Pending his US asylum claim, Ottawa Court vacates the trial dates of the last Ottawa Freedom Convoy trucker.
OTTAWA— On November 10, 2025, lawyers from The Democracy Fund appeared in Ottawa court on behalf of trucker James Bauder—one of the last remaining defendants facing charges arising from the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests. Like other Freedom Convoy participants, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, Mr. Bauder is charged with mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, counselling intimidation, and obstruction of police. His three-week trial had been scheduled to begin on November 10th, with the Crown seeking a multi-year prison sentence.
In August 2025, Mr. Bauder filed for asylum in the United States, alleging political persecution by the Canadian government. He has consistently maintained that he cannot attend his trial in person, as doing so would require him to abandon his asylum claim. Under US asylum law, returning to Canada while the claim is pending could void it.
In view of this, in August of 2024, TDF lawyers sought an adjournment of the trial, arguing that it would be improper to force Bauder to choose between his right to a fair trial and his right to seek asylum. The Crown opposed the request, dismissing the asylum claim as “without merit” and affirming readiness to proceed. TDF countered that assessments of the merit of the asylum claim fall to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, not the Crown or the court.
On November 10, however, with Mr. Bauder absent, the Court vacated the three-week trial. The judge noted the accused's absence and declined to proceed. The Crown did not seek to hold a trial in Mr. Bauder's absence, though it did not abandon the case. No new trial date was set.
Lawrence Greenspon, defence counsel appearing on behalf of Mr. Bauder, explained: “The court recognized that Mr. Bauder could not attend his trial in person because it would mean the abandonment of his asylum application."
Litigation director for TDF, Mark Joseph, said "This is the outcome TDF lawyers argued for in August after Mr. Bauder filed his asylum claim. We're pleased that Mr. Bauder can pursue his US claim for asylum while preserving his right to a fair trial in Canada, should it come to that."
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 and 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.