Defence wants absolute discharge for Barber in ‘Freedom Convoy’ trial

OTTAWA — A lawyer for one of two leaders of the “Freedom Convoy” facing sentencing told an Ottawa court Wednesday her client should not be left with a criminal record.

Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher said Wednesday she is seeking stiff sentences for convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber because of the broad community harm caused by the three-week 2022 protest in Ottawa’s downtown core.

Diane Magas, Barber’s lawyer, told the court she wants an absolute discharge for her client because he’s been out on bail without incident for the last 3 1/2 years. That decision would mean Barber would not receive a criminal record.

While Barber did not address the court himself, Magas said “his intention was not to harm the people of Ottawa. It was an unfortunate consequence of what occurred in the protest.”

Magas said that if Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey decides a criminal record is necessary, she wants to see Barber receive a suspended or conditional sentence to be served in his home community.

Lich and Barber were both found guilty of mischief in April for their key roles in the convoy protest, which filled downtown Ottawa for three weeks beginning in late January 2022 to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic measures.

The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber, who was also found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order.

Lich’s lawyer Lawrence Greenspon is set to present his submissions Thursday.

Magas called the Crown’s sentencing proposal “cruel and unusual.”

“Considering all of the circumstances of the offence, given the fact there was no violence, the fact my client was advocating no violence whatsoever,” Magas said outside the courthouse Wednesday.

Magas added that Barber has no criminal record and is a respected member of his community.

During her submissions, Magas referred the judge to several mischief sentences emerging from the massive protests that attended the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit — including one six-month sentence for a person who pleaded guilty to smashing windows in two police vehicles.

Perkins-McVey said it’s hard to draw comparisons between the G20 protests and the convoy protest because the crimes in Toronto were “old-fashioned mischief.”

She said that if someone smashes a $400 window, the damage has a tangible cost, while the damage from the convoy protest is less tangible. She said this makes for a difficult sentencing decision, one that she does not take lightly.

The convoy protest ended after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time ever. The convoy was cleared out of Ottawa’s downtown core in a three-day police operation that began on Feb. 18, 2022.

The Crown is calling for a longer sentence for Barber because he was also found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order related to an injunction against protesters honking truck horns. Lich was not charged with that offence.

Perkins-McVey said in her April decision that she found Lich and Barber guilty of mischief because they routinely encouraged people to join or remain at the protest, despite knowing the adverse effects it was having on downtown residents and businesses.

Wetscher said she is seeking these sentences because of what Lich and Barber did, not because of their political beliefs.

Wetscher said that while Lich and Barber may have come to Ottawa with noble intentions, they continued to encourage people to take part in the protests even when it became impossible for them to ignore the effect it was having on downtown residents and businesses.

The prosecutor said that while there are mitigating sentencing factors for both Barber and Lich, the overall effect of the protest outweighs them.

Magas also referred to the sentencing of fellow “Freedom Convoy” organizer Pat King for mischief and disobeying a court order in February.

The Crown sought a sentence of 10 years in prison for King but he was sentenced to three months of house arrest, 100 hours of community service at a food bank or men’s shelter and a year of probation.

He received nine months’ credit for time served before his conviction.

Wetscher said that while the protest was not violent, it was not peaceful. She read a summary of victim impact statements that include one from an employee of a downtown Ottawa church who talked about still feeling ill at the sight of large trucks with Canadian flags.

That drew some chuckles from the gallery.

Wetscher added that the Ottawa Police Service has reported policing the protest cost $55 million, while the City of Ottawa pegged its own convoy-related costs at over $7 million.

The prosecutor said that while Lich and Barber aren’t responsible for every dollar spent because of the protest, those cost figures give the judge a sense of the protest’s impact.

Barber attended court virtually Wednesday, while Lich attended in person.

Both Lich and Barber were found not guilty on charges of intimidation, counselling to commit intimidation, obstructing police and counselling others to obstruct police.

Perkins-McVey said intimidation carries a sense of menace or violence. She said that both Lich and Barber repeatedly called for protesters to remain peaceful throughout the protest.

As for obstructing police, Perkins-McVey said both were arrested without incident and were in custody before the main police operation began to clear downtown Ottawa.

Charges for counselling others to commit mischief were stayed at the request of the Crown.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press