Canada began on Tuesday the trial of two leaders of the truck drivers’ protest movement that paralyzed the Canadian capital and disrupted trade last year, before inspiring similar protests around the world.
Trucks participating in the “Freedom Caravan” from all over Canada arrived in Ottawa in early 2022 to express their rejection of mandatory Covid vaccines.
After three weeks of unrest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau activated emergency laws that are rarely used in order to disperse the protest, which political opponents and human rights organizations described as an overreach.
Freedom Caravan organizers Tamara Leach and Chris Barber face charges of causing harm, obstructing police, advising others to commit harm and intimidating Parliament.
The defendants’ lawyers said in a statement, “The fundamental issue is whether the actions of the two organizers of the peaceful protest deserve a criminal punishment.”
Many of the facts of the case are not in dispute in court, given that Leach and Barber documented the protest online, and Leach published a book in April about her experience in Ottawa.
Defense lawyer Lawrence Grinspoon told the court that the protest was not an “occupation” as it was widely described, considering it an “insult.”
Prosecutors said they would call about twenty witnesses during the 16-day trial, including police officers and city officials.
They will also present evidence that Leach and Barber stoked unrest in Ottawa and ignored orders to leave even after the federal government activated emergency legislation.
Many Ottawa residents complained about the noise of car horns and constant harassment during the protests.
If convicted, Leach and Barber face up to 10 years in prison.
Former police officer Danny Pulford, who resigned from his job as part of the Prime Minister’s security staff due to the vaccine requirement and joined the protest, warned the Canadian channel “CBC” that the guilty verdict would lead to more distrust in the country’s legal system.
Former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly described the scene during the protests as a “powder box about to explode,” but organizers described their action as legitimate resistance against the government’s “evil” policies.
With the emergence of solidarity marches around the world that closed important commercial corridors, including the bridge leading to Detroit, the busiest in North America, the demands of the protesters expanded to include a broader rejection of pandemic restrictions.
About 200 people were arrested when police eventually moved to disperse the protesters in Ottawa and remove their bulky equipment.
An official investigation concluded in February that the government was justified in applying the emergency law because conditions were threatening to become “dangerous and uncontrollable.”
AFP