Tamara Lich said Crown prosecutors are continuing to pursue yearslong prison sentences for her and Chris Barber as appeals over their Freedom Convoy convictions and acquittals move toward a spring 2027 hearing.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The legal fight involving Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber is expected to continue into 2027, with Canadian prosecutors still seeking to overturn their acquittals on intimidation charges and replace their house arrest sentences with harsher penalties that could include prison time.
Lich said in an X post last week that her original 18-month house arrest sentence will be “served January 21, 2027, and then it’ll be back to court to start this process all over again.”
“By the time this is over, if it ever truly is, the Ontario taxpayers will be on the hook for around $15M for the prosecution of our case alone,” Lich wrote.
She said Crown prosecutors are “maintaining their pressure to have me imprisoned for 7 years, @ChrisBarber1975 for 8.”
“They also desperately want those intimidation charges to stick. Because I’m very, very scary and shouldn’t be allowed to roam the streets,” Lich wrote.
Court of Appeal instructions released June 29 set the next stage of the case. Under that schedule, the Crown must file its arguments by Dec. 30, 2026. Lawyers for Lich and Barber must submit their filings by Feb. 12, 2027.
Judge Grant Huscroft said “the expectation is an appeal hearing in the spring of 2027,” while noting that both sides should file their appeal materials as soon as possible.
The Crown filed its appeal last November after Lich and Barber were acquitted of intimidation charges. Prosecutors are also challenging the 18-month conditional sentences they received on mischief convictions and are seeking tougher penalties.
Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey sentenced Lich and Barber on Oct. 7, 2025, to 18 months of house arrest after they were convicted earlier in the year of mischief. Lich’s sentence was reduced for time already spent in custody, bringing it to 15 1/2 months.
The convictions stemmed from their roles as leaders and social media figures during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest against COVID mandates. The movement brought thousands of Canadians to Ottawa in early 2022 to call for an end to pandemic-related mandates.
Lich said in May that she plans to sue Ottawa Police, a Crown prosecutor and others for “malicious prosecution & negligent investigation.”
LifeSiteNews previously reported that the Canadian government was seeking at least seven years in prison for Lich and eight years for Barber in connection with their roles in the protests.
LifeSiteNews also reported that Lich and Barber have filed their own appeals of the house arrest sentences, arguing that the trial judge did not properly apply the law to the mischief charges.
The Freedom Convoy began in early 2022 as a protest against COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the nonviolent nature of the movement, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government invoked the Emergencies Act in mid-February.
Trudeau had criticized Canadians who declined COVID shots, saying those who opposed his measures were part of a “small, fringe minority” with “unacceptable views” and did not “represent the views of Canadians who have been there for each other.”
Authorities later cleared protesters from Ottawa through measures that included freezing the bank accounts of participants without a court order, as well as physically removing and arresting demonstrators. Trudeau revoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 23, 2022.
At the time, seven of Canada’s 10 provinces opposed Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act.
In January, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal affirmed a ruling that Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act was illegal. The appeals court upheld a 2024 decision by Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley, who found the government’s use of the law was “not justified.”
The Canadian government is still expected to appeal that decision.
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