Two prominent truckers from the 2022 Freedom Convoy to Ottawa say they never mounted a defence to criminal charges of mischief because the prosecution’s evidence has always been in their favour.Chris Barber and Tamara Lich took the stage together at the Reclaiming Canada Conference in Victoria on Sunday. The conversation was only possible because a legal motion lifted court-imposed conditions of separation.“Both of us are charged with intimidation which I find actually hilarious because, I mean, you've seen, I'm like 5-ft.,” she said.“Karla Homolka... was sentenced to 12 years in jail and they're seeking 10 years for us…I think we scared the pants off of those guys.”.Pawlowski says prisoners gave him more support than politicians.Barber said, “We united the country,” to which Lich agreed.“For a time all of the labels were gone. It didn't matter what colour your skin was. It didn't matter what God you worshipped. It didn't matter what your income bracket was, or your geographical location. We were Canadians. Period,” she said.Barber said divisions “created by the government” dissolved.“We were getting used to seeing it firsthand, somebody from Alberta holding the flag and hugging somebody from Quebec…It was the most incredible thing that I was ever a part of it.”Lich said convoy participants showed so much “love and patriotism” that it finally rivalled what she had seen in the U.S.During court-related visits to Ottawa in recent months, she and Barber have been greatly impacted by a church program called Healing Together, which is focused on the vaccine-injured.“It's to help these people get the support and the supports that they need, because what is happening to these people is exactly what we were trying to prevent. And so we have to take care of our own,” Lich said.Barber said talking to the injured was personally impactful and prompted a desire from him and Lich to “spread the program across the country.”“The amount of people we've met that have severe injuries from the vaccine is astronomical. To sit and speak with them there and to hear that the health professionals are not listening to them, not giving them any advice--they’re ignoring them. And so there is a huge need right now in this country to start standing behind these people.” .Prominent cardiologist says belief in COVID-19 vaccines must be challenged.The criminal trial is not all hanging over the mandate protesters. A $400 million lawsuit from disgruntled local citizens is also in process.“Come at me, I don’t have $400 million. Like, seriously, let’s get in the realm of reality here,” Lich said with a laugh.Barber said the lawsuit is trying to gain access to the donations to the Freedom Convoy that were frozen and “tied up in escrow” for the past two-and-a-half years.Lich and Barber each said they “never had an ounce of anxiety” about their criminal trial. She said even some reporters who attended court proceedings told them, “What they portrayed you as isn’t what we’ve seen throughout the course of the trial.”More trial dates are set for August 13-15 and 23, after which a decision awaits. “We just watched all these videos … [where] we're peaceful. 'Please respect the police and respect the rule of law and if you're going to come and be violent or threatening, then don't come, we don't want you here,'” Lich recalled.“When it came time to mount a defence, we just didn't call any evidence because we haven't seen anything that we need to defend.”Lich pointed out the federal environment minister had an instant conviction for mischief in his Greenpeace activist days while her trial goes on for many months.“This has just been unbelievable, like, unprecedented…And it's funny if you follow me on social media I try to troll Steven Guilbeault as much as I can.”
Two prominent truckers from the 2022 Freedom Convoy to Ottawa say they never mounted a defence to criminal charges of mischief because the prosecution’s evidence has always been in their favour.Chris Barber and Tamara Lich took the stage together at the Reclaiming Canada Conference in Victoria on Sunday. The conversation was only possible because a legal motion lifted court-imposed conditions of separation.“Both of us are charged with intimidation which I find actually hilarious because, I mean, you've seen, I'm like 5-ft.,” she said.“Karla Homolka... was sentenced to 12 years in jail and they're seeking 10 years for us…I think we scared the pants off of those guys.”.Pawlowski says prisoners gave him more support than politicians.Barber said, “We united the country,” to which Lich agreed.“For a time all of the labels were gone. It didn't matter what colour your skin was. It didn't matter what God you worshipped. It didn't matter what your income bracket was, or your geographical location. We were Canadians. Period,” she said.Barber said divisions “created by the government” dissolved.“We were getting used to seeing it firsthand, somebody from Alberta holding the flag and hugging somebody from Quebec…It was the most incredible thing that I was ever a part of it.”Lich said convoy participants showed so much “love and patriotism” that it finally rivalled what she had seen in the U.S.During court-related visits to Ottawa in recent months, she and Barber have been greatly impacted by a church program called Healing Together, which is focused on the vaccine-injured.“It's to help these people get the support and the supports that they need, because what is happening to these people is exactly what we were trying to prevent. And so we have to take care of our own,” Lich said.Barber said talking to the injured was personally impactful and prompted a desire from him and Lich to “spread the program across the country.”“The amount of people we've met that have severe injuries from the vaccine is astronomical. To sit and speak with them there and to hear that the health professionals are not listening to them, not giving them any advice--they’re ignoring them. And so there is a huge need right now in this country to start standing behind these people.” .Prominent cardiologist says belief in COVID-19 vaccines must be challenged.The criminal trial is not all hanging over the mandate protesters. A $400 million lawsuit from disgruntled local citizens is also in process.“Come at me, I don’t have $400 million. Like, seriously, let’s get in the realm of reality here,” Lich said with a laugh.Barber said the lawsuit is trying to gain access to the donations to the Freedom Convoy that were frozen and “tied up in escrow” for the past two-and-a-half years.Lich and Barber each said they “never had an ounce of anxiety” about their criminal trial. She said even some reporters who attended court proceedings told them, “What they portrayed you as isn’t what we’ve seen throughout the course of the trial.”More trial dates are set for August 13-15 and 23, after which a decision awaits. “We just watched all these videos … [where] we're peaceful. 'Please respect the police and respect the rule of law and if you're going to come and be violent or threatening, then don't come, we don't want you here,'” Lich recalled.“When it came time to mount a defence, we just didn't call any evidence because we haven't seen anything that we need to defend.”Lich pointed out the federal environment minister had an instant conviction for mischief in his Greenpeace activist days while her trial goes on for many months.“This has just been unbelievable, like, unprecedented…And it's funny if you follow me on social media I try to troll Steven Guilbeault as much as I can.”
