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Freedom Convoy judge questions why Ottawa police officers had phone data wiped during protest

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Justice Heather Perkins-McVey noted that it was ‘unusual’ that the officers knew ‘they had to have their phones upgraded and yet did not take the responsible steps to ensure that all the evidence and disclosure was preserved.’

The trial for Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber resumed Thursday this week, seeing Justice Heather Perkins-McVey note that it was “unusual” that two Ottawa Police Service (OPS) officers who interacted with protestors had their phone data wiped during the protests.  

Perkins-McVey said in court that the OPS officers “knew they had to have their phones upgraded and yet did not take the responsible steps to ensure that all the evidence and disclosure was preserved.” 

The Democracy Fund (TDF), which is crowdfunding Lich’s legal costs, noted in a Day 22 trial update that Perkins-McVey found it “interesting that two PLT [Police Liaison Team] officers had their phones wiped” of important Signal chats between them and protestors.  

“She questioned how many other officers had experienced the same,” noted the TDF. 

Last Thursday, during Day 20 of the trial, a second police witness, Nicole Bach of the OPS PLT, testified her police-provided phone was “wiped” of all information when asked by the judge if she had copies of vital information of conversations between her and protesters.  

Bach was the second police officer in less than a week to testify that their phone was suddenly “wiped” of all data. 

OPS liaison team officer Isabelle Cyr testified last week that her contacts were “wiped” clean from her phone between January 27 and February 9, 2022, which was when the main protests took place. 

She noted to the court, however, that she had some text message exchanges with Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber printed out before her information was “wiped.” 

Yesterday in court, defense counsel Eric Granger referred to an email from an Officer “Li” which was made to Bach, and suggested that by May 2022, it was evident that the “PLT officers were seeking evidence that might have been lost while highlighting the absence of an email response from Bach in the disclosure.” 

Diane Magas, counsel for Chris Barber, “reiterated her request for a response regarding when Bach was directed to update her phone and why she updated it when she did, leading to the phone’s wipe.” 

Last Friday, during Day 21 of the trial, Bach was again cross-examined which resulted in disclosure concerns pertaining to her testimony on Day 20 about her phone getting wiped.  

As per the TDF, the “defense team requested disclosure about the reasons behind the ‘wiping’ of Officer Bach’s cell phone. The Crown and defense left the courtroom together to discuss the issue.” 

Documents requested by the defense given to them in ‘blacked out’ form  

Lich and Barber’s defense has thus far only received completely blacked-out documents concerning the phone wipes of the OPS officers.

On Thursday in court, lawyers for Lich and Barber noted to the court they got copies of five internal emails they had requested, which were said to be communications between officers, but they were heavily redacted and wondered why this was the case.  

The OPS had claimed the emails were protected by solicitor-client privilege.  

Lawyer Vanessa Stewart, who was in court on behalf of the OPS, claimed that some of the emails have evidence from the Crown, which was shared between officers.  

The TDF noted that “Granger pointed out that solicitor-client privilege typically does not exist between the police and the crown, leading to discussions about the involvement of the crown in such legal discussions with the police.” 

Perkins-McVey inquired to Crown lawyers if the “Ottawa police were in a position to waive privilege, assuming privilege existed in the first place.” 

Stewart replied with a “No.” 

The TDF noted that Perkins-McVey questioned how communication “between two officers could trigger solicitor-client privilege.” 

In response, Stewart “maintained that the conversation was about legal advice received from the crown, justifying the privilege.” 

Perkins-McVey “noted that it was not clear whether solicitor-client privilege had been sufficiently established.” Stewart after this, “then made submissions on the waiver of privilege.”  

Lich and Barber’s trial has thus far taken more time than originally planned due to the slow pace of the Crown calling its witnesses. LifeSiteNews has been covering the trial extensively. 

Last week, bail-related charges placed against Lich for attending an awards ceremony were stayed by the Crown in a move that comes during her weeks-long trial for leading the convoy, which is separate from her bond charges. 

In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government enacted the Emergencies Act in mid-February, leading to Lich’s arrest two days later on February 17, 2022. 

After the protesters were cleared out, which was done through the freezing of bank accounts of those involved without a court order as well as the physical removal and arrest of demonstrators, Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23. 

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Freedom Convoy leaders’ sentencing judgment delayed, Crown wants them jailed for two years

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Fr0m LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Years after their arrests, Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are still awaiting their sentencing after being found ‘guilty’ of mischief.

The sentencing for Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber has been further delayed, according to the protest organizers.

