Judge decides 'Freedom Convoy' organizer Tamara Lich stays out on bail
OTTAWA -- Tamara Lich, a key organizer of the "Freedom Convoy" protest that gridlocked Ottawa for weeks, will remain released on bail while awaiting trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips said he made his decision because she has followed her bail conditions, her surety has supervised her well and she's already had a "taste of jail," which he said lowered her risk to reoffend.
The judge said he does not accept that Lich breached her release conditions by agreeing to receive an award, and added Lich can be trusted to respect the conditions of her release.
She was released in March with a long list of conditions, including a ban from all social media and an order not to "support anything related to the Freedom Convoy."
The terms of Lich's release were intended to prevent a similar protest from happening in the national capital, the judge said, adding the court does not seek to control people's political views.
"The courts are not a thought police. We seek only to control conduct to the extent that certain behaviour will violate or likely lead to violation of the law," he said.
The protest is over and has left Ottawa, he said, adding it would be "practically impossible" to mount a similar protest in the city again.
Moiz Karimjee, a Crown prosecutor, said last week that Lich violated one of her bail conditions by agreeing to accept an award for her leadership during the Ottawa protest, and should be sent back behind bars to wait for her trial.
Lich's lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, argued last week her bail conditions should be loosened to allow her to come to Ontario and use social media.
Greenspon told the court that the social media ban imposed on Lich was unnecessarily broad and has had a huge impact on her life while she's been out of custody.
However, Phillips said Wednesday the ban on Lich's access to social media is warranted.
"Social media can be a problematic feedback loop where people get egged on and caught up in group activity they would never perform on their own," he said.
Social media "undoubtedly contributed to and even drove" Lich's conduct related to the protest, and her separation from it is necessary to lower her risk of reoffending, said Phillips.
Noting that Lich is in her late 40s, Phillips said she should be able to remember "how to use the social skills she surely built up before the advent of the internet."
Lich is able to communicate by many other means, including email, phone or meeting in person, he said.
The judge did amend her release conditions to allow her to visit Ottawa.
Lich's motivation for coming to the city cannot be disclosed because it is under a court-ordered publication ban.
Phillips reiterated the high unlikelihood that Lich could organize an event resembling the convoy protest.
While she's permitted to come to Ottawa, Lich is not allowed to visit the downtown core so as not "to walk around the very neighbourhoods she is alleged to have traumatized," he said, except to attend court or meet with legal counsel.
Lich and fellow protest organizer Chris Barber are jointly accused of mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.
The "Freedom Convoy" protest evolved into a weeks-long demonstration that congested the streets of Ottawa in February.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.