A lawyer at the Emergency Act inquiry questioned the credibility of convoy leader Tamara Lich on Friday as she disputed documentary evidence and argued she was never told to leave Ottawa or that the protests were illegal. Ms Lich also told the inquest that she did not object to a court order against honking, despite swearing an affidavit challenging the order. argued that she would have followed a court order ordering the protesters to leave despite their failure to follow a previous honking; and said her repeated messages to “hold the line” did not mean the protesters should stay in Ottawa but rather stay “true to your values”. Over nearly five hours of conflicting testimony on Thursday and Friday, Ms. Lich recounted her role in the protests, which began with the organization of a GoFundMe campaign in mid-January and ended with her arrest on February 17. He told the Public Order Emergency Committee on Friday that he faces criminal charges including “malice, counseling malice, intimidation, counseling, intimidation and a few more.” He is a key figure in more than three weeks of protests in Ottawa, which participants and leaders say has been a unifying event but police say has been fraught with community violence. Public hearings on the use of emergency law: What you need to know about the commission and what’s happened so far Thousands of people and hundreds of big rigs, trucks and other vehicles began arriving in Ottawa on January 28. The vehicles blocked several roads around Parliament Hill and nearby residential neighborhoods until they were cleared in a massive police operation that began on February 18. In an attempt to end the protests, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergency Act on February 14. The inquiry is tasked with determining whether the federal government followed the law when it declared the emergency, which gave it sweeping powers. While in Ottawa, protesters organized fuel lines for trucks parked in front of Parliament Hill, lit fires in open pits on street corners, set off fireworks indiscriminately next to office buildings and apartments, and honked their horns at all hours of the day. day and night. Ms. Lich told the inquest that it was never her intention to disrupt the lives of Ottawa residents or shut down the city. She maintained that position on Friday despite being shown a text message between herself and another leader, Chris Barber, on January 30 in which she wrote that the convoy’s “command center” had come up with a “strategy to block the city.” “I can tell you what I remember, which obviously isn’t much,” Ms. Lich told Paul Champ, a lawyer representing a coalition of Ottawa businesses and residents. He said he does not use the term gridlock and said the texts show it was “not in my hands”. Ms. Lich also maintained that despite personal interactions with police and public announcements advising protesters to leave, she was not ordered to leave Ottawa. “You must leave the area now. Anyone blocking streets or helping others on the streets is committing a criminal offense and you can be arrested,” Ottawa police said in one of two announcements to protesters on February 16. David Migicovsky, a lawyer representing the Ottawa police presented evidence showing that the police liaison team spoke with Ms. Lich and other procession organizers at the Swiss Hotel on February 16. The police log shows the leaders were told “people who help (logistics) may also be charged and held accountable” and said police “advised them to leave and inform others”. The diary says Ms Lich was crying and convoy leaders told police the message would “harden the resolve of the participants” and believed it was a tactic by a dictatorial government. The police log ends by saying “it was reiterated that they are leaving as soon as possible”. Mr Migicovsky read the notes to Ms Lich and said it was clear she was given the message. “I was never told I had to leave,” she claimed, but also said she remembers the conversation with the police and that she was upset and crying. He later admitted he believed the police comments were just a suggestion. Her testimony drew a rebuke from the Ottawa Police Service’s lawyer, who accused her of recalling a self-serving chain of events. “It seems to me that your memory is selective,” said Mr. Migicovsky. “When I take you to something that involves you, you don’t remember it.” Brendan Miller, the lawyer representing Ms. Leach, and some of the other leaders of the convoy took issue with Mr. Migikowski’s comment. In earlier testimony, Ms. Lich admitted to Mr. Champ that during the protest there was no court injunction against the incessant honking that marked the first week of the protest. The court ordered her and other convoy leaders to publicize the honking on their social media channels. Ms. Lich said she never did. In subsequent testimony, Ms. Leach told Mr. Miller that if she had ever been given a court order to move the trucks or leave, she would have complied. “Obviously I would have followed the order. I never intended or came here to break the law,” he said. On Friday, the commission heard from Chris Deering and Maggie Hope Braun, two protesters who said they were mistreated by police when they refused to leave the protest zone during a police operation to remove protesters. However, neither of them filed a complaint with the police. Both told the inquest that they believed that throughout the demonstration for more than three weeks, the protesters had remained peaceful. In response, Emilie Taman, a lawyer representing a coalition of Ottawa residents and businesses, showed a collection of photos and videos from the protests. The video shows protesters shooting fireworks near buildings. hotel staff harassment. giving Ottawa residents a “wake-up call” by honking a truck horn. and carrying jerry cans downtown. Ms. Taman asked Ms. Hope Braun if it would be okay for such a demonstration to take place outside her home. Ms. Hope Brown said she would. With reports from the Canadian Press
