Poilievre, Conservative MPs criticize Crown ahead of Freedom Convoy leaders' sentencing

Several Conservative MPs and leader Pierre Poilievre are criticizing the Crown's approach to prosecuting two key organizers of the Freedom Convoy protests, with the party's deputy leader calling it an act of "political vengeance."

Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were convicted of mischief in April for their roles in organizing the demonstration, which blockaded streets around Parliament Hill in Ottawa for more than three weeks in early 2022.

Barber was also convicted of counselling others to disobey a court order.

They were found not guilty of several charges, including counselling others to commit mischief.

A sentencing hearing for Barber and Lich is scheduled to take place in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Lich has posted on social media that the Crown is seeking a sentence of seven years for her and eight years for Barber.

She posted a screen shot of part of the Crown's submission to the judge, which called their actions "the worst case of mischief" and argued that the right to political expression has never existed without limitations. The Canadian Press has not independently verified the screen shot.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre posted on X on Monday to question the Crown's approach.

"Let's get this straight: while rampant violent offenders are released hours after their most recent charges and antisemitic rioters vandalize businesses, terrorize daycares and block traffic without consequences, the Crown wants seven years prison time for the charge of mischief for Lich and Barber," he said.

"How is this justice?"

In her own social media post, deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman said that if "the Crown suddenly wants to apply the law — equal application of law would be a good start — but this is political vengeance not actual justice and it's why trust in our institutions is dwindling."

Ontario Conservative MP Andrew Lawton called the proposed sentencing range "excessive and vindictive."

"The Crown is seeking a seven-year sentence (eight for Chris) for a three-week peaceful protest almost 3½ years ago. All while violent offenders are given slaps on the wrist," Lawton said.

Saskatchewan MP Jeremy Patzer described the proposed sentence as seven to eight years "for holding the line and causing Justin Trudeau a political emergency." He compared it to a case in which a man was given a conditional discharge for trying to buy sex from someone he believed was 15 years old.

"It is pretty clear what the Liberals' priorities are. Conservatives are the only ones proposing to fix our laws so that the real criminals end up behind bars," Patzer said.

A spokesperson from Poilievre's office said in a statement that MPs "are raising concerns because the sentencing sought by the Crown in this particular case appears completely disproportionate, particularly when compared to violent criminals who have gotten away with a mere slap on the wrist."

The Conservatives ran on a tough-on-crime platform in the April election. Poilievre promised "jail not bail" for repeat offenders and pledged to legislate life sentences for some human trafficking and drug offences — promises that constitutional experts said would almost certainly be struck down by the courts.

Monday's social media posts came after a number of prominent right-wing social media influencers and personalities called out Poilievre and his MPs over their alleged lack of support for Lich and Barber.

Lich and Barber have been greeted by vocal supporters at each of their court appearances and Lich's post had thousands of likes and comments on Monday.

Michael Spratt, an Ottawa-based defence lawyer, called the MPs' decision to weigh in on the proposed sentencing "craven politics."

"It is very dangerous for politicians to be weighing in on matters before the court," he said.

Spratt said there is a long-standing convention that politicians must not impose their views on the judicial system in Canada.

But sometimes politicians step over that line. In 2021, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that it was "beyond comprehension" that the suspect in a homicide case involving the death of a Toronto police officer had been granted bail.

The accused was found not guilty in 2024. Spratt said politicians who were critical of the justice system at the time ended up looking foolish when the facts of the case came out.

WATCH | Freedom Convoy organizer Pat King gets 3-month conditional sentence:

Pat King received a three-month conditional sentence plus time served for his role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest in downtown Ottawa. Crown prosecutors had asked for a 10-year sentence, the maximum penalty for mischief.

Politicians who choose to leverage high-profile cases to "advance a political narrative" ultimately end up devaluing the work of the courts, Spratt said.

The spokesperson for Poilievre's office said MPs are exercising their freedom to "raise concerns about disproportionate sentencing in the justice system."

"It's the job of the Opposition to raise questions about consistency and proportionality in the criminal justice system, including sentencing law and policy, illuminated by specific cases," the spokesperson said.

Spratt said the Conservative criticism undersells the nature of the offences; although the charge is "mischief," this isn't an instance like a child misbehaving, Spratt argued. The case involves two organizers of a demonstration that cost millions of dollars in damage and caused "real harm" to thousands of downtown Ottawa residents, he said.

In delivering the guilty verdicts, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said Lich and Barber routinely encouraged people to join or remain at the protest, even though they knew the effect it was having on people and businesses downtown.

Thousands of protesters, vehicles and big rig trucks converged on downtown Ottawa in early 2022 in opposition to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, vaccine mandates and the government of then prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The demonstrators refused to leave the downtown, with many honking their truck horns at all hours even after a court injunction ordered them to stop. Residents in the area complained of being harassed and said the smell of diesel fumes was overwhelming.

Poilievre was supportive of the protesters during the demonstration. He brought coffee and doughnuts to some of the truckers and called them "honest, hardworking, decent people" in a February 2022 video taken outside Parliament.

Some of the people involved in the protest said they wanted to overthrow the government. Poilievre said at the time that the truckers should not be disparaged as a group for the views of certain individuals.

The protest was eventually broken up by a massive police operation after the Trudeau government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in the country's history.

A federal public inquiry was held to examine the use of the law, which gave government, police and financial institutions extraordinary powers to quell the protest. The commission released a report one year after the protests that said the federal government was justified in using the law.

Spratt said outside comments are not likely to change the judge's opinion on a possible sentence for Lich and Barber.

"This judge in particular is not going to make a decision one way or the other because Pierre Poilievre decided that he'd hop on social media and express his opinion."