The prosecution of Chris Barber and Tamara Lich for their roles in the trucker convoy protests at times feels unsettling. Is it a microcosm of how our institutions and systems haven’t come to terms with what many people, outside the laptop bubble, are experiencing. Like forcing vaccination with an experimental product on healthy people or enabling a child’s psychic confusion with pharmaceuticals and surgery, the trial is a process but to what purpose? Where does this lead?
As I watched a series of Chris Barber’s TikTok videos unspool on courtroom screens yesterday, I was pulled back to those first days of the convoy when my faith in my fellow Canadians was restored. I had been concerned that the running of the country had been handed to public health bureaucrats, that our elected officials had stepped away and were no longer in charge. That media was not holding to account the people they should. Risk/benefit calculations had not been run and it was becoming clear the cure was worse than the disease. No matter how esteemed the expert witnesses, courts were not finding in favour of people challenging the government’s civil liberties overreach as we faced lockdown after lockdown and a mandated shot.
In the TikToks, we see Barber reacting to what the convoy had achieved and it made me smile for a minute recollecting those weeks of hope. Sitting almost directly in front of me, I watched him for a reaction but saw only a focussed man jotting notes in rapt attention.
The short videos and other social media seem to be making up a large part of the Crown’s case which involves proving mischief and the counselling of same — something Tim Radcliffe will likely argue the videos show. But that’s not what I saw. No one in that courtroom could walk away without noticing how well Barber comes off. He veers between imploring the protestors to be peaceful, to frustration at the government’s intransigence, to astonishment over the convoy’s successful fundraising campaign — a measure of how Canadians perceived the protest. And perhaps its downfall. Don’t forget it was the former mayor of Ottawa who convinced Go Fund Me to shut down the convoy account based on false allegations the truckers were violent. From Blacklock’s:
The proceedings have been plagued by organizational issues and technical glitches but so far it’s been cordial between all parties. Justice Heather Perkins-McVey even addressed the gallery Thursday morning to inquire if we could see and hear the video monitors well enough to follow along. I raised my hand and asked if they could be raised higher and she acknowledge that this a problem but not fixable. As I’ve said, she seems affable and fair. All good things in a criminal court justice.
Back to the videos — from the Ottawa Citizen:
Convoy protest organizer Chris Barber called for people to “flood the city” in a social media video that was shown Thursday in court as part of his criminal trial in Ottawa.
The Crown hopes his rallying call for people to come to Ottawa last year as police ordered protesters to leave may prove just as damaging to his fellow organizer, Tamara Lich as they could potentially be to Barber.
Barber, who operated a trucking business in Swift Current, Sask., and Lich, from Medicine Hat, Alta., are co-accused in the trial. They face charges of mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, intimidation, and obstructing police, all in relation to their roles organizing the protest against COVID-19 health restrictions last year that blockaded downtown Ottawa streets for weeks.
Barber faces an additional charge of counselling others to disobey a court order that banned the big rigs and other vehicles parked in the streets in protest, from honking their horns in the downtown core.
In the end, no matter what the outcome, this trial will be seen as a referendum on a citizen’s right to peacefully protest in the face of what they perceive as a grave and even life-threatening injustice.
There will be a motion to dismiss from the convoy lawyers at some point.
Just about to record this week’s podcast and then back to court.
Hybrid Edition: Sorry for the delay. Yesterday was busy, just getting back from Ottawa. I am including this week’s podcast which is also about the convoy and includes voice messages from people whose lives were harmed by Trudeau’s vaccine mandates (that he says didn’t force anyone).
I’ve been tough on Crown Attorney Tim Radcliffe this week but I don’t think unfairly. It is a mystery to me why he is conducting his case against trucker convoy defendants Chris Barber and Tamara Lich in a manner that is clearly frustrating the judge, annoying the defence and making long days in the courtroom almost unbearably boring.
Friday was a shit show that caused Justice Heather Perkins-McVey to suggest the trial has the potential for going off the rails. She has been a paragon of patience so far but Friday was so bizarre she requested a recess to settle herself. And her mantra was something like I am not happy.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVey
Radcliffe seems either unprepared or somehow unaware of the rules of evidence and disclosure — the gist of which is that the prosecutor must provide the elements of its case to the defence plus all materials in reasonable time to allow counsel to prepare a response. Criminal law 101. From the Criminal Law Notebook.
The Crown must disclose all materials and information that is in its possession or control that is not clearly irrelevant, regardless of if the evidence is to be called at trial or is inculpatory or exculpatory.[1]
The right to disclosures premised upon (1) the right to know the case to meet and (2) the right to make full answer in defence of an offence charged.[2]
Materials in possession of the Crown are not the “property” of the Crown but rather is the “property of the public to be used to ensure that justice is done.”[3]
Purpose
The right to disclosure is founded in the principle of fair play between parties[4] as well as the right to make full answer and defence. [5]
The right to make full answer and defence also suggests in a timely fashion which defence lawyer, Diane Magas asserts did not happen here. Canadian Press picked up by CTV reported in detail what transpired.
Hope that the trial of two “Freedom Convoy” organizers would last only four weeks may be dashed after the defence raised complaints about receiving heaps of new evidence mid trial.
