Lawyers representing Freedom Convoy protestors and donors have filed a motion for a permanent stay of proceedings in the $290 million class-action lawsuit against them, after a plaintiff failed to disclose a settlement agreement reached in 2024.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said in a Feb. 24 press release that defence counsel recently advised the court that the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Paul Champ, entered into a settlement agreement with one of the defendants in April 2024.
Ontario law requires such settlement agreements to be disclosed immediately to other parties in the litigation, but counsel said this agreement was not disclosed to other defence counsel until last month.
The settlement required the defendant to provide documents to the plaintiffs for use against other defendants, give an affidavit in support of the plaintiffs, make himself available for cross-examination, and pay $60,000 in exchange for his release from the lawsuit.
The counsel for the remaining defendants previously asked for disclosure of any such agreements, but were told it was “not an appropriate time,” according to the JCCF.
Lawyer James Manson, who is representing several defendants that include protesters and donors, said the integrity of Canada’s justice system depends on “transparency” between all parties.
“When one side secretly enters into an agreement with a defendant that requires cooperation against others, and then does not disclose that agreement immediately, as required by law, the basic fairness of the process is fundamentally undermined,” he said.
Two Ottawa residents, as well as Happy Goat Coffee Company and a local union, launched the lawsuit in February 2022, seeking damages from those who organized and supported the Freedom Convoy protest on Parliament Hill. The demonstration saw hundreds of vehicles gather in downtown Ottawa and in other cities to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health measures.
The lawsuit also alleges that those who donated to the convoy “knew or ought to have known” their donations would contribute to nuisance harms that stemmed from noises from horn honking and idling trucks, and the smell of diesel fumes in downtown Ottawa.
Those who lived, worked in, or did business in the city’s downtown during the protest are “automatically” a part of the class-action lawsuit, unless they choose to opt out or “contributed to or actively supported the convoy.”
One of the residents who filed the lawsuit, Zexi Li, had also filed a motion for an interlocutory injunction to prevent the honking of horns during the Freedom Convoy protest. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the injunction on Feb. 7, 2022, and on Feb. 16 it was extended for another 60 days.
Champ & Associates, which is representing the plaintiffs, did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment before publication time.
Convoy Organizers’ Trial
Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber received 18-month conditional sentences in October 2025 for their roles in the 2022 Ottawa protest.
Both were convicted of mischief in April 2025, with Barber also found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order. Their sentences include 12 months of house arrest with restrictions, followed by additional months under a nightly curfew, and both are required to complete 100 hours of community service.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVey did not Lich and Barber guilt of intimidation, obstruction of police, and other related charges.
The judge also ruled last December that Barber would be allowed to keep his long-haul truck “Big Red,” which the Crown had filed an application to seize. Perkins-McVey said while the truck was used as offence-related property for the protest, forfeiture would have been disproportionate because the truck is used for Barber’s business, and there is “no evidence” the truck will be used in future criminal offences.
Lich and Barber, as well as the other convoy organizers, are defendants in the class-action lawsuit.
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