lich from Medicine Hat, Alberta, to Ottawa every time the judge calls has cost Lich and her husband a small fortune – about $500,000 thus far in Lich’s estimation – in legal fees and travel expenses. And there are at least 10 days remaining in the trial.

Lich said she has been “very fortunate” to have the support of the Democracy Fund, though she reminded those so inclined to donate to them because “there's I think at least another 1000 cases, tickets and charges, so they're helping a lot of people.”

The Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms has been helping Chris Barber with his legal expenses.

Throughout the trial, Lich was prevented from communicating in any way with Barber but “we had asked the Crown prosecutor to drop our no contact order because the evidentiary portion of our trial is concluded. And of course, the Crown prosecutor didn't agree that that was a good idea. So we had to bring a motion before the judge and she agreed that it was a breach of our Charter rights to continue.”

The two met over the recent May Victoria Day long weekend with their spouses and family. “It just hit me that I can actually just pick up the phone and call him now, you know, which was weird. It was really weird in the beginning that we couldn't speak to each other.”

She said the Trudeau government continues to be both a threat to Canadians and a source of gross hypocrisy. “It's actually quite nauseating to watch him say stuff like that, you know, when these MPs and liberal MPs get up and talk about protecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms – they literally trampled all over, without due process, without court orders from the judge. I mean, it's Banana Republic stuff. And so it's very frustrating to watch them try and paint this picture. Like they really care about Canadians and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, because they obviously don't, they really don't,” Lich said.

Lich was gracious when told that she has come to symbolize freedom for many Canadians for her courage in protesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s severe Covid-19 mandates – many of which evaporated soon after Trudeau crushed the Freedom Convoy protest with the draconian Emergencies Act and brought down the full force of the police against the demonstrators.

“Well, thank you. I mean, I was there but everyone who was there was such a huge part of it. And so I can't take credit for it, obviously. I mean, I just became visible, because I was the one in front of the cameras most of the time. But I mean, everyone that was there was doing something or contributed in some way or donated something.”

She said the legacy of the Freedom Convoy was that “it was a true grassroots Canadian movement … I feel that no one of us is more important or did anything more than the next person. You know, it was a true team effort.”