There was a sense of tension in the courtroom Friday as Crown and defence lawyers sparred over the timing of the delivery of binders of text message evidence to the defence.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVey called a short recess to step away from the bench to “settle” herself after telling the lawyers she was “very unhappy” about the late-stage disclosure.
“This should have been done well before the trial,” she chided before leaving the courtroom.
Perkins-McVey is now working with court staff to find more dates as the prospect the trial will run long has grown. Initially 16 days were set aside for the trial, with three extra days added to the court’s calendar as a precaution.
But as the first week of hearings drew to a close Friday, it was clear the timelines were on the brink of being blown.
In fairness to Radcliffe, he might argue that there is precedent for what he is doing. Perhaps I just didn’t understand it or had stepped out to the washroom but there seemed to be general bafflement toward his approach to evidence. What does this mean for the case? It’s not a good look for the Crown but honourable judges, as Justice Perkins-McVey seems to be, can overlook these issues in the end and focus solely on the evidence as she perceives it — so this is not necessarily a freebie for Lich and Barber.
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In American courts, not handing over exculpatory evidence, something called a Brady violation, will get a convicted person out of jail if discovered after trial. It happened in a wrongful conviction case I investigated involving boxer Dewey Bozella, imprisoned for murdering an elderly lady in upstate New York. No one is suggesting Radcliffe is hiding evidence. But rather delivering it in perhaps obstructionist ways.
All week, there have been housekeeping issues and questions of actual provenance around what seems like hundreds of exhibits, from TikTok videos to digital messaging. As someone who works in documentary films, I can tell you that organizing this kind of material, on a scale this size is a humongous job and the Crown should have set aside a special budget and staff to ensure it was organized and accessible to all relevant parties in meaningful ways. I suspect the Crown’s case relies on it – so this could require a huge fix. Lots of people will be working on it this weekend on both side of the aisle.
This week’s show (listen here) is a convoy special with my documentary producing partner Jacqueline Bynon who was in Ottawa with me and our crew and Tom Marazzo, a convoy participant who has a new book out about his experience. On the show you will hear the voice recordings from Canada and the UK of people whose lives were turned upside by the vaccine mandates that didn’t, according tour our prime minister, mandate the vaccine at all. We didn’t suffer the losses and pain we think we did — because Justin Trudeau is now saying it didn’t happen.
As the morning wore on yesterday in Courtroom Five at the Ottawa Court Building, anticipation and excitement about what might transpire was tamped down by hours of legal housekeeping, most of it brought forward by Crown Tim Radcliffe. He seemed to be struggling with his video evidence and as he did, I spent time studying the mini-community that was taking shape in the gallery.
Behind the Crown on one side, most of legacy media plus professional types focussed on various electronic devices, including phones and laptops. Across the aisle, behind the defense tables many casually attired folks who seemed to have come a long way to support Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. During breaks, everyone was cordial but there wasn’t much mixing. Indy media stuck to themselves and the legacy media types stayed in their own lane. It was clear to see we would be covering the case in different ways. Imagine this happening even five years ago. Unthinkable.
Media, including our documentary crew waiting outside the courthouse.
I couldn’t help feeling it was a microcosm of the country. Like good Canadians, everyone was well behaved but I detected suspicion and the gap between the two sides created and reinforced by our prime minister’s rhetoric was on full display. To be honest, the convoy has exposed a class struggle in this country exacerbated by pols and media who tarnish working people with the usual epithets.
Like the Rodney King case — one of the first where video evidence was paramount, this trial will likely revolve around the thousands of hours shot by citizens and police. The convoy protest was one of the most widely photographed ever given the rise of the cell-phone camera and the growing cadres of citizen journalists who got fed up with legacy media’s bias. But if yesterday is any indication, the Crown is unlikely to produce any gotcha video moments. Constable Craig Barlow presented an 11 minute compilation of videos, some of it police body cam that the Crown must have believed contained inculpatory moments. I didn’t see any and it got worse. From the Ottawa Citizen.
The court was introduced to life in Ottawa during the protests with a 12-minute video of scenes recorded by police from the protest compiled by the first witness in the case, Const. Craig Barlow with the Ottawa police cyber crimes unit.
The sound of revving engines, air horns, chants of “freedom” and “we’re not leaving” filled the Ottawa courtroom as scenes of blocked intersections, large crowds, open fires and Canadian flags played on a large TV screen.
The video also showed a sea of protesters pushing back against police during a massive operation to put an end to the protest.
In her cross-examination, Diane Magas, who is representing Barber, asked Barlow whether he reviewed video of people hugging, games of pickup street hockey, a bouncy castle, and other scenes from the convoy that weren’t included in the compilation video.
When Magus argued to see more than edited snippets and the longer original versions, the video flooded the courtroom with trucker chants of Love not Fear, hardly a scary rallying cry. Justice Heather Perkins-McVey even referred to the phrase in a later discussion. In cross, Magus also asked Barlow if he included any of the video of police hitting protestors in the head. He did not. So she showed it to the court.
As a condition of Tamara’s bail, she is ordered to stay out of the Red Zone in Ottawa unless accompanied by her lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon. That was lifted for lunch yesterday and there will be more talks on-going. I heard from a source there was concern from the Crown Law Office when the bail conditions were originally set, that her presence on the street might trigger locals.
Tamara Lich with her husband Dwayne, yesterday.
And there is some hysteria here. In our hotel, a kindly restaurant worker let loose with a torrent of convoy critiques, including a false tale of a car full of explosives belonging to the protestors. When we mentioned that were this true, there would be criminal charges connected to it and it would have been litigated at the POEC — he defaulted to it’s a secret. And so it goes.
Regardless of what evidence is presented by the Crown at trial, there are a lot of folktales about the protest on a repeat-loop here that perhaps one day an anthropologist can explain.
There was talk last night at dinner that legacy media are doing an OK job covering this case so far. As I said yesterday — perhaps there is a break in our national storm.
I think many people understand what is at stake here, including the judge who is thoughtful and no-nonsense so far. Barber’s lawyer, is going for it. Interesting to watch.
Note: I will be posting Tweets from the courtroom here when I can.
Also – I am quoting from daily news reports for detailed spoken evidence because they are permitted to record the proceedings as they unfold. As an unaccredited journalist, I am not.
Stay critical.
Please consider supporting our documentary team on the ground here.
– Mama Bears Project update – video and resources for pregnant and nursing moms
– Smart Cities
– Freedom Rising Newsletter –Issue 53 – Support Pastor Artur Pawlowski
– Support NHPPA’s Say Goodbye! Campaign locally
– Druthers The July and August editions at our rallies! Donations are always appreciated.
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FAMILY FREEDOM EVENTS – Penticton4Freedom – every Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m.
COMING UP THIS SUNDAY
Thank you to all the AMAZING folks that keep FREEDOM alive. Mary Lou is away for a few weeks and is so happy others have stepped in to keep our Sundays a Freedom Day. ~ thank you!!!
Now being held at Lakawanna Park during the summer months
Moving to Lakawanna Park for the summer gives our events a more family-friendly name and environment as part of reaching out to the community around us. Lots of families at the beach. Lots of folks are out strolling.
Laureen’s table with important information and a petition to end BCs Bill 36.
Elsie’s table with Druthers newspapers, Vaccine Choice Canada handouts and more, for parents and curious others.
Local speakers always, and Surprise Guest Speakers frequently!
And sometimes… wait for it… Derrick’s mobile freedom billboard!
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Please arrive early (12:30) to help set up the stage and the tables, and to invite passers-by to join us.
Miss a week and you miss a lot!Fighting for freedom is more fun with friends. Bring a few. Suggest a topic or a speaker, and we’ll be happy to find someone to share their knowledge with us.——————————- o0o————————————- OTHERS’ EVENTS · Kelowna CLEAR Rallies – 1st Saturday of each month at noon – Stuart Park, Kelowna · Oliver Rally – in front of city hall – Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. · Local A4C – Every Tuesday at Noon Protesting with Purpose: Richard Cannings 301 Main Street Penticton – Next Planning Meeting August 15th at 4:30 p.m. – Winepress Church ~ · Check online for school board meetings and city council meetings in your area. They’ve been changing dates lately. ——————————————- o0o————————————————-EVENTSHOLD THE LINE
Tamara LichSummer Book TourExperience the power of shared vision and come together for positive change in individuals’ lives and society as a whole. Fearless leader Tamara Lich will be joined by various special guest speakers including Ted Kuntz, Shaun Newman, Turi Johnson and more. Meet and Greet to follow the special guest speakers. Tamara’s book, Hold the Line, will be available for purchase. Please consider donating. Limited seating is available, reserve your tickets now for the following events:Wednesday, August 16thSalmon Arm – 7pm – Salmar Classic Theatre. Thursday, August 17th Vernon – 11am – Prestige Inn. Thursday, August 17th Kelowna – 7pm – Sandman Hotel & Suites. Tickets can be purchased athttps://freedomnetwork.ca, or email info@freedomnetwork.ca for more information. ——————————- o0o————————————-
WORTH A LOOK Mama Bears Update – Protecting Pregnant and Nursing Mothers https://mamabearsproject.com/protect-pregnancy-campaign/ While there, check out the Mental Health ProgramThe introductory video is two hours long but filled with information and the page has multiple resources available as well. https://mamabearsproject.com/mental-health-program/ The Mama Bears Project was originally all about COVID-19, and the group has taken on a new focus – to become a complete resource for Canadian parents. Their new website is a great start and worth a look. https://mamabearsproject.com/ Their process includes a call-out to other child-focused organizations to reach out and provide links to their materials as well. As well, they are engaging in a number of major campaigns through collaboration with those other groups, in particular, partnering with the Canadian Covid Care Alliance as the research arm to provide science-based evidence. https://www.canadiancovidcarealliance.org/ It’s All About the Children It’s Okay to Wait Education is the first step before meaningful action can be taken ——————————- o0o————————————-Smart Cities NEW! BC 15-Min Smart City Coalition Subscribe today to the new weekly