Tamara Lich Defence: Crown Agrees to Provide Evidence, Witness List Prior to Criminal Trial

Tamara Lich, the grandmother from Alberta who became the face of the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa in early 2022, holds her new book, “Hold The Line: My story from the heart of the Freedom Convoy,” on April 26, 2023. (Courtesy of Tamara Lich)

The charity organizing Tamara Lich’s criminal defence has won the first round, albeit a procedural one, in the ongoing charges Mrs. Lich faces for her participation in the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022.

The lawyer representing Mrs. Lich on various mischief-related charges was in the Ontario Court of Justice to obtain evidence and a witness list the Crown prosecutors intend to present at her three-week trial, scheduled to begin on Ottawa on Sept. 5. The trial was originally scheduled to run for four weeks, but that was dependent on the number of witnesses.

In a news release on July 21, The Democracy Fund (TDF) said Mrs. Lich’s lawyer made a motion before the court to have what’s called the particulars of the alleged crimes to be shared with the defence.

The motion ended with the Crown agreeing it would provide a full list of witnesses and evidence by Aug. 1.

Alan Honner, TDF’s litigation director, said in the news release that particulars are similar to but not the same as disclosure. “The prosecution has a duty to fully disclose all relevant evidence to the accused, but particulars need only be disclosed if a judge is satisfied that it is necessary for a fair trial,” he said.

Particulars might be ordered where a crime can be committed in different ways, where disclosure is broad, or where there are multiple co-accused, said Mr. Honner.

Mrs. Lich is represented by well-known criminal defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon of Ottawa, and TDF is crowdfunding to help cover the legal costs stemming from her involvement in the truckers’ protest in Ottawa early last year.

Trial

Mrs. Lich, a grandmother from Medicine Hat, Alberta, who police allege was a key organizer of a three-week protest in Ottawa that took place in January and February 2022, told The Epoch Times in late June that “murderers and rapists have shorter trials.”

“I am looking forward to this trial and to further expose the truth about how this was the largest, most peaceful protest in Canada’s history,” she said.

“All Canadians who lined the highways and assembled peacefully in Ottawa should be proud of their success in holding government accountable for their violations of millions of Canadians’ rights.”

Lawyer Lawrence Greenspon and Tamara Lich attend the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa on Nov 3, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Mr. Greenspon told The Epoch Times on June 28 that Mrs. Lich was charged with various offences including mischief, counselling mischief, obstructing police, counselling to obstruct police, counselling intimidation, and intimidation by blocking and obstructing one or more highways.

Mr. Honner, who also spoke with The Epoch Times at the time, said Mrs. Lich’s prosecution “shows how a prominent political dissident is treated by our justice system.”

“Many people see Tamara as a political prisoner, as her prosecution has been impassioned and she has already been imprisoned for 49 days on relatively minor charges,” he said.

He added that Mrs. Lich became “the face” of the protest and there is “a lot at stake in the outcome of her trial.”

“The trucker convoy exposed the government’s willingness to invoke extraordinary powers to suppress a nationwide protest that was remarkably peaceful,” Mr. Honner said.

Mrs. Lich has not been found guilty in court on any of the charges, which remain unproven. She was first arrested and charged on Feb. 17, 2022.

The Alberta mother and grandmother has been under extensive and onerous bail conditions following her release, which include, “Keep the peace and be of good behaviour; Ms. Lich is prohibited from communicating with other pro-freedom activists, using social media, organizing or aiding protests, and entering the downtown part of Ottawa unless for court.”