Tamara Lich, Chris Barber convoy trial to resume for 1 day only

UPDATE:  In a brief appearance, Barber and Lich's lawyers made arguments concerning two court injunctions that ordered protesters to restrain honking air horns during the convoy.  Court is expected to resume next Friday to set more court dates.

As the two-year anniversary of what became the Freedom Convoy approaches, two of the protest's key organizers are back in court and still in legal limbo as their criminal trial drags on.

Tamara Lich and Chris Barber will return to the Ottawa Courthouse Thursday for their trial that has stretched far beyond the original 16-day schedule. The court has only set aside one more trial day.

Arrested Feb. 17, 2022 — a day before police started clearing streets of people camped out to protest COVID-19 rules and air grievances against governments — Lich and Barber are charged with mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.

The trial that started Sept. 5 is meant to decide whether — and if so, how — the two should be punished for their role in the weeks-long protest that clogged the city's core and shook residents.

Legal wrangling, technical delays, unprepared witnesses and issues over how police evidence was disclosed have all slowed the proceedings.

Beyond the one day in January, no other court dates have been confirmed despite prosecutors closing their case and the trial now being closer to its finish line than its start.

At issue now is the availability of limited court dates.

Lich arrives for her trial at the Ottawa Courthouse on Sept. 11, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Accused not expected to testify

When proceedings do get going, it's expected Lich and Barber's defence will continue to argue prosecutors haven't shown enough evidence to prove the two acted in a conspiracy or committed the crimes they're accused of.

Defence lawyers Lawrence Greenspon and Eric Granger, representing Lich, alongside Diane Magas and Marwa Younes for Barber have told the court they need about five more days.

It's not clear what, if any, evidence they will call. The two accused are not currently expecting to testify.

Defence lawyers have argued throughout the trial Lich and Barber worked with police, city officials and stayed peaceful during their time in Ottawa.

Barber, from Swift Current, Sask., was released a day after entering custody.

Lich, from Medicine Hat, Alta., spent 49 days in jail spread across two stints. The first stint was when she was initially arrested, then again after she was picked up on a Canada-wide warrant for violating her bail conditions.

The proceedings on Thursday are expected to begin with arguments over the admissibility of court transcripts from two court injunctions that ordered protesters to restrain honking air horns during the convoy.

Barber is facing an additional charge of disobeying that court order.

In a video taken from Barber's TikTok account days after the injunction was granted and presented as evidence in court, he told truckers to "grab that horn switch" and "let it roll as long as possible" if police tried to dislodge them.

Barber, one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy, being arrested by police officers in downtown Ottawa on Feb. 17, 2022. (Kirk Hill/Facebook)

Crown argues case is not about political views

Justice Heather Perkins-McVey, overseeing the proceedings, is also expected to rule on whether the two accused acted in a conspiracy.

Crown prosecutors Tim Radcliffe and Siobhain Wetscher argued the case is not about Lich and Barber's political views, but instead how they "crossed the line" in committing the crimes they're accused of.

They used police and resident testimony, hours of video evidence, mountains of social media content and text messages to argue the two accused had control and influence over the protests.

They also sought to establish that Lich and Barber worked together in a conspiracy to commit the crimes they are accused of, and because of this they say evidence against one should apply to both.

The defence argued this should be quashed because the Crown hadn't adequately proven they had an "unlawful purpose" in planning the protest.

Once the trial ends, the judge has up to six months to make her decision. A guilty finding for a mischief charge can carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.