Convoy sought Ottawa ‘gridlock,’ court told

Text messages involving protest leader Tamara Lich discuss strategy for protest last winter

Crown lawyer Moiz Karimjee said the text is the ‘CN Tower’ of the case against Lich and shows she was a decisionmaker in the protest leadership

Convoy protest leader Tamara Lich discussed a strategy to “gridlock” the capital in the early days of the protests that paralyzed the streets around Parliament Hill for three weeks this winter, according to evidence presented in court Tuesday.

Crown lawyer Moiz Karimjee submitted the evidence, which was obtained through a police search of a cellphone belonging to Chris Barber, a fellow protest organizer who is accused with Lich on a slew of charges related to their roles in the convoy occupation.

Lich was back in court Tuesday for her fourth bail hearing since her initial arrest in February, after she was taken into police custody again last week for allegedly breaching a condition of her release.

The text exchange from Jan. 30, which was displayed on a large screen in court, showed Lich stating to Barber that she just had a call with the protest “command centre.”

She goes on to say: “They have a strategy to gridlock the city. I don’t want to make those decisions on my own.”

Lawrence Greenspon, Lich’s defence lawyer, dismissed the text exchange as inconclusive, arguing it should not sway the court to agree with Karimjee and cancel Lich’s previous release order and hold her in prison while she awaits her criminal trial.

Greenspon noted it’s not clear whose strategy Lich was referring to, and argued “she’s not buying into their strategy… It’s certainly not conclusive that she had any intention to gridiron or gridlock the city.”

Karimjee, meanwhile, said the text is the “CN Tower of the Crown’s case” against Lich and shows she was a decision-maker in the protest leadership.

“She wanted to continue with a gridlock plan to force an elected government to make decisions by gridlocking the city of Ottawa,” Karimjee said, describing local residents as “helpless victims.”

The convoy protests, which began when trucks started arriving on Jan. 28, wound up entrenching themselves in the capital, with hundreds of semis and other vehicles parked along downtown streets where protesters set up cooking tents, a supply depot, bouncy castles and an inflatable hot tub. The situation sparked border blockades across Canada as Ottawa police reported a rise in death threats against public officials and floods of calls that clogged local emergency lines. Ultimately, the federal government granted police and banks temporary special powers under the never-before-used Emergencies Act to deal with the crisis.

The text exchange was revealed as the Crown alleges Lich breached her bail conditions when she interacted with Tom Marazzo, a retired army officer and fellow convoy organizer, at a gala in Toronto on June 16. Lich accepted the George Jonas Freedom Award at the event, which was organized by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

Lich was arrested last week in Medicine Hat, Alta., on a Canadawide warrant, and brought back to Ottawa by two local homicide detectives who are leading the investigation into her conduct, the court heard Tuesday.

Karimjee also pointed to another text exchange between Barber and Lich during the protests, where they are discussing past arrests and allegations of theft against Pat King, a far-right influencer who was involved in the convoy and is also in jail on charges over his role.

King has also advanced an unfounded, racist conspiracy theory about the replacement of white people.

The evidence showed that Lich texted Barber: “We need him and I don’t care about his past. But it only takes one. We have to control his rhetoric.”

Karimjee argued this exchange “reveals that (Lich) is unprincipled and that the ends justify the means.”

Greenspon, meanwhile, said the text message does not significantly change existing evidence used to grant Lich bail in March. “There’s no conspiracy charge here,” he said, calling the comment on King “much colour, not much substance

Justice of the Peace Paul Harris is scheduled to deliver a decision in court on Friday.