Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich outside the courthouse in Ottawa on Wednesday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The lawyer representing one of the key architects of the 2022 Ottawa convoy protests is seeking a full discharge for her client, while the Crown wants him to spend eight years in prison after he was convicted this spring of mischief and counselling others to disobey a court order.
Diane Magas, the lawyer for Saskatchewan truck driver Chris Barber, said at a sentencing hearing in Ottawa on Wednesday that the Crown’s demand is excessive, unfit and unduly harsh. Mr. Barber is a well-respected member of his community who received several letters of support and he has no criminal record, Ms. Magas told Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey.
During the January and February, 2022, convoy protests against public-health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrators remained on downtown Ottawa streets for more than three weeks. The magnitude of the demonstrations generated concerns among city officials, business owners and downtown residents, and sparked one of the biggest police operations in Canadian history to remove entrenched protesters and big-rig trucks blocking streets near Parliament Hill.
Wednesday’s sentencing hearing follows an April conviction of mischief for Mr. Barber, along with fellow convoy organizer Tamara Lich, for their role in organizing the demonstrations. Justice Perkins-McVey said she reached that decision because Mr. Barber and Mr. Lich encouraged people to join or stay at the protest while knowing the adverse effects on downtown Ottawa businesses and residents.
The Crown is seeking seven years in prison for Ms. Lich, who heard Wednesday’s proceedings in person, while Mr. Barber watched remotely.
What remains of the convoy protest one year later
Outside of the courtroom, Ms. Magas told reporters her client is in a stressful position while the Crown seeks a harsh eight-year sentence: “He’s holding up as best as he can,” she said.
Lawrence Greenspon, who leads Ms. Lich’s legal team, is expected to make submissions on Thursday morning.
Assistant prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher said in her submissions Wednesday that, while the convoy was not a violent demonstration, it was not peaceful. It went well beyond a legitimate protest, she added.
“Their actions were organized, deliberate and sustained,” she said.
The convoy demonstrations drew in supporters who took issue with COVID vaccine mandates, as well as those who carried anti-government sentiments. The demonstrations spurred the resignation of the capital’s police chief and criticism by civil liberties groups over former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time, affording the government sweeping powers.
Ahead of Wednesday’s proceedings, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and other MPs in his party took issue with Crown attorneys seeking a multiyear sentence for the pair – a rare move, as politicians tend not to publicly comment on continuing legal proceedings.
“How is this justice?” he wrote on X on Monday, noting the length of the proposed sentence.
Let’s get this straight: while rampant violent offenders are released hours after their most recent charges & antisemitic rioters vandalize businesses, terrorize daycares & block traffic without consequences, the Crown wants 7 years prison time for the charge of mischief for Lich…
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) July 21, 2025
After Mr. Poilievre waded in, Ms. Lich posted on X that there is a fine line between politics and the judiciary, but that “in our case, the double standard and the vindictive nature from the prosecution office has become too obvious to ignore and will set a precedent going forward that will affect all Canadians who choose to peacefully protest or deter them from exercising their Charter Right to peacefully assemble.”
Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber maintain their involvement in the Ottawa demonstrations was in opposition to the federal government’s approach during the pandemic, including vaccine mandates. Their supporters and the federal Conservatives also later criticized Mr. Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, calling it a major overreach.
In February, 2023, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge who served as commissioner of a public inquiry into the use of the act found its invocation was appropriate. Justice Paul Rouleau said he did not come to this conclusion easily because he did not “consider the factual basis for it to be overwhelming.”
In January, 2024, the Federal Court ruled the federal government acted unreasonably and was not legally justified in its decision to invoke the act. A month later, the government said in a statement that while it respects the independent judiciary, it did not agree with the decision and would appeal it.