Among the arguments raised by Lich’s defence is that the judge who denied her bail was biased against her cause due to the judge’s former ties to the governing Liberal Party, a point of debate among legal experts.
“She freely admits to taking part in non-violent civil disobedience in her role with the Freedom Convoy to Ottawa. She faces mischief charges, and nothing more,” he said in a statement on Feb. 27.
“She has been portrayed in the media as a violent criminal, a foreign operative, and an anarchist. Nothing could be further from the truth. She is a former energy worker of Metis heritage, a mother, and grandmother, and sometimes plays guitar in a local band.”
Lich, one of the organizers who spearheaded efforts to encourage truckers to join the protest in Ottawa against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, was arrested on Feb. 17 and charged with counselling to commit mischief.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the protest an “illegal occupation” after he invoked the Emergencies Act to quash the demonstration on Feb. 14.
Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois denied Lich bail on Feb. 22, deeming her a risk to reoffend.
On Feb. 18, Bourgeois had granted bail to another key convoy organizer, Chris Barber, on several conditions and a $100,000 bond.
During Lich’s bail hearing, Bourgeois said there was a “substantial risk” that she was likely to reoffend by continuing to organize truckers against Canada’s COVID-19 mandates.
“I cannot be reassured that if I release you into the community that you will not reoffend. Your detention is necessary for the protection and safety of the public,” Bourgeois said.
When Trudeau was running as the incumbent MP for Papineau during the 2011 campaign, he said he had “great admiration” for Bourgeois.
“Her vision, her authenticity, her strength is going to be an amazing asset,” Trudeau said in a video, before he became Liberal leader.
‘What Would a Reasonable, Informed Person Think’
Vivian Bercovici, a former law professor at the University of Toronto who was appointed ambassador of Canada to Israel during the Conservative government of Stephen Harper, raised concerns about Bourgeois’s impartiality.“There were tools available to the judge, including a high cash requirement (cash being unusual in Canadian bail) and strict house arrest terms,” Anber wrote. “Any risk of re-offence and breaching the conditions of her release could have been managed.”
But Anber said on Twitter that he’s “absolutely certain that she [Bourgeois] made her decision without any political influence.”
The board had sued the Yukon government in 2009 for what it said were deficiencies in the provision of minority language education, and the trial judge ruled in the board’s favour on most issues.
Canada’s top court was asked to weigh in on the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that there was a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the judge based on a number of incidents during the trial as well as his involvement as governor of an Alberta francophone community organization.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court reiterated that the test for a reasonable apprehension of bias is “what would a reasonable, informed person think.”
Joshua Clarke, an Ottawa criminal defence lawyer with Armoured Suits, says allegations that Bourgeois was biased is an interesting question but one likely to fail, while noting that she is unlikely to be the trial judge.
“Judges are presumed to be impartial so you have to demonstrate how her affiliation could have impacted the decision, not some vague possibility,” he said in an email. “She’s been a judge for many years already, as time passes, the connection becomes weaker.”
