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Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Sentencing for 'Freedom Convoy' leaders Lich, Barber scheduled for Oct. 7
Published Jul 24, 2025 • 3 minute read Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber wait for the Public Order Emergency Commission to begin, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022 in Ottawa. Photo by Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, two leaders of the 'Freedom Convoy' protest, are scheduled to be sentenced for mischief on Oct. 7 in an Ottawa courtroom. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account In addition to lengthy prison sentences, the Crown wants to seize Barber's truck, which was used in the protest. A forfeiture hearing on that matter is scheduled for Sept. 12. Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said Thursday she wants to rule on the mischief sentence and truck forfeiture at the same time so that she does not deliver 'piecemeal' decisions. Lich and Barber were both found guilty of mischief in April for their roles in the convoy protest, which saw activists fill much of downtown Ottawa for three weeks beginning in late January 2022 to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic measures. The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber, who was also found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The lawyers for both Lich and Barber are seeking absolute discharges for their clients, which would mean neither receives a criminal record. On Thursday, Lich's lawyer Lawrence Greenspon told the court that Lich has already spent 49 days in jail and has been under strict bail conditions for the last three-and-a-half years. Greenspon argued that his client and Barber took 'unprecedented' steps by working with police and city officials throughout the protest to limit the protest's impact. 'This is an individual who came to this city with the best of intentions, as recognized by the judge. She has been under strict bail conditions for three-and-a-half years. She spent 49 days in jail for the offence of mischief,' Greenspon said during the hearing's lunch break. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'And if one looks at the positive impact that she's had on the lives of many Canadians and the community service that she has continued to do, there's absolutely no reason for her to not receive an absolute discharge.' Greenspon read a brief statement on Lich's behalf that simply said 'freedom is not free.' Accused are given a chance to address the court during sentencing submissions. Barber's lawyer Diane Magas said Wednesday that she is seeking an absolute discharge for her client because he has been on bail for the last three-and-a-half years without incident. Greenspon became emotional at times while reading from dozens of support letters submitted on behalf of his client. He read out messages from people who said the convoy protest gave them hope after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures they saw as government overreach. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Tamara Lich, Chris Barber stood up for what they believed in and what many, many people — thousands of people across the country were not capable of standing up (for). And those people were inspired,' he said. Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher said during her sentencing submissions Wednesday that she is seeking stiff sentences for Lich and Barber because of the broad community harm caused by the three-week 2022 protest in Ottawa's downtown core. She said that she is seeking long sentences not because of Lich and Barber's political beliefs but because of their actions during the protest. Wetscher said that while Lich and Barber may have come to Ottawa with noble intentions, they continued to encourage people to take part in the protests even when it became impossible for them to ignore the effect it was having on downtown residents and businesses. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Greenspon said Thursday that it's 'facile and inaccurate' to say the Crown's sentencing proposal sentence is not motivated by his client's politics. He said Lich continually called for protesters to remain peaceful and can't be held responsible for the actions of individuals at the demonstration. Wetscher replied that while some people are fans of the convoy protest, it does not change the fact that it caused harm to people living and working in downtown Ottawa. The defence raised issues with victim and community impact statements submitted by Wetscher. One of the statements came from fellow 'Freedom Convoy' organizer Pat King's case and others were sworn affidavits derived from a separate $300 million class action lawsuit filed against convoy organizers by downtown Ottawa residents. Wetscher said that the statements are meant to capture the broad scope of the convoy's impact. Read More Sports Canada Editorials World Toronto & GTA
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
MANDEL: Only one 'truth' and it wasn't told by Hockey Canada complainant
The judge didn't believe the woman who claimed five former junior hockey players sexually assaulted her in a London hotel room Get the latest from Michele Mandel straight to your inbox From left, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod enter the London courthouse on May 20, 2025. Photo by Mike Hensen and Derek Ruttan / The London Free Press So much for 'her truth.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account An Ontario judge has found there is only 'the truth' and it had nothing to do with the account a young woman has spun over the last seven years in accusing five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team of sexually assaulting her in a London hotel room in June 2018. And so in finding all five not guilty in a decision that took most of the day to read, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia has given the men back their futures and their freedom. But no matter the acquittals for Canada's former junior hockey stars Michael McLeod, 27, Dillon Dubé, 26, Cal Foote, 26, Alex Formenton, 25, and Carter Hart, 26, their lives, of course, are forever tattered. Their promising hockey careers are in ruins: Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube had NHL contracts that were not renewed after they were charged in 2024. And their reputations will always bear the stain of being dragged through the mud of public opinion that tarred and feathered them as alleged rapists. Which is not to say that they didn't likely behave like Animal House louts in that hotel room. