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Judge orders some internal police documents be given to defense lawyers in Freedom Convoy leaders’ trial

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From LifeSiteNews

By AnthonyMurdoch

The Crown was instructed to provide an unredacted document to the defense concerning internal police emails regarding a police officer phone upgrade that ‘wiped’ the data of some devices

On day 24 of the Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber’s court trial, Judge Heather Perkins-McVey ordered the Crown to provide an unredacted document to the defense lawyers concerning internal police emails regarding a police officer phone upgrade that “wiped” the data of some devices.

The Democracy Fund (TDF), which is crowdfunding Lich’s legal costs, noted in a day 24 update that Perkins-McVey asked the Crown for the documents to be “produced immediately for her examination” unredacted.

After a review, Perkins-McVey ordered the crown to provide this document “to defence in its entirety, “unredacted,” as noted by the TDF.

Perkins-McVey also asked the Crown to provide her with an email exchange between two police officers that the Crown “claimed solicitor-client privilege.”

She decided, however, regarding the emails, that she needed more time to “deliberate, reserving her decision on the matter of the crown’s claim of solicitor-client privilege.”

As a result, these emails were not produced for the defense.

Perkins-McVey on Tuesday also again noted the highly unusual nature that two Ottawa Police Service (OPS) officers who interacted with protesters and are important witnesses in the trial, had their phone data wiped during the protests, after they were told to update their phones.

The defense for Lich and Barber had last week made two defense disclosure applications requesting information from the Crown.

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

Last Thursday, during Day 20 of the trial, a second police witness, Nicole Bach of the OPS Police Liaison Team (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.

Officer who claimed protesters were ‘hostile’ again takes the stand to speak of a ‘final’ warning

On Day 23 of the trial, OPS Sgt. Jordan Blonde claimed that protesters were “hostile” after being told to clear out of the city’s downtown core after emergency laws were enacted despite the fact that during the clear-out a woman got trampled by a horse.

He told the court that he was tasked with giving out an “information leaflet” to protesters regarding an agreed “moving day” of trucks on February 14, 2022, from residential areas to Wellington Street. Barber had said he could not get the trucks moving right away as police cruisers were blocking the way.

On Tuesday, he again took the stand and described how there was an influx of people on the weekends during the Freedom Convoy protests, who made loud noises.

Blonde told the court about an additional engagement he had with protesters on February 19, 2022. In this interaction, he said that (Public Order Unit) officers were “pushing protesters westward,” as noted by the TDF.

“He said he communicated messages like ‘clear the intersection’ at Metcalfe Street and Sparks Street, which echoed the content of the flyers he distributed. He stated that the consequence of not leaving the area was ‘arrest,’” as noted by the TDF.

Blonde then told the court about “final messaging” given to protesters on February 19, 2022.

This “final” message resulted in a few protesters leaving, but many remained.

The TDF noted that Blonde “described those who remained as ‘hellbent on being arrested’” and that he witnessed “slow and methodical” arrests conducted by POU officers.

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 on February 14, the same day as “moving day.”

During the clear-out of protesters, after the EA was put in place, one protester, 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.

Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23.

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.

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Canadian Health Department funds study to determine effects of COVID lockdowns on children

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By Anthony Murdoch

The commissioned study will assess the impact on kids’ mental well-being of COVID lockdowns and ‘remote’ school classes that banned outdoor play and in-person learning.

Canada’s Department of Health has commissioned research to study the impact of outdoor play on kids’ mental well-being in light of COVID lockdowns and “remote” school classes that, for a time, banned outdoor play and in-person learning throughout most of the nation. 

In a notice to consultants titled “Systematic Literature Reviews And Meta Analyses Supporting Two Projects On Children’s Health And Covid-19,” the Department of Health admitted that “Exposure to green space has been consistently associated with protective effects on children’s physical and mental health.”

A final report, which is due in 2026, will provide “Health Canada with a comprehensive assessment of current evidence, identify key knowledge gaps and inform surveillance and policy planning for future pandemics and other public health emergencies.”

Bruce Squires, president of McMaster Children’s Hospital of Hamilton, Ontario, noted in 2022 that “Canada’s children and youth have borne the brunt” of COVID lockdowns.

From about March 2020 to mid-2022, most of Canada was under various COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns, including mask mandates, at the local, provincial, and federal levels. Schools were shut down, parks were closed, and most kids’ sports were cancelled. 

Mandatory facemask polices were common in Canada and all over the world for years during the COVID crisis despite over 170 studies showing they were not effective in stopping the spread of COVID and were, in fact, harmful, especially to children.

In October 2021, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced unprecedented COVID-19 jab mandates for all federal workers and those in the transportation sector, saying the un-jabbed would no longer be able to travel by air, boat, or train, both domestically and internationally.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, a new report released by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) raised alarm bells over the “harms caused” by COVID-19 lockdowns and injections imposed by various levels of government as well as a rise in unexplained deaths and bloated COVID-19 death statistics.

Indeed, a recent study showed that COVID masking policies left children less able to differentiate people’s emotions behind facial expressions.

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Ontario student appeals ruling that dismissed religious objection to abortion-tainted COVID shot

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By Clare Marie Merkowsky

An Ontario Tech University student is seeking judicial review after the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled his beliefs did not qualify as protected ‘creed.’

An Ontario university student who was punished for refusing the COVID shot is contesting a tribunal ruling that rejected his religious objection to the vaccine.

In a November 28 press release, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that a judicial review has been filed on behalf of former Ontario Tech University student Philip Anisimov after his religious objection to the COVID vaccine was dismissed by an Ontario court.

“Mr. Anisimov’s objection to the Covid vaccine was deeply rooted in his religious commitment to live according to biblical precepts,” Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir declared. “He hopes the Divisional Court will clarify that his religious objection was protected by the Human Rights Code and entitled to protection.”

In 2021, Ontario mandated that all students in the province show proof of vaccination unless they had an exemption or agreed to attend a COVID jab education session boasting about the shots. The third option was not available at Ontario Tech University, as schools could choose whether or not they would offer such a program to students.

Anisimov had requested an exemption from the experimental, abortion-tainted COVID shots on religious grounds but was denied and deregistered from his courses.

He was then forced to spend an entire extra year to complete his studies. According to his lawyers, Ontario Tech University’s decision to not approve his COVID jab exemption request “not only disrupted his career plans but also violated his right to be free from discrimination on the basis of religion, as protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code.”

The university’s refusal to honor his exemption prompted Anisimov to take legal action in April with help of the JCCF. However, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario rejected his religious objection, arguing that it was not protected as a “creed” under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Now, Anisimov is appealing the ruling, hoping that his case will serve as a precedent for justice for students who were discriminated against for refusing the abortion-tainted vaccine.

“My hope is that this case helps set an important precedent and encourages Canadians to reflect on the direction our society is taking,” he explained. “My trust is that God does all things for the good of those who love Him, who are called by His purposes.”

Beyond health concerns, many Canadians, especially Catholics, opposed the vaccines on moral grounds because of their link to fetal cell lines derived from the tissue of aborted babies.

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