BC 15-Min Smart City Coalition newsletter for details and zoom invites: click here Part 1: Geoff and Adrienne – Librti (1hr) https://librti.com/view-video/investigating-15-minute-cities-geoff Part 2: Geoff (55min) 15 Minute City Presentation – Part 2 (rumble.com) 10-min presentation: Geoff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rpVpgJxA9I Questions for BC-wide? Email BC15min@proton.me Note, separate local community meetings and contact info are detailed in the newsletter. on behalf of BC Rising——————————- o0o————————————-Action-Packed Freedom Rising Newsletter Issue 53 – Support Pastor Artur PawlowskiHERE This newsletter is now delivered only every 2 weeks~ Life is meant to be enjoyed and summer is the time to do it! Of Special Note in this latest Freedom Rising newsletter is the NHPPA’s Say Goodbye! Campaign https://nhppa.org/?p=23427 Next time you drop by your local health food/supplements store, please encourage them to participate in this campaign. The SOS postcard campaign put out by their membership association was steering them in the wrong direction – simply asking for a lowering of fines, rather than the deregulation of the entire industry, which is the ultimate goal of the NHPPA. ——————————- o0o————————————-
My friends, it has been an incredible journey so far with this grassroots, people-powered project called Druthers. With your help, we have printed & distributed an astounding ~ 8 MILLION Druthers Newspapers ~ all across Canada since this all began back in December 2020! DONATE HERE: donorbox.org/druthers With 8 million of these papers planting seeds of mind opening thoughts into our communities all over Canada, (distributed by 1000’s of passionate readers) you know we are having a tremendous impact in a few different ways. 1. Sharing honest news & information helps more people recognize a bigger agenda. And when enough people see, WE WILL MAKE CHANGES for the better. 2. For those who do already see, Druthers papers provide a powerful, FREE TOOL which they can use directly in their own local communities. 3. For many people receiving the paper, IT GIVES HOPE to know they are not alone in their ways of thinking and seeing the world. 4. It empowers everyone to be wisdom & STRENGTH TO SAY NO when things are being pushed upon them which they do not agree with. 5. A wonderful, VIBRANT COMMUNITY of freedom-minded people from all walks of life has formed around this project, all across Canada, and beyond. Almost 3 years and we’re still cranking them out at just 10 CENTS per paper! It is important that we keep this project going and your support truly is the only way we are able to keep putting out 250,000 Druthers papers each month. DONATE HERE – LAST DAY – PLEASE HELP It costs $25k per month to keep 250,000 papers flowing freely, so please give generously, or whatever you are able. Every dime you contribute means 1 Druthers newspaper gets printed and then placed in someone’s hands or mailbox here in Canada. How many dimes can you pitch in this month?Much love, Shawn Jason>> GO TO FUNDRAISING PAGERead August Issue Online. Pick up the July edition Covering news and information that mainstream media won’t. The online edition appears before the print edition and the printed version of the August issue will not likely arrive in the Okanagan until mid-August. The link above is for the September edition. As a former newsletter publisher, I am very familiar with production cycles and the need to finance each production before you hit the presses. Our contribution from funds raised at our rallies for the August issue was only $100. We urge you to drop a few dollars in the Druthers box at our rallies each week. The price of a Tim’s or Starbuck’s take-out latte each week would make a huge difference to the number of copies that can be printed. DRUTHERS was able to print an extra 5,000 copies for the Okanagan because of our Penticton4Freedom donations to the June edition ($500), but continuing support is needed to keep the paper coming. Thank you for being an everyday hero by donating, reading, sharing and distributing Druthers copies in your area. Mary Lou Read DRUTHERS
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JOIN THE TEAM!
Want to join the fun in one of these initiatives or suggest another more important to you?
Just reply to this email or call 780-908-0309 to offer your help and suggestions.
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And receive lots of ((( FREEDOM HUGS! ))) (if you want them)
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Remember that Freedom Hugs are available at ALL our Penticton4Freedom events!
. Whether that’s by reading my book Hold The Line, donating to help pay for my legal fees, helping promote my book, attending events and rallies, or even participating in the 2022 Freedom Convoy — I just wanted to thank you. So, I’ve teamed up with Rebel News to launch a book tour this summer so I can thank you in person. I’m hoping you can make it out to one of our events. The dates for the book tour can be seen below or by clicking here. Some of the events are documentary screenings with Rebel News, and some will be regular book signings. Tickets for the book signings start at $5, but you can use your ticket to get a discount when you purchase a copy at the event. I can’t wait to meet you and hope to see you soon. Yours truly, Tamara Lich P.S. If you know anyone in the area of any of my book signing events, please forward them this email!
