Canadian Crown could be demanding jail time for Freedom Truckers after judge gave them house arrest

The Ontario Crown Attorney is appealing the sentencing of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. On Oct. 7, 2025 Judge Heather Perkins-McVey sentenced the Freedom Convoy organizers to over a year of house arrest and community service. In its Combined Notice of Application for Leave to Appeal and Notice of Appeal, the Crown is asking “that the sentences be increased,” apparently seeking jail terms for both Lich and Barber. The Crown had initially sought seven years imprisonment for Lich and eight years for Barber.

The document claims that “The trial judge erred in law in her interpretation and application of the elements of the offence of intimidation in section 423(1) of the Criminal Code,” and that “the trial judge erred in principle in her treatment of aggravating and mitigating factors on sentence.”

“That the application for leave to appeal against sentence be allowed, that the appeal against sentence be allowed, and that the sentences be increased.”

Lich said it shows how judicial matters surrounding the Freedom Convoy that sought to end Covid mandates in Canada remains grounded in politics and not justice.

“Well, I mean, I've seen the documents that the Crown submitted, they're basically appealing everything. They're appealing the acquittal, they're appealing the stay, and they're appealing [that] we were acquitted on the counseling and the intimidation charges that were dropped also. So it really shows you where their priorities are,” Lich told The Post Millennial.

“The Ontario Provincial Court threw out 125 cases, violent offenders, repeat offenders, violent sexual offenders. They tossed them out. Somebody makes a choice on which of these cases to pursue, and that is a choice that they're making. So instead of having or pursuing, you know, more severe penalties for people that are actually out there committing violent crimes, they're just letting them walk away, and they've chosen instead to prosecute this case. So I think that speaks volumes to the success of the Freedom Convoy personally because they feel threatened,” she continued, adding that the Crown came after her and Barber with “viciousness.”

Lich is also appealing her own conviction for mischief, something she said she has been "considering it for quite some time … I pleaded not guilty, so obviously I don't feel like I should have been charged with mischief. I think if there were people at the protest that were committing mischief, then they should have been arrested and charged. But that certainly was not me.”

Lich also reflected on the recent massacre of hundreds of ostriches in Edgewood, BC at the Universal Ostrich Farms.

“We were at the ostrich farm twice this summer, once in July, and then again, a week before we headed out for the sentencing. And you're right. I recognized, you know, very early on that there were a lot of similarities between the Freedom Convoy and what I was seeing happening at the farm by way of supporters, you know, being there for the family, the donations of food, the tents … It was the community that they had built there. And then, as far as the government overreach, you know, I was really thinking about this yesterday, obviously, because this has been weighing heavily on my mind, this ostrich farm, and the similarities. Where has our compassion gone? Where is the compassion from the people that represent us? Where has it gone?” Lich asked.