Freedom Convoy co-organizer Tamara Lich said the part of the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) report denouncing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s language was “a slap on the wrist.” .“Our prime minister went on public television and called Canadians who don’t believe in his views racists and misogynists and asked if we should be tolerated,” said Lich at a Sunday press conference. .Lich said she has the tears of thousands of Canadians on her shoulders. She added she heard plenty of sad stories while at the Freedom Convoy. .The POEC determined on Friday the Canadian government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy. .READ MORE: Commissioner finds Liberals met threshold for invoking Emergencies Act for Freedom Convoy.POEC Commissioner Paul Rouleau said Trudeau's comment about the Freedom Convoy containing a small fringe minority of people with unacceptable views were interpreted by many as referring to all protestors. He said this served to energize the protestors and harden their resolve. .“In my view, more of an effort should have been made by government leaders at all levels during the protest to acknowledge that the majority of protestors were exercising their fundamental democratic rights,” said Rouleau. .The press conference started off with Lich saying Freedom Corp was disappointed with the report. She said it was a sad day for Canada, but she hopes it adds fuel to the desire for people to hold the federal government to account. .When the POEC began, she said Freedom Corp hoped it would be a fair, objective process. As the process wore on, it became concerned about how it was done. .Reading the report, she said the Canadian government “used innocent Canadians who participated in good faith at the hearings as nothing more than puppets for the government’s political theatre designed to protect the prime minister.” Rouleau justified the Emergencies Act because governments and police authorities failed by not talking to protestors. .The co-organizer went on to say government incompetence is the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act now. She said people know the truth about what happened in Ottawa. .Chipiuk Law lawyer Eva Chipiuk, who is representing Freedom Corp, said she has met amazing, hardworking Canadians in the past year whose most serious crime was holding the government to account. .“In return, the prime minister of Canada engaged in a misinformation and disinformation campaign to vilify, cause hate and divisiveness among Canadians, friends, and families,” said Chipiuk. .Trudeau has accused innocent people of domestic terrorism. Chipiuk said no one has been charged with domestic terrorism. .The most serious charges from the Freedom Convoy were mischief and obstruction of justice. She said this is a far cry from the allegations made by him. .Wilson Law Office lawyer Keith Wilson, who is another lawyer with the case, said the POEC report does not mean it is over. .“In fact, it’s a clear indicator that all we need to engage even more as Canadians in the democratic process,” said Wilson. .Wilson said he has taken action to have the class action lawsuit against Freedom Corp struck. He acknowledged there is a heavy lift ahead of them. .In order to obtain the donations to the Freedom Convoy, he said they need to have the class action lawsuit dropped, criminal charges removed, and the civil forfeiture order from the Ontario government scraped. He said he expects Lich and Freedom Convoy co-organizer Chris Barber’s case to go to trial, as Trudeau wants to make an example of them. .Lich said she has zero regrets. During the Christmas break, she took her grandson to the tobogganing hill in Medicine Hat, AB..When she was walking up the hill, she stopped and looked at all of the children, teenagers, and families. They were laughing and having fun, which was different from when COVID-19 restrictions were around. .She concluded by saying this moment affirmed to her every second of the experience was worth it. .“The biggest thing I’ve learned through the convoy is the unity,” she said. .“I’ve never been more proud to be a Canadian than I was last winter and still am today.”
