Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have both received conditional sentences in an Ottawa courtroom today.Lich was sentenced to 15-and-a-half months, with the first 12 months being under house arrest and three-and-a-half months under curfew, along with 100 hours of community service. Barber received an 18-month sentence to be served in the community, with a concurrent three-month sentence for counselling disobedience of a court order. He was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service.The court also imposed a victim surcharge of $400 on Lich and $200 on Barber, with 60 days to pay.After sentencing, both defendants received standing ovations from the gallery.Outside of the courthouse, Barber’s attorney Diane Magas said she and her client respected the judge’s decision and weren’t “surprised by the verdict.”“My client and Ms. Lich had the best intentions when they came to Ottawa," she said. "It was a lawful protest, she found it became unlawful because of the blockage of streets... That’s [what] the message is, protest but don’t block streets.”The Crown had originally been seeking “unprecedented custodial sentences” of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber — who was also previously found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order.Lich and Barber were previously found guilty of mischief in April for their roles in the 2022 protest that gridlocked downtown Ottawa for several weeks as protesters rallied against COVID-19 restrictions.Presiding Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said both of the accused consistently emphasized peacefulness during the protest, saying there was “no evidence that either called for violence against people or property and, in fact, asked for anyone like that to be reported to police.”.Defence argues for absolute discharge in Lich, Barber case.She stated they had also tried to reach a “good-faith agreement to reduce the footprint of the protest.”Rebel News commander Ezra Levant reporting from the courtroom said on X that Perkins-McVey stated a complete discharge would “send the wrong message” and would “undermine confidence in the administration of justice.”Entering the courthouse earlier in the day, Lich’s defence attorney Lawrence Greenspon told reporters he was “hoping Tamara doesn’t go to jail.”Lich had already served 49 days in jail before this trial had even begun, while Barber had served two.Magas, had previously asked the court for an absolute discharge, emphasizing that her client had complied with all bail conditions and had no further incidents over the past three and a half years.Magas had highlighted the consequences Barber had already suffered, such as his bank account being frozen for at least three months. He had also spent $40,000 coming to court proceedings and faced litigation seeking hundreds of millions.Perkins-McVey referred to several comparable protest cases, including the Coutts border blockade and the Pat King case, where defendants received conditional or time-served sentences.She contrasted those with the Crown’s unusually severe requests in this case, calling them disproportionate.Perkins-McVey said the case of Lich and Barber was a "non-violent protest, [there was] no property damage, no intent to harm critical infrastructure,” unlike in other cases that were cited, such as the attempt to sabotage the Quebec Hydro power grid or the Coutts protest, which “targeted an important border crossing and affected business.”The judge cited Greenspon, saying Lich was "peaceful and lawful" throughout. She also stated how Lich and her family had suffered in their personal life, receiving hate mail and death threats.Levant said on X that Perkins-McVey stated that while “Tamara Lich and Chris Barber tried ‘to reduce the footprint of the demonstration, this did not absolve them of their liability.’”“Mitigating and aggravating factors are important in a sentence,” Perkins-McVey said, stating that the roles of Lich and Barber were “symbolic” to the protesters.The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) who has funded the legal defence of Barber since 2022 said in a statement that, “Chris Barber and Tamara Lich should not have been convicted of criminal mischief in the first place."Not only was their cause noble, calling upon Ottawa to recognize the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Canadians during this country’s darkest chapter, but Chris and Tamara pursued their cause in a peaceful, cooperative, and respectful manner.” Barber will be back in court in Nov. in litigation as the federal government is trying to seize his Kenworth long-haul truck, “Big Red.”