Barrie (Ontario) Book Signing Meet Tamara Lich at The Simmering Kettle restaurant in Barrie, Ontario, for a book signing event for her newly published book, Hold The Line: My Story From the Heart of the Freedom Convoy. Thursday, July 27
Creemore (Ontario) Book Signing Join Tamara Lich at The Station on the Green in Creemore, Ontario, for a family-friendly book signing event where you can purchase books and speak with Tamara directly.Friday, July 28
Huntsville (Ontario) Book Signing and Film Screening Tamara Lich will have a book signing table set up at the Rebel News Church Under Fire documentary screening with Producers Sheila Gunn Reid and Kian Simone. Saturday, July 29
Toronto (Ontario) Book Signing Tamara Lich will be joined by Ezra Levant, Tamara Ugolini, and David Menzies for a special book signing. All at the luxurious Eglinton Grande. Tuesday, August 1
Dresden (Ontario) Book Signing See Tamara Lich at The Old Czech Hall in Dresden, Ontario. Purchase a book, get it signed, and let Tamara thank you for your support. Wednesday, August 2
Aylmer (Ontario) Book Signing Hear from Tamara Lich and Pastor Hildebrandt at the Church of God. Books will be available for sale, and you can ask Tamara any questions. Thursday, August 3
Surrey (BC) Book Signing Join Tamara Lich at White Rock Seventh-day Adventist Church in Surrey, BC for a family-friendly book reading, signing, and question and answer session with attendees. Wednesday, August 9
Whistler (BC) Book Signing and Film Screening Tamara Lich and Rebel News head west to sign books and screen the documentary “Church Under Fire.” Joining Tamara will be Sheila Gunn Reid and Kian Simone. Thursday, August 10
Powell River (BC) Book Signing and Film Screening Rebel News’ Sheila Gunn Reid will be screening “Church Under Fire” at the Evergreen Theatre in Powell River, British Columbia. Tamara Lich will sign and sell books at the theatre too! Saturday, August 12
[The Canadian “justice” system is broken. Peaceful dissidents like Tamara Lich, one of the leaders of the Truckers’ Freedom Convoy faced a minor charge — “counselling mischief.” Yet, the vengeful judicial system, increasingly politicized, denied her bail for 57 days and then imposed draconian conditions. She’s gagged: she not allowed to go on social media or comment publicly on protests against COVID restrictions. Contrast her situation to accused Red Chinese spy Yuesheng Wang . He’s accused of stealing technical information from Hydro Quebec and passing it on to Red China. He’s a Chinese national with a work permit in Canada. Yet, he gets kid glove treatment from the courts. He gets bail, with the condition that he surrender his Chinese passport and keep his cellphone on him so that police can know his whereabouts. A kid could explain how he might flee. His Red Chinese spymasters (if he is, indeed, a spy) can easily reissue him a new passport and he could leave his phone at home and be ought of the country in a few hours. It’s a sick joke. Peacefully protest our woke government’s policies and the system want to keep you in jail. As a foreigner, steal Canadian technical secrets and you’re good to go. — Paul Fromm]
Alleged Chinese spy in Quebec freed on bail ahead of trial
Updated Nov. 28, 2022 4:41 p.m. EST Published Nov. 28, 2022 10:50 a.m. EST Share
Longueuil, Que. –
A former employee of Quebec’s power utility who is charged with spying on behalf of China was granted bail Monday, after a judge said the accused was more likely than not to stay in Canada awaiting trial.
Yuesheng Wang, 35, is the first person to be charged with economic espionage under Canada’s Security of Information Act. He also faces three charges under the Criminal Code: fraudulently using a computer, fraudulently obtaining a trade secret and breach of trust.
Federal prosecutors opposed his release because they felt he was a flight risk. But Quebec court Judge Marco LaBrie said detention pending trial wasn’t necessary because of the “serious guarantees” that Wang offered as a condition of release.
“Zero-risk doesn’t exist, but the court is convinced the probability is much more likely that Mr. Wang will remain in Canada and present himself for his trial,” LaBrie said, as Wang listened to a translation in Mandarin.
Wang agreed to surrender his Chinese passport, carry a cellphone at all times so police can use GPS to geolocate him, and put up his two properties as a guarantee. Wang must also check in weekly at RCMP headquarters and is forbidden from contacting the Chinese government — except to seek assistance with his case, and only after the contact is approved by his lawyer.
Wang, a Chinese national living in Canada on a work visa, worked in a specialized centre at Hydro-Quebec that developed technology for electric vehicles and energy-storage systems. He is alleged to have given information about the public corporation to a Chinese university and Chinese research centres, and to have transferred confidential documents and unauthorized photos to his personal email address. Police also allege that Wang used information without his employer’s consent, harming Hydro-Quebec’s intellectual property.
Last week, he took the witness stand during his two-day bail hearing — an unusual move, as most defendants don’t testify to the evidence against them during preliminary court proceedings. Wang denied all the charges and said he wanted to remain in Canada to clear his name.
During his testimony, Wang told the court that the information he is accused of stealing was “open source” and not a trade secret. He added that the photos he had taken of the laboratory were to identify security concerns. He said he had not shared the photos.
The judge said on Monday that there was no evidence presented at the bail hearing to suggest Wang had attempted to flee the country after his Nov. 14 arrest and his termination from Hydro-Quebec. He had been under RCMP surveillance for more than a month before he was charged.
Federal prosecutor Marc Cigana told reporters after the ruling that the judge’s decision was “legally sound.”
“The judge believed yes, there was a flight risk, but that risk was manageable, and he was able to manage it by imposing those conditions,” Cigana said.
“I respect the judge’s decision and I hope that Mr. Wang will also.”
Defence lawyer Gary Martin said he accepted with humility the judge’s ruling. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, many things that are still coming from the Crown,” Martin said. “I’m sure there’s more reports, more evidence, more surveillance tapes. We’ll have to work with that and get this case ready for a trial.”
Wang’s girlfriend, Yunfeng Zheng, put up $1,000 as part of his bail conditions. “Personally, I don’t think he’ll run away … I trust him very much,” Zheng told reporters.
The resident of Candiac, Que., will remain detained until a notary draws up a court-ordered mortgage for his properties. The case will return to court on Dec. 13.