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The judge reminded the court that her verdicts weren't about the young men's morality but whether they engaged in sexual activity with E.M. in room 209 without her consent. The university student claimed she was extremely drunk, disconnected from her body and so fearful in the room full of strapping men that she felt she had no choice but to go along with delivering oral sex and engaging in sexual intercourse. In a scathing decision, Carroccia tore her account to shreds, finding E.M. neither 'credible or reliable.' She found E.M. 'went to great lengths' to exaggerate her intoxication yet video footage from the London bar where she first met McLeod, then her arrival at the Delta Hotel and inside the room in two 'consent' videos showed her walking – and almost running at one point – without any difficulty in her stiletto heels while displaying no slurring or other signs of impairment. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. E.M. claimed the players were trying to get her drunk, but again, video from Jack's bar showed her buying all but one of her own drinks. It was also difficult to square how E.M. agreed she was fine to consent to go back to McLeod's room for sex, and it was only later that she was too intoxicated to consent to what followed with the others who came in. How is it that her impairment increased when she didn't have anything more to drink? Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alexandar Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Callan Foote are shown in court in this courtroom sketch made in London, Ont., on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Photo by Alexandra Newbould / The Canadian Press As for her purported fear, that wasn't something E.M. ever mentioned until four years later, after London Police had closed their case without laying charges and she filed her $3.5 million civil case – a lawsuit that Hockey Canada quickly and quietly settled without the players' knowledge, or the public's, until the explosive revelation by TSN's Rick Westhead. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the first 'consent' video, taken by McLeod without E.M.'s knowledge, 'she was speaking normally, she was smiling, she did not appear to be upset or in distress,' Carroccia said. E.M. testified that after sex with McLeod, she exited the bathroom naked and was surprised to find the room full of men. Why didn't she go back in and put her clothes back on, the judge asked. 'No one had threatened her or applied any force to her. She made no effort to leave the room. Up until this point, there had been no sexual contact with anyone other than consensually with Mr. McLeod. The complainant provided no satisfactory answer as to why she chose to do this.' Read More This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The judge went further. Not only didn't she believe E.M. was afraid, she accepted the testimony from the players who said she was calling them 'pussies' and demanding sex. 'I accept the overwhelming evidence that E.M. was acting in a sexually forward manner when she was masturbating in this room full of men and asking them to have sex with her.' The acquittals come as no surprise – from the start of the long-awaited, sensational trial, the weakness of the case was screamingly obvious. As Formenton's lawyer Dan Brown said after the verdict, it appears London Police 'got it right' when they found there wasn't enough evidence to lay charges. But it was social media outrage following the Hockey Canada payout that led not only to reopening the police investigation but also to forcing the Crown's hand in going ahead with a hopeless prosecution. Assuming there's no Crown appeal, it finally ends here – with five men left to pick up the pieces of their lives. mmandel@ Sports Canada World Editorials Toronto & GTA
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hulk Hogan's sex tape lawsuit had a lasting effect on cases involving celebrity privacy
Famous for his fearless bravado as a pro wrestler, Hulk Hogan won one of his most notable victories in a Florida courtroom by emphasizing his humiliation and emotional distress after a news and gossip website published a video of Hogan having sex with a friend's wife. A 2016 civil trial that pitted the First Amendment against the privacy rights of celebrities ended with a jury awarding Hogan a whopping $140 million in his lawsuit against Gawker Media. Though both parties later settled on $31 million to avoid protracted appeals, the case put Gawker out of business. It also ensured Hogan, who died Thursday at age 71, and his legal team would have a long-term impact on media law. The case showed that, in certain circumstances, celebrities could persuade a jury that their right to privacy outweighs the freedom of the press — even when the published material was true. The case put media outlets on notice that 'the public doesn't necessarily like the press,' especially when reporting intrudes into intimate details of even public figures' private lives, said Samantha Barbas, a University of Iowa law professor who writes about press freedoms and First Amendment issues. She said it also emboldened celebrities, politicians and others in the public spotlight to be more aggressive in suing over unflattering news coverage — as seen recently in President Donald Trump's pursuit of court cases against the Wall Street Journal, ABC and CBS. 'I think the lasting effect of the Hulk Hogan case was it really started this trend of libel and privacy lawsuits being weaponized to kind of take down these media organizations,' Barbas said. Hogan wept hearing the verdict in a case that was 'real personal' Hogan, whose given name was Terry Bollea, sued Gawker for invading his privacy after the website in 2012 posted an edited version of a video of Hogan having sex with the wife of his then-best friend, Florida-based radio DJ Bubba The Love Sponge Clem. Clem gave his blessing to the coupling and recorded the video that was later leaked to Gawker. Hogan insisted he was unaware the intimate encounter was being filmed. The former WