December 19, 2025 - "The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that the Ontario Court of Justice has dismissed the Crown’s application to forfeit the truck of peaceful Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber. Mr. Barber’s 2004 Kenworth long-haul truck, known as 'Big Red,' is his primary source of income for his family.
"Despite evidence that police directed Mr. Barber where to park his truck and later instructed him to move it, the Crown sought to permanently seize the vehicle as alleged offence-related property. The court’s decision brings an end to the forfeiture proceedings for now.
"Chris Barber said, 'This truck is my livelihood. Trying to permanently seize it for peacefully protesting was wrong, and I’m relieved the court refused to allow that to happen.'
"Criminal defence lawyer Marwa Racha Younes welcomed the ruling. 'We find it was the right decision in the circumstances and are happy with the outcome,' she said.
"Mr. Barber continues to pursue appeals related to his criminal conviction and sentence stemming from the Freedom Convoy protest. The Justice Centre has provided funding for Mr. Barber’s legal defence since 2022, including the ongoing proceedings opposing the Crown’s attempt to seize his truck.
“'This decision is good news for all Canadians who cherish their Charter freedom to assemble peacefully,' said John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre. 'Asset forfeiture is an extraordinary power, and it must not be used to punish Canadians for participating in peaceful protest,' he added."
Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Leach have been sentenced to a year's house arrest, followed by 6 months' curfew, and 100 hours of community service.
October 7 - "Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, two major figures of the 2022 'Freedom Convoy,' have been handed conditional sentences and spared further jail time. Barber was found guilty of mischief and counselling others to disobey a court order earlier this year, while Lich was found guilty of mischief. Both were found not guilty on several other counts.
"On Tuesday, each was given an 18-month conditional sentence: Twelve months at home with limited outings per week, followed by six months under a 10 p.m. curfew. Lich is being given credit for the 19 days she initially spent in jail, and for another 30 days she spent in custody after breaching her bail conditions. Barber and Lich will each have to serve 100 hours of community service.
"Lich's lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said they're still considering whether to appeal her conviction. 'The main objective was to make sure she didn't spend one more day in jail, and that was achieved,' he told reporters outside the courthouse.
"Barber's defence lawyer Diane Magas said her client respects the judge's decision and considers it reasonable, adding it was more or less the sentence they expected....
"Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher previously asked Justice Heather Perkins-McVey to impose extraordinary sentences — eight years' imprisonment for Barber and seven for Lich — arguing that such heavy penalties would reflect the profound impact the two had on the public during the protests they led in Ottawa."
Chris Barber, who has been convicted and could be imprisoned for his part in organizing the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, is petitioning the court to stay proceedings before sentencing.
May 21, 2025 - "Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber [was] in court [May 21] for hearings related to a Stay of Proceedings application in an attempt to have his charges dropped.... Ontario Justice Heather Perkins-McVey found Barber and co-organizer Tamara Lich guilty of mischief for their involvement in the peaceful protest in Ottawa in January and February of 2022. The decision [was] released on April 3.... Diane Magas, Barber’s lawyer, filed the stay application on April 16, arguing Barber had sought legal advice during the time of the protest and acted in good faith with local authorities.
"Barber in his application argued 'the legal advice given to him … during the Freedom Convoy was erroneous and that, as a result, the Crown is not entitled to convict him,' said the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).... The application was filed one day after Barber learned the sentence the Crown was pursuing: two years in prison and the confiscation of Big Red [his truck].... If the judge approves the stay application, Barber will not go to prison, nor will his truck be seized." Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/barber-testifies-to-have-freedom-convoy-charges-dropped/64917
May 20, 2025 ""Mr. Barber’s legal team ... argue that he followed the advice of officials and the police in good faith during the protest and that the charges should be stayed despite his conviction for mischief and for counselling others to breach a court order on April 3, 2025.
"In court documents submitted to the judge, the Crown claims that there is no merit to Mr. Barber’s Application and that it should be thrown out. The Crown argues that he knowingly broke the law during the peaceful Freedom Convoy protest. The Crown is also demanding that Mr. Barber’s primary source of income, his 2004 Kenworth long haul truck, called 'Big Red,' be seized and forfeited to His Majesty the King.
"If Justice Heather Perkins-McVey of the Ontario Court of Justice grants the Application, sentencing would not proceed, and the charges would be stayed.... Diane Magas, Mr. Barber’s lawyer, explained that an 'officially induced error defence' is rarely used but that it is an appropriate defence in the particular circumstances of this case....
