Crown prosecutors say they have dropped a criminal charge against Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich, which alleged she violated her bail conditions in the summer of 2022.
Ms. Lich is currently on trial for mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief, and intimidation related to the trucker protest in early 2022 which saw hundreds of vehicles flood the streets of downtown Ottawa in order to protest pandemic-related mandates. In response, the government ultimately invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 to end the encampments.
On Oct. 23, 2023, Crown prosecutors told Justice Heather Perkins-McVey that they were staying the bail-related charges against Ms. Lich. The Crown said they were doing so due to delays in the trial of Ms. Lich and fellow organizer Chris Barber, with the trial dragging on nearly twice as long as expected.
Ms. Lich was arrested by members of the Ottawa Police Service on Feb. 17, and spent 19 days in jail before she was granted bail on March 7. After her release, she was under bail conditions that prohibited her from having any contact with any fellow organizers without lawyers present. She was accused of breaching her bail conditions in June 2022 and was re-arrested over allegations that she had interaction with fellow Freedom Convoy organizer Tom Marazzo at an awards gala in Toronto that month.
Ms. Lich was taken into custody in Medicine Hat, AB. on June 27 after the Ottawa Police Service issued a Canada-wide warrant for her arrest. Ms. Lich was denied bail on July 8, with Justice of the Peace Paul Harris determining her continued detention was “necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice.”
But on July 26, Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman ruled that the earlier order for her detainment was “inappropriate,“ and ordered her to be released. In his ruling, Mr. Goodman said the previous judge had come to ”erroneous” conclusions when deciding Ms. Lich broke her bail conditions, and said she had been in strict compliance with the terms of her bail conditions, except for the meeting with Marazzo.
Upon her release from jail, Ms. Lich was given new bail conditions that included a $37,000 bond and tightened rules around communicating with protest organizers and using social media.
The trial of Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber is expected to continue this week on Oct. 26.
