Justice Julie Bourgeois, the judge who denied bail to Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich, has known ties to the Trudeau government as an ex-Liberal MP candidate..Bourgeois presided over the court case against Freedom Convoy organizers, granting bail to Chris Barber, one of the other known organizers, but refusing bail for Lich, stating her “offences are grave.”.“I cannot be reassured that if I release you into the community that you will not re-offend,” said Bourgeois, adding, “Your detention is necessary for the protection and safety of the public.”.Bourgeois served as a Crown Attorney and Assistant Crown Attorney for 16 years before she was appointed as a Justice in the Ontario Court of Justice in May of 2015. Before her appointment, Bourgeois had a failed run as a Liberal MP in 2011 at the same time now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was running as the incumbent MP for Papineau..Trudeau, in a 2011 interview, showed great affection and support for Bourgeois’ run for MP..“It’s an extraordinary pleasure for me to tell you that I have great admiration for Julie Bourgeois — her vision, her authenticity, her strength — is going to be an amazing asset,” Trudeau said of Bourgeois’ run for Liberal MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell..Bourgeois lost the riding to Conservative Pierre Lemieux by more than 11,000 votes..Lich was taken into custody Thursday evening by law enforcement in Ottawa ahead of a major crackdown on protesters on Friday and throughout the weekend. As she was being led away, she could be heard saying, “hold the line,” in a video that circulated on social media following her arrest..The night before her arrest, Lich released a video on Facebook predicting her arrest and said what she witnessed happening to Canadians “breaks my heart.”.In the video, Lich urged protestors to stay respectful towards police and reporters, as they are just trying to feed their families..“I want you to stay strong and continue to be unified and spread the love,” said Lich..On Saturday in court, the judge scolded Lich for not removing herself from the protests and for counselling others to remain..“You have had plenty of opportunity to remove yourself and even others from this criminal activity but obstinately chose not to and persistently counselled others not to either,” said the judge..Lich was denied bail while a woman charged with first-degree murder was recently granted bail in Hamilton..Yun (Lucy) Lu Li, one of two people accused in the shooting death of a B.C. man in Hamilton, Ontario in early 2021 made bail, as reported by Global News on January 20..Although details of the bail hearing were subject to a publication ban, Ontario Supreme Court Justice Andrew Goodman allowed for the release of terms of her bail, including an electronic ankle monitor and bail set at more than $2 million dollars..Lich was one of the lead organizers for the Freedom Convoy when it travelled across Canada after it left Vancouver the weekend of January 22 and arrived in Ottawa one week later where it remained until it was forcefully disbanded by police over the weekend..She spearheaded the start of the GoFundMe page that raised more than $10 million, before the cash was frozen after only $1 million was released from the fund..Lich then created a donation page with GiveSendGo raising more than $8.7 million USD. A court order from the Superior Court of Justice was brought forward in an attempt to freeze the funds, but was rejected by the fundraising platform that stated, “Canada has absolutely zero jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo.”.In an effort to gain extraordinary powers to dismantle the blockades and trucker convoy in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14 and it was proclaimed in the Legislature on Monday with a vote of 185-151..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
Justice Julie Bourgeois, the judge who denied bail to Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich, has known ties to the Trudeau government as an ex-Liberal MP candidate..Bourgeois presided over the court case against Freedom Convoy organizers, granting bail to Chris Barber, one of the other known organizers, but refusing bail for Lich, stating her “offences are grave.”.“I cannot be reassured that if I release you into the community that you will not re-offend,” said Bourgeois, adding, “Your detention is necessary for the protection and safety of the public.”.Bourgeois served as a Crown Attorney and Assistant Crown Attorney for 16 years before she was appointed as a Justice in the Ontario Court of Justice in May of 2015. Before her appointment, Bourgeois had a failed run as a Liberal MP in 2011 at the same time now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was running as the incumbent MP for Papineau..Trudeau, in a 2011 interview, showed great affection and support for Bourgeois’ run for MP..“It’s an extraordinary pleasure for me to tell you that I have great admiration for Julie Bourgeois — her vision, her authenticity, her strength — is going to be an amazing asset,” Trudeau said of Bourgeois’ run for Liberal MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell..Bourgeois lost the riding to Conservative Pierre Lemieux by more than 11,000 votes..Lich was taken into custody Thursday evening by law enforcement in Ottawa ahead of a major crackdown on protesters on Friday and throughout the weekend. As she was being led away, she could be heard saying, “hold the line,” in a video that circulated on social media following her arrest..The night before her arrest, Lich released a video on Facebook predicting her arrest and said what she witnessed happening to Canadians “breaks my heart.”.In the video, Lich urged protestors to stay respectful towards police and reporters, as they are just trying to feed their families..“I want you to stay strong and continue to be unified and spread the love,” said Lich..On Saturday in court, the judge scolded Lich for not removing herself from the protests and for counselling others to remain..“You have had plenty of opportunity to remove yourself and even others from this criminal activity but obstinately chose not to and persistently counselled others not to either,” said the judge..Lich was denied bail while a woman charged with first-degree murder was recently granted bail in Hamilton..Yun (Lucy) Lu Li, one of two people accused in the shooting death of a B.C. man in Hamilton, Ontario in early 2021 made bail, as reported by Global News on January 20..Although details of the bail hearing were subject to a publication ban, Ontario Supreme Court Justice Andrew Goodman allowed for the release of terms of her bail, including an electronic ankle monitor and bail set at more than $2 million dollars..Lich was one of the lead organizers for the Freedom Convoy when it travelled across Canada after it left Vancouver the weekend of January 22 and arrived in Ottawa one week later where it remained until it was forcefully disbanded by police over the weekend..She spearheaded the start of the GoFundMe page that raised more than $10 million, before the cash was frozen after only $1 million was released from the fund..Lich then created a donation page with GiveSendGo raising more than $8.7 million USD. A court order from the Superior Court of Justice was brought forward in an attempt to freeze the funds, but was rejected by the fundraising platform that stated, “Canada has absolutely zero jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo.”.In an effort to gain extraordinary powers to dismantle the blockades and trucker convoy in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14 and it was proclaimed in the Legislature on Monday with a vote of 185-151..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com