Yesterday, “Freedom Convoy” organizer Tamara Lich was unveiled as the president of a corporation established to oversee donations raised in support of the said protest. This was disclosed during a video playback shown in court that was crowded with her supporters.
The courtroom sat through multiple extended press conferences held by protest spokespeople during the day. However, neither Lich nor her co-organizer featured prominently in these discussions. At one point, Lich introduced herself as a key organizer of the convoy, only to be corrected by her fellow organizer, Ben Dichter, who clarified that she was more accurately the “president” of the operation.
According to a federal inquiry into governmental usage of the Emergencies Act to dissolve the protests last year, a central group of organizers had created “Freedom Corp”. This corporation was aimed at controlling donation flow under the counsel of their then attorney, Keith Wilson. Specifically, Lich was identified as the president of the corporation.
Together with Chris Barber, Lich was responsible for organizing a truck convoy journeying to Ottawa early in 2022. The objective of their voyage was to express their opposition against COVID-19 public health mandates and urge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign. Presently, they face allegations of mischief, intimidation, and police obstruction related to their participation in demonstrations that resulted in a three-week city street blockade.
While Barber was not visible in the videos disclosed on Wednesday, the prosecution is striving to substantiate a close alliance between the two organizers, suggesting that evidence implicating one could be utilized against the other.
The referenced press conferences were hosted on February 6 and 9, and were streamed live on Facebook. These broadcasts show Lich and other organizers responding to inquiries from independent news agencies. The videos exhibit the organizers situated in what seems to be a hotel room with Lich positioned at the centre of the frame, although she provides very minimal commentary in both videos.
Halfway through a 1-hour, 15-minute video recorded on February 9, Lich exits the frame. The conversation continues with Dichter and other members commenting on the impact of the protest on public health legislation, potential police reactions and their scepticism towards traditional media.
A compilation of these video conferences along with several other social media posts and text messages has been gathered by Ottawa police sergeant Joanne Pilotte and presented over numerous days in court.
However, the defence is contesting whether these video compilations should be considered legitimate evidence worthy of being submitted for trial.
Lawrence Greenspon, legal counsel to Lich, plans to assert that much of the suggested evidence extracted from the “Freedom Convoy 2022” does not bear relevance to the charges imposed against Barber and Lich. Later in the trial, the defence is anticipated to present their stand on the admissibility of the Facebook evidence.
However, prior to launching his cross-examination of Pilotte, Eric Granger, who is another attorney for Lich, requested a decision on the admissibility of the evidence. But Justice Heather Perkins-McVey suggested the discussion might be premature.