OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Day 37 of the trial for Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber included some “important” updates, according to their legal team, as their lawyers argued that allowing video to be entered as evidence would provide “context and completeness” into why they led the protests.
The Democracy Fund (TDF), which is crowdfunding Lich’s legal costs, noted in a daily court update regarding Thursday’s court proceedings that Diane Magas, Barber’s counsel, “continued her submission on the admissibility of statements of videos made by her client.”
“She contended that these videos provide context and completeness to the videos and statements of the accused tendered by the Crown,” the TDF said.
In response, the government suggested that extra videos as well as statements that were shown by Magas are “not necessary for an understanding of the words spoken by Mr. Barber in the videos and statements shown by the Crown.”
The trial presided over by Justice Heather Perkins-McVey has concluded for the time being, with Friday being the last scheduled court day. LifeSiteNews has covered the trial extensively since it began last year.
As of Thursday, Perkins-McVey has not ruled on allowing extra video as evidence.
On Day 36 of the Freedom Convoy leaders’ trial, their lawyers argued that video statements made by the leaders should be allowed as “evidence of the truth.”
Thus far, the government has asserted “that the absence of violence or peaceful nature of the protest didn’t make it lawful, emphasizing that the onus was on the Crown to prove the protest’s unlawfulness.”
The government has held steadfast to the notion in trying to prove that Lich and Barber somehow influenced the protesters’ actions through their words as part of a co-conspiracy. This claim has been rejected by the defense as weak.
The reality is that Lich and Barber collaborated with police on many occasions so that the protests were within the law.
The trial resumed for one day last week for only the second court date since the new year, with Perkins-McVey deciding to dismiss an application by the Freedom Convoy leaders that asked the court to throw out so-called conspiracy charges.
Trial could extend well into 2025
The TDF noted that during court proceedings on Thursday the defense moved to argue that the “Carter application should be ‘bifurcated’ — that is, it should be heard and ruled upon by the Court before closing submissions.”
To back the claims up, the government has been hoping to use what is called a “Carter application” to help them make their case. The government’s so-called “Carter Application” asks that the judge to consider “Barber’s statements and actions to establish the guilt of Lich, and vice versa,” TDF stated.
The TDF has said that a Carter application is very “complicated” and requires that the government prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that there was a “conspiracy or plan in place and that Lich was a party to it based on direct evidence,” and as such, the defense is asking the judge to dismiss the application.
On Thursday, the Convoy leaders’ defense counsel said, as per the TDF, that they could not “properly prepare closing submissions without an understanding of the extent and nature of the evidence the Crown intends to use against their clients.”
To date, Perkins-McVey has not made a ruling on the Carter application.
Closing off the court day on Thursday, the court asked the defense if they were ready to make an “election” and they said they will not be submitting additional evidence.
“Thus, the evidentiary portion of the trial is complete, and it remains for the parties to argue outstanding issues and then proceed to closing submissions,” the TDF said.
Closing submissions are not expected to happen until August, which the TDF predicted could extend into 2025.
Lich and Barber are facing multiple charges from the 2022 protests, including mischief, counseling mischief, counseling intimidation and obstructing police for taking part in and organizing the anti-mandate Freedom Convoy. As reported by LifeSiteNews at the time, despite the non-violent nature of the protest and the charges, Lich was jailed for weeks before she was granted bail.
Besides the ongoing trial, Lich and Barber and a host of others recently filed a $2 million lawsuit against the Trudeau government for its use of the Emergencies Act (EA) to quash the Freedom Convoy in 2022.
In early 2022, thousands of Canadians from coast to coast came to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government enacted the Emergencies Act on February 14.
During the clear-out of protesters after the EA was put in place, an elderly lady was trampled by a police horse and one conservative female reporter was beaten by police and shot with a tear gas canister.