“In our trial, the longest mischief trial of all time, we set hearing dates to set hearing dates,” quipped Lich, drawing attention to the fact that the initial sentencing date of April 16 has passed and there is still not a rescheduled date.

Earlier this month, both Lich and Barber were found guilty of mischief for their roles as leaders of the 2022 protest and as social media influencers, despite the non-violent nature of the demonstration.

Barber noted earlier this month that the Crown is seeking a two-year jail sentence against him and is also looking to seize the truck he used in the protest. As a result, his legal team asked for a stay of proceedings.

Barber, along with his legal team, have argued that all proceedings should be stopped because he “sought advice from lawyers, police and a Superior Court Judge” regarding the legality of the 2022 protest. If his application is granted, Barber would avoid any jail time.

Lich has argued that the Crown asking for a two-year jail sentence is “not about the rule of law” but rather “about crushing a Canadian symbol of Hope.”

Lich and Barber were arrested on February 17, 2022, in Ottawa for their roles in leading the popular Freedom Convoy protest against COVID mandates. During COVID, Canadians were subjected to vaccine mandates, mask mandates, extensive lockdowns and even the closure of churches.

Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, 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 on Monday won re-election and is slated to form a minority government.

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Former Australian state premier accused of lying about justification for COVID lockdowns

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Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria

From LifeSiteNews

By David James

Monica Smit said she is launching a private criminal prosecution against Daniel Andrews based on ‘new evidence proving they enforced lockdowns without medical advice or evidence.’

The fiercest opponent of the former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews during the COVID crisis was activist Monica Smit. The government responded to her advocacy by arresting her for participating in anti-lockdown protests. When she refused to sign her bail conditions she was made, in effect, a political prisoner for 22 days.  

Smit subsequently won a case against the Victoria Police for illegal imprisonment, setting an important precedent. But in a vicious legal maneuver, the judge ensured that Smit would be punished again. She awarded Smit $4,000 in damages which was less than the amount offered in pre-trial mediation. It meant that, despite her victory, Smit was liable for Victoria Police’s legal costs of $250,000. It was not a good day for Australian justice. 

There is a chance that the tables will be reversed. Smit has announced she is launching a private criminal prosecution against Andrews and his cabinet based on “new evidence proving they enforced lockdowns without medical advice or evidence.”

The revelation that the savage lockdown policies made little sense from a health perspective is hardly a surprise. Very little of what happened made medical sense. For one thing, according to the Worldometer, about four-fifths of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 had no symptoms. Yet for the first time in medical history healthy people were treated as sick.  

The culpability of the Victorian government is nevertheless progressively becoming clearer. It has emerged that the Andrews government did not seek medical advice for its curfew policies, the longest in the Western world. Andrews repeatedly lied when he said at press conferences that he was following heath advice. 

David Davis, leader of the right wing opposition Liberal Party, has made public a document recording an exchange between two senior health officials. It shows that the ban on people leaving their homes after dark was implemented without any formal input from health authorities. 

Davis acquired the email exchange, between Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton and his deputy Finn Romanes, under a Freedom of Information request. It occurred two-and-a-half hours after the curfew was announced. 

Romanes explained he had been off work for two days and was not aware of any “key conversations and considerations” about the curfew and had not “seen any specific written assessment of the requirement” for one. 

He added: “The idea of a curfew has not arisen from public health advice in the first instance. In this way, the action of issuing a curfew is a mirror to the State of Disaster and is not occurring on public health advice but is a decision taken by Cabinet.” Sutton responded with: “Your assessment is correct as I understand it.” 

The email exchange, compelling evidence of the malfeasance of the Andrews government, raises further questions. If Smit’s lawyers can get Andrews to respond under oath, one ought to be: “If you were lying about following medical advice, then why were you in such a hurry to impose such severe measures and attack dissenters?” 

It remains a puzzle. Why did otherwise inconsequential politicians suddenly turn into dictatorial monsters with no concern for what their constituents thought?  

The most likely explanation is that they were told it was a biowarfare attack and were terrified, ditching health advice and applying military protocols. The mechanism for this was documented in a speech by Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts.  

If so, was an egregious error of judgement. As the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed, 2020 and 2021 had the lowest level of respiratory diseases since records have been kept. There was never a pandemic. 

There needs to be an explanation to the Australian people of why they lost their liberty and basic rights. A private prosecution might achieve this. Smit writes: “Those responsible should face jail time, nothing less. The latest revelation of ‘document 34‘ is just the beginning. A public criminal trial will expose truths beyond our imagination.”

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