"'To imprison a man who sought and followed legal advice would bring the administration of justice into disrepute,' stated John Carpay, President of the Justice Centre. 'Mr. Barber consistently followed the legal advice that he received from police officers, lawyers, and a Superior Court judge.'" Read more: https://www.jccf.ca/will-chris-barber-be-jailed-for-peacefully-protesting-court-to-decide-soon/
After a trial lasting more than a year, Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have been convicted of mischief (but acquitted of most charges) for their role in the 2022 Ottawa protest.
April 3, 2025 - "Chris Barber and Tamara Lich have been found not guilty of most charges against them for their roles in the 2022 truck convoy protest in Ottawa. Barber and Lich each faced six charges including mischief, intimidation, obstructing police and counselling others to do the same.
"On Thursday at the Ottawa courthouse, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey found the pair not guilty of four charges apiece relating to intimidation and obstructing police. They were both found guilty of committing mischief. Perkins-McVey also found them both guilty of counselling to commit mischief themselves, but that finding was stayed at the request of Crown lawyers. Barber alone was found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order. Lich was not charged with this. All told, Barber was found guilty of two charges, not guilty of four and had a seventh stayed. Lich was found guilty of one, not guilty of four and had a sixth stayed."
April 3, 2025 - "The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is disappointed that the Ontario Court of Justice has found Chris Barber, a trucker and trucking company owner from Swift Current, Saskatchewan, guilty of mischief for his involvement in the peaceful Freedom Convoy protest.... Justice Heather Perkins-McVey delivered the decision this morning in the Ontario Court of Justice at the Ottawa Courthouse.
"In January and February 2022, thousands of Canadians travelled to the nation’s capital to protest mandatory Covid vaccination policies. Vaccine mandates [had] turned the millions of Canadians who chose not to receive a Covid vaccine into second-class citizens, denied them the right to travel, participate in sports, watch their children play sports, and visit ailing parents and grandparents in nursing homes. Mr. Barber, who himself had received the mandatory injection, travelled to Ottawa to protest the mandates he believed were harming not only the trucking industry but also all Canadians.
"The federal government illegally invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022, to use violence to suppress the Freedom Convoy protests. On February 17, police arrested Mr. Barber on charges of mischief, intimidation, obstructing a highway, and counselling others to commit the same offences. Mr. Barber pleaded “not guilty” to all charges on April 23, 2023, having done nothing other than peacefully exercise his freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly – protected by section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"The criminal trial of Chris Barber and Tamara Lich, originally scheduled for 16 days, consumed massive resources of Crown prosecutors, taking place over a period of 45 days from September 5, 2023, to September 14, 2024....
"Justice Centre President John Carpay, referencing the fact that 86 sexual assault cases have been tossed out in Ontario since 2016 due to court delays and insufficient court resources, stated, 'Crown prosecutors in Ontario claim that they do not have enough resources to prosecute people accused of sexual assault and other serious crimes. People accused of serious crimes are walking away without facing trial because of extreme delays, supposedly caused by the Crown lacking adequate resources. Yet the Crown has devoted massive amounts of its limited time and energy to prosecuting peaceful protesters who exercised their fundamental Charter freedoms.'
"'There seems to be a glaring double standard in prosecutions in Canada,' continued Mr. Carpay, 'and it appears that the charges against Chris Barber and Tamara Lich were laid for political reasons. In July 2021, Winnipeg police stood by and watched as vandals tore down and damaged a statue of Queen Victoria on the legislature grounds, in broad daylight, which was criminal behaviour. But no charges were laid against individuals who wilfully destroyed property because they were protesting against residential schools.... The Manitoba Crown, while possessing abundant video evidence of this blatantly criminal conduct, announced that nobody would be charged or prosecuted. Yet when Tamara Lich and Chris Barber played an active role in the entirely peaceful 2022 Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, the Crown devoted its resources to an extensive, full-scale prosecution that dragged on for 31 months.'
"In Regina, the Chief of Police attended and spoke at a rally for Black Lives Matter on June 5, 2020, in violation of Saskatchewan’s Covid restrictions. Yet police issued tickets to citizens who protested against lockdowns, and prosecutors were relentless in seeking convictions of those charged. 'If Tamara Lich and Chris Barber had played a leadership role in organizing protests against racism, transphobia or climate change, they would not have faced 45 days of trial over a period of 31 months,' concluded Mr. Carpay.
"Counsel will carefully review the decision and confer with the client to determine any next steps."
