“Big Red” (Courtesy of Chris Barber)

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that a decision on Chris Barber’s Stay of Proceedings Application—which, if granted, would halt the Crown’s proposal that Mr. Barber be imprisoned for two years or more—could arrive as early as Friday, May 23, 2025.

The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in Room 5 at the Ottawa Courthouse from Wednesday to Friday, May 21 to 23, 2025.

Mr. Barber’s legal team will 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. Mr. Barber is expected to testify on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, to explain the official advice he followed.

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.

Mr. Barber is a trucker from Saskatchewan and a central figure in the 2022 Freedom Convoy. The grassroots Freedom Convoy protest began in January 2022 as a response to federal and provincial Covid vaccine mandates, particularly those affecting cross-border truckers. As mandates increasingly tied Canadians’ ability to work, travel, and participate in public life to their vaccination status, frustration grew among those who felt sidelined for exercising their right to bodily autonomy. What started as a convoy of trucks rolling toward Ottawa quickly grew into a broader national demonstration, drawing thousands of supporters from across the country.

“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.”

A sentencing hearing will proceed at a later date, only if the Stay of Proceedings Application should fail.

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich is slated to be sentenced on July 23.

In a recent update by The Democracy Fund, the group noted that “Sentencing for Ms. Lich is scheduled for July 23rd and 24th before Justice Perkins-McVey in Ottawa.”

In April of this year, Lich and Chris Barber were found guilty of mischief for their roles as leaders of the 2022 protest and as social media influencers. The conviction came despite the non-violent nature of the popular movement.

TDF also noted that the full 108 page judgment of Justice Perkins-McVey’s ruling is now available online.

According to TDF, the “Court determined that both Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber were leaders of the Freedom Convoy 2022 movement and were involved in organizing and leading trucks and other vehicles from western Canada.”

“While there was no evidence that Ms. Lich owned a vehicle emitting fumes or honking, or that she blocked access to buildings, the Court noted her creation of the Freedom Convoy 2022 Facebook page, which gained a large following, and her involvement in setting up the GoFundMe and later GiveSendGo fundraising pages,” noted TDF.

As for Barber, his sentencing has been further delayed. The delay in his case follows an update he gave earlier this month in which he announced that the Crown wants to jail him for two years in addition to seizing the truck he used in the protest. As such, his legal team has asked for a stay of proceedings for the time being.

The Lich and Barber trial concluded in September of 2024, more than a year after it began. It was only originally scheduled to last 16 days.

Lich and Barber were initially arrested on February 17, 2022, meaning their legal battle has lasted longer than three years.

Despite the peaceful nature of the Freedom Convoy, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act to clear-out protesters, an action a federal judge has since said was “not justified.” During the clear-out, an elderly lady was trampled by a police horse and many who donated to the cause had their bank accounts frozen.

The actions taken by the Trudeau government were publicly supported by Mark Carney at the time, who won re-election on April 28 and is slated to form a minority government.