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

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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 airline WestJet ordered to compensate employee who refused the COVID jab

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By Anthony Murdoch

Alberta Justice Also Argento concluded that the major airline WestJet must pay Duong Yee, an accountant based in Calgary, $65,587.72 in damages.

Canada’s second-largest airline has been ordered by a judge to compensate one of its employees who refused to take the COVID shot and was “wrongfully terminated.”

In a ruling, Alberta Justice Also Argento concluded that the major airline WestJet must pay Duong Yee, an accountant based in Calgary, $65,587.72 in damages.

Court documents show that Yee, who worked for the company for 11 years, was put on unpaid leave on November 1, 2021, and was then fired from her job. Her termination came shortly after the federal government of now former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had mandated that all workers of federally regulated industries receive the COVID shots.

Yee had tried to avoid getting the COVID shot through a religious exemption, which was denied by WestJet.

Justice Argento ruled that WestJet could have allowed Yee to work from home to avoid having to get the jab instead of firing her outright.

“The regulations only required the defendant’s employees who were physically accessing ‘aerodrome property’ to be vaccinated,” wrote Argento.

“They would not have applied to the plaintiff while she continued to work from home. The defendant was aware of the regulations, but did not consider whether the plaintiff could continue working from home as an alternative to dismissal.”

Justice Argento also observed in his ruling that the plaintiff’s “refusal” to get the COVID jab and comply with WestJet’s jab policy “did not impact her job performance,” and it did not “endanger the defendant’s employees or the public as the plaintiff was working from home.”

“While the plaintiff was wrongfully terminated, the surrounding circumstances do not attract aggravated damages,” noted the justice.

Yee’s claims for both moral and aggravated damages were dismissed by the court.

In October 2021, Trudeau announced unprecedented COVID-19 jab mandates for all federal workers and those in the transportation sector and said the unjabbed will no longer be able to travel by air, boat, or train, both domestically and internationally.

This policy resulted in thousands losing their jobs or being placed on leave for non-compliance.

Many pilots and airline workers lost their jobs as a result but have fought back via lawsuits.

LifeSiteNews has published an extensive amount of research on the dangers of the experimental COVID mRNA jabs that include heart damage and blood clots.

The mRNA shots have also been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children, and all have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies.

Canada’s Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) was launched in December 2020 after the government gave vaccine makers a shield from liability regarding COVID-19 jab-related injuries.

Recently, VISP injury payments are expected to go over budget, according to a Canadian Department of Health memo.

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Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich to face sentencing July 23

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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.

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.

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