If a “round up” can be defined as corralling a collection of animals into enclosures for a particular purpose then Canadians can easily imagine themselves as the new livestock. It’s an easy analogy to make given the past almost-three-years of incessant whining by authorities of all stripes to “follow the science” as they concurrently prod us away from each other and into enclosures dispensing one-size-fits-all vaccination programs. It’s this or suffer the consequences of your, supposedly, uncoerced choices and lose your job, your ability to travel or even your kids as you obstinately put the public good and the public health at risk. To make matters worse, those livestock that have the temerity to wander off away from the cattle drive are left defenseless as attempts to justify their well-considered, but contrary, ways are met with obfuscation and outright ad hominem attack by controlling authorities and agencies alike. These strays are cancelled and belittled.
Some “strays” in present-day Canada refuse to be corralled
The fact that the roundup has been continuing apace for some time now is evidenced by C3RF’s own “One Stop Tyrant Shop”. This chronicling of overreaching dictates, edicts and mandates that work to carve out traditional, freedom-minded citizens from the herd of their more pliant counterparts is compiled from C3RF “Update” observations extending from 2018 to the present day. The current version, version 15, is a stunning 42 pages long and is growing as we speak. Indeed, the latest additions to this ever-expanding compilation of draconian measures and insults aimed at everyday Canadians include:
a recognition of the fact that, according to both Saskatchewan and Alberta officials, the Emergencies Act was invoked illegally as the declaration lacked the required consultations with provincial authorities.
For the strays that refuse to be rounded by self-declared wranglers for whatever reason, the size and accelerating growth of the “One Stop Tyrant Shop” comes as no surprise. They believe what their own eyes see and have long recognized the current Canadian regime to be unconstrained by any check or balance. They see their executive, legislative and judicial bodies arrayed against them to pursue political power over and above any need to enable a “representative democracy”. They see a juggernaut that has lost all respect for the individual Charter rights of a formerly free people. For those moving along in the midst of the cattle drive, the mere size of the “Shop” comes as a shock to the system as, like a frog in pot of gradually heated water, they are beginning to see bubbles roiling around them.
Is it too late for the Canadian frog in a pot?
Canadian authorities have tried to play the long game by gradually cranking up the heat on Canadian civil liberties. In doing so, they likely perceived it was the best way to achieve the desired outcome of moving the country away from the individual liberties, meritocracy and free markets characteristic of a Western liberal democracy towards one that is centrally controlled by an “expert” class. This process has been facilitated by the creation of a supporting superstructure of legislation girded by judicial pronouncements that act to curtail any opposition, let alone debate. And so we see Bills C-11, C-18 and C-261 promulgated to curtail and shape what you can say in the public square even as the authors of such legislation give themselves the arbitrary power to define just what is acceptable when it comes to thinking and communicating. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the same NDP-sponsored government is floating a new law by way of Bill C-23 that would see climate cops given the power to conduct warrantless searches and seizures in the name of protecting the environment. Is it all becoming just a little too obvious? Even to those in the midst of the cattle drive?
Is Canada’s descent into despotism getting just too obvious?
The rising
The rising sense that all is not going in accordance with “rule of law” principles that purport to dispense justice equally is being fuelled by a consistent barrage of biased and divisive actions foisted upon the public, and individual citizens, by the powers-that-be. The sheer number of these edicts, mandates and decrees, many of which escape any legislative process as noted in the “One Stop Tyrant Shop”, prompts the question: is it all about rewarding friends and punishing enemies? What to think when:
Tamara Lich is shackled and denied bail for “mischief” charges related to the Freedom Convoy 2022 protests while the return from Syria of alleged ISIS terrorists is celebrated by Canadian media and public safety officials. Tamara is chopped liver while the latter have Charter rights and must be removed from “sub-human conditions” in Syria;
The Canadian legal and political systems move heaven and earth to patriate a self-confessed terrorist from American POW detention, and then award him $10.5 million in the name of Charter rights, even as these same systems can only muster efforts “at the margins” when it comes to judicially reviewing the constitutionality of pandemic measures.
It would seem that Canadian governance systems are operating on a divide and conquer basis to favour certain voting blocs while intimidating others into submission. This might be a good way to secure power and control over the short term but, as more and more Canadians become aware of the discriminatory measures at play, a backlash looms. How long will Canadians stand by and allow Section 1 of their Charter to be ignored? The section that demands limitations on their fundamental rights be “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.
Shackles for Tamara, dollars for the more-favoured when it comes to Charter rights?
The fact that some Canadians have come to see the writing on the wall when it comes to the evaporation of their civil liberties is now playing out as an embarrassing exodus. C3RF stalwart, Debbie, has chosen to rise up and vote with her feet by packing up her Canadian possessions, selling her house and hitting the road for Mexico. She now reports that she is at a U.S./ Mexican border town where other Canadians are amassing and coordinating a united crossing. Other Canadians are looking closer to home for relief from government and “expert” overreach and moving to provinces that are more amenable to protecting their individual rights and freedoms. Top of the list is Alberta under its new Premier, Danielle Smith. She has promised to push back against such unsupported tyranny and has already apologized to the unvaccinated for the discriminations they have suffered in her province until now. All this in conjunction with nurses moving en mass to free regimes, such as Florida, to get away from a Covid-only medical system that is resulting in “negative outcomes” for patients. Should it be a surprise when good people move away from oppressive jurisdictions to better their lives? Wasn’t that once the calling card for those seeking to land on the shores of a “strong and free” Canada?
