TORONTO: During a brief court appearance today, the Crown informed the Court that it is staying charges for breach of bail conditions against Tamara Lich.
Pursuant to Ms. Lich's bail conditions and as a condition of her release from custody pending the outcome of her trial, she was prohibited from having contact with other alleged organizers of the Freedom Convoy protest. During the June 2022 George Jonas gala event in Toronto, the Crown alleged that she breached this condition by contacting another person the Crown contends was also a Freedom Convoy organizer. As a result, Ms. Lich was re-arrested in Alberta upon issuance of a Canada-wide warrant.
The charges for breach of bail condition are separate from the main criminal charges, and if convicted of the former, Ms. Lich could have been sentenced to additional jail time.
Ms. Lich is on trial in Ottawa for mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, counselling intimidation and obstructing a peace officer and counselling obstruction. The trial was originally scheduled to run for 16 days - with 10 allotted to the Crown and six to the defence. However, so far, the trial has consumed over 21 days of trial time without the Crown completing its case.
The Crown advised the Court that, by staying the bail-related charges, it could devote time to completing its case on the main criminal charges.
The trial is set to continue on Thursday, October 26, 2023.
The Democracy Fund (TDF) is funding the legal defence of Ms. Lich. For those who wish to contribute, you can make a tax-deductible donation on this page.
TDF lawyers have been covering the trial live from Ottawa – you can find our daily summaries and legal analyses by clicking here.
You can also find our comprehensive daily coverage on X (formerly Twitter).
About The Democracy Fund:
Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund (TDF) is a Canadian charity dedicated to constitutional rights, advancing education and relieving poverty. TDF promotes constitutional rights through litigation and public education. TDF supports an access to justice initiative for Canadians whose civil liberties have been infringed by government lockdowns and other public policy responses to the pandemic.