Freedom Convoy Organizer Barber Given Conditional Sentence

OTTAWA—Freedom Convoy co-organizer Chris Barber has been given a conditional sentence of 18 months that will see him serve 12 months under house arrest and six months of curfew, avoiding jail time for his role in the 2022 protest.

Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled on Oct. 7 that Barber will serve a conditional sentence of 18 months on the charge of mischief and a three-month concurrent conditional sentence for the charge of counselling others to disobey a court order. 

Barber will serve the first 12 months under house arrest and must remain on his property for the duration except for work, medical appointments, or to help his parents clear snow at their home. For the last six months of the sentence, Barber will have a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. He will also be required to serve 100 hours of community service. 

Fellow convoy co-organizer Tamara Lich was also handed a conditional sentence of 18 months on Oct. 7, minus time already served.

The Crown had sought seven-plus years of jail time for Lich and Barber, in addition to seeking to seize and auction off Barber’s truck “Big Red,” which he used to travel from Saskatchewan to Ottawa for the convoy protest. Perkins-McVey has said her decision on the seizure of the truck will continue in November.

Barber and Lich, who were the chief organizers of the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic measures, were found guilty of mischief in April, while Barber was also found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order.

The 2022 convoy protest saw hundreds of trucks and other vehicles parked in downtown Ottawa, with protesters demanding the government lift its pandemic mandates. The federal government responded by invoking the Emergencies Act to provide authorities with greater powers, including conscripting towing companies and freezing the bank accounts of convoy protesters. Lich and Barber were arrested on Feb. 17, a day before police began their expanded operation in Ottawa.

A commissioner presiding over a public inquiry into the government’s use of the Emergencies Act ruled in early 2023 that the feds were justified in using the extraordinary legislation. However, a different conclusion was reached by a Federal Court presiding over a civil suit brought on by some of the protesters in 2024, with the judge saying the government’s use of the act wasn’t justified. The government has appealed the ruling.

Ruling on Barber

Justice Perkins-McVey said that with the Crown requesting eight years in jail for Barber and the defence asking for a conditional discharge, “the parties could not be farther apart in their submissions or in their perspectives regarding this case.”

Perkins-McVey said the defence’s request of a discharge would be “contrary to the public interest” and would undermine confidence in the administration of justice, but that the Crown’s request of eight years in prison would have been an unfit sentence.

“Persons charged with serious violent crimes such as robbery, aggravated assault or other cases involving violence, rarely received sentences in that penitentiary range,” the judge said.

The judge noted that Barber’s lawyers emphasized that his “moral blameworthiness” was reduced because he cooperated with police, did not advocate for violence, and sought legal advice throughout the protest. She also said that Barber was seen as a “hero” by many people, had his bank account frozen under the Emergencies Act, and had paid over $40,000 in travel expenses.

Perkins-McVey said an incident where Barber encouraged protesters to disobey a court order against honking was an aggravating factor, but she said Barber had misunderstood the nature of the court injunction and relied on erroneous legal advice, and thus his moral blameworthiness was reduced.

Barber’s lawyer Diane Magas told reporters outside the court house that she was not surprised by the judge’s verdict. Magas also said Justice Perkins-McVey had relayed a message that Barber and Lich had the “best intentions” when they first came to Ottawa, but that the protest turned unlawful because of the blocking of streets.

“I think the judge wanted to make sure, in our decision today, and even in her decision on conviction, that protest is allowed. That is not the issue, it’s the matter of the protest that’s the issue,” she said.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which has provided support for Barber’s legal case, said the two organizers shouldn’t have received any sentence.

“Chris Barber and Tamara Lich should not have been convicted of criminal mischief in the first place,” JCCF president John Carpay said in a statement.

“Not only was their cause noble, calling upon Ottawa to recognize the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Canadians during this country’s darkest chapter, but Chris and Tamara pursued their cause in a peaceful, cooperative, and respectful manner.”