Canadians surging to Alberta for a better chance of securing their civil liberties?
Not all Canadians are voting with their feet though. Some, like Greg Hill, have accepted the gauntlet thrown down by bullying governments and “cancel culture” to declare “fight’s on”. Greg lost his job as a Canadian airliner pilot due to vaccine mandates and is now a Director at the “Free to Fly Canada” organization. Free to Fly has expanded rapidly to comprise more than 2000 aviation professionals and 40,000 passengers all dedicated to retrieving lost mobility rights guaranteed under the Charter. They note that such restrictions may have been “suspended” but that they stand to be re-initiated in line with predictions from our own Prime minister. As part of his in-place fight, Greg has penned a “Declaration for the Promotion of Truth and Individual Rights and Freedoms”. This avowal proposes that Canadians of all stripes commit to legal, civil disobedience measures to resist the onset of tyranny in Canada.
Greg Hill, Director at Free to Fly Canada declares, “fight’s on”
The reckoning
Try as it might, the efforts of governments, courts, the media and “cancel culture” to obscure and justify the dissolution of individual rights and freedoms in Canada, both through fluffed up emergencies and legislation, cannot escape eventual judgement by the public-writ-large. This will be a certainty as the alternate outcome, in the form of a deep dive into the loss of all such rights, is just too depressing to even consider. The process brought to bear will need to be independent in nature given the enormity and power of the agencies and authorities, both public and private, that have been involved in the lifting and restricting of civil liberties over the course of the Wuhan virus pandemic. As it stands now, the failure to enact such a review and move on its recommendations ensures the same will happen over and over again until the very nature of Canadian society is irrevocably impacted to leave a hellscape for our progeny.
Does a hellscape await a Canada disinterested in its descent into despotism?
Another C3RF stalwart, Barry, has joined the conversation on the matter of a Canadian drift into a dystopic future by noting that it is being promulgated by an “overbearing central government devoid of principle or restraint intent on controlling our behavior and thoughts, even on-line”. Certainly, if we are to shut down such overreach now and into the future we will not only have to take Greg Hill’s Declaration to heart but go beyond such civil disobedience measures to make some concurrent structural changes. We have to realize that we got to where we are now, a country operating at odds with the principles that so many have fought and died for before us, through a dearth of checks and balances required to slow down, let alone halt, such illiberal excursions. Barry suggests that the problem lies in the fact that cultural and societal changes have taken us to a place where we have outgrown our British-style parliamentary system.
Has Canada outgrown its British-style parliamentary system?
As Barry also notes, “Canada’s British style parliamentary system only works so long as the central government acts with reasonable prudence and restraint”. Unfortunately, and in a day and age that lacks the servant-leaders required to propel such an honourable enterprise forward, we are left with a governance system that affords far too much power to a select few. We see this full force in the Canadian parliamentary system where the Prime Minister has the power to handpick his or her executive in the form of a Governor General and Cabinet and then go on to appoint, through a proxy Governor General, Senators and Supreme and Federal Court judges. In the hands of an individual driven by modern-day ideologies that lionize “the end justifies the means”, the nation can easily find itself being held hostage by a “kid in a candy store”. Is it any wonder that Canadians see their liberties being zapped by the legal and political ministrations of a system crafted to suit a person at the center of the power structure – a person who suffers no constraints from a compliant media or political opposition in the form of NDP-type support. If any country needed structural change to its governance systems, perhaps in the form of recall and term limit legislation, it would be Canada. Either that or vote in a slate of servant-leaders capable of measuring up to the required standard of integrity and honour demanded by a parliamentary system?
Does Canada need more servant-leaders and less “end justifies the means”?
Thanks for your continued support
Your patronage makes a world of difference in the ability of C3RF to educate, advocate and act in service of preserving the individual and fundamental rights of all Canadians. It is truly unfortunate that such efforts are required but the fact remains, these rights and freedoms are coming under increasing attack from all quarters including our own legislative, judicial, media, academic and security authorities. Please know that the funds you so generously donate go directly into campaigning, events, bookkeeping, technology costs and legal advice. When these basic services are met, we use excess funding to assist other groups in advancing the cause of Canadian individual rights within a strong and free Canada. We also contribute to related legal proceedings and charitable activities when able. If you missed the call, click here to support C3RF today!
On Day 16 of the Emergencies Act hearings, the main organizer of the Freedom Convoy Tamara Lich took the stand for the first time since her bail hearing in late July.
Lich was asked about what her life had been like after her arrest in Ottawa on Feb 17.
“I’ve lost my job, I’ve lost my freedom of speech, I’ve lost my freedom to communicate with my friends,” said Lich tearfully.
“I have to be very careful about every move that I make,” she continued. “My trial’s not until next year… I have to live under these conditions for a year.”
That’s the way Canada’s soft tyranny “justice system, silences dissidents. Tamara Lich was arrested for the minor non-violent offence of counselling mischief. Yet, she was jailed for 56 days and twice denied bail. When she finally got bail, her conditions would make Stalin blush. She was completely silenced politically. This gag order may last until her trial which could be many months away.
Her counsel Edmonton lawyer Keith Wilson told Rebel News (October 14, 2022): Her “bail conditions are worse than the conditions, the free speech conditions that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has put on [Alexei] Navalny, his chief critic. You could interview him in his jail cell in Russia, but you cannot interview, in Trudeau’s Canada, Tamara Lich about the circumstances of her protest!”
Appeal from Derek Sloan Regarding the Emergency Inquiry
First, I would like to thank you again for all of your donations, your generosity to these freedom fighters is going a long way to help them continue to fight.
As the Emergency Inquiry continues – we have an exciting week ahead – with Tom Marazzo, Chris Barber, Danny Bulford, Brigitte Belton and Tamara Lich scheduled to testify. I’m certain their testimony will be riveting. etransfer : fundingthefight@proton.me Please use password – Freedom Today we want to broaden the net to raise some money for lost wages and living expenses for other Convoy heroes who are in Ottawa testifying and witnessing the proceedings.
Chris Barber, AKA Big Red, is one of the original founding members of the Freedom Convoy from Saskatchewan. He has been in Ottawa occurring expenses for the past few weeks.
Maggie Dingman is a mother who was arrested, driven 30 min away from downtown and dropped off in the snow without a working cell phone. She’s been suffering from PTSD as a result of the police pointing a rifle at her head.
Brigitte Belton is a hardworking trucker and one of the main organizers of the Convoy. Brigitte and Chris brought Tamara Lich into the original group and she began organizing the Freedom Convoy.
Chris Deering is an Afghanistan veteran and a Convoy leader. He was beaten by the police, and lost one of his medals that he was proudly wearing during his arrest. He lost a significant amount of wages during the period of his arrest, and is incurring further expenses right now in Ottawa during the Emergency Act inquiry.
Danny Bulford is a former RCMP sniper who worked on Justin Trudeau’s security detail. His stand for truth cost him his job, but gained him a lot of respect. He was a crucial part of Convoy operations.
And finally there’s Tamara Lich. She’s been arrested, denied bail, and re-arrested and denied bail again. The government has brought the hammer down on her – because she’s been the figurehead of the Convoy movement. They hope they can break her. I’m betting they won’t. etransfer: fundingthefight@proton.me Please use password – Freedom Please help support Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, Chris Deering, Maggie Dingman, Brigitte Belton, and Danny Bulford as they continue to fight for truth in Ottawa.
The Justice Centre is a registered charity committed to defending the constitutional rights of Canadians.
Canadians and truckers from across the country made their way to Ottawa in January, to exercise their right to peaceful protest against government mandates. This was a grassroots movement that resulted in the largest peaceful protest in Canadian history. The Government responded by invoking the Emergencies Act, bringing in armed police, and using unprecedented power and violence to end an otherwise peaceful protest. The government also froze bank accounts of Canadians who supported the protestors.
In February 2022, the Justice Centre funded a team of lawyers to provide legal advice and representation to peaceful Canadian protestors in Ottawa. Justice Centre lawyers facilitated communications with police and played a role in coordinating an agreement with the City of Ottawa to move trucks out of residential areas.
Since February, the Justice Centre has continued to provide legal representation, through its own lawyers as well as outside counsel, to:
Approximately 50 Canadians who have been criminally charged when their sole “crime” was to exercise their constitutional rights to assemble peacefully in Ottawa and express their opposition to government lockdowns and vaccine mandates;
Truckers and other Canadians who have been named defendants in a $305-million class action lawsuit brought against them in Ontario Superior Court;
Canadians who are challenging the abuse of the Emergencies Act in Federal Court, seeking a declaration that the government did not have reasonable grounds to do so and in fact, abused these unprecedented powers;
Freedom Convoy participants who have standing to participate in the Public Order Emergency Commission and will provide factual accounts of the events that occurred during the protest in Ottawa in February 2022.
The Justice Centre is also an official party before the Public Order Emergency Commission and has been granted standing to provide policy recommendations to the Commission about the constitutional implications of invoking the Emergencies Act.
The Justice Centre has also funded the criminal defence of Tamara Lich, a Medicine Hat mother and grandmother, who has been subjected to five bail reviews, and was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant, for an alleged, minor bail breach.
Ms. Lich, who was not charged with a violent crime, spent a total of seven weeks in jail, in spite of not having any criminal record.
In addition to the cases which relate directly to legal matters resulting from events in Ottawa in February 2022, the Justice Centre continues to fund hundreds of cases across Canada where the Charter rights and fundamental freedoms of Canadians are threatened by government.
It is through the voluntary donations of our valued and dedicated supporters that it is possible for the Justice Centre to defend the free society and continue to challenge oppressive government actions that began in earnest more than two years ago. We receive no government funding.
While the Justice Centre’s funding capacity is not unlimited, the Justice Centre helps as many individuals as possible through our network of lawyers and dedicated staff and will continue to do so to the full extent our resources allow.
Canadians who have access to funds and can contribute to their legal costs are encouraged to do so, because the Justice Centre can only take a small percentage of the thousands of requests for help we receive each year. The matters the Justice Centre is involved with affect all Canadians in the common goal of living in a free and democratic society, where government is transparent and accountable to its citizens. We want to thank all our supporters for their continued commitment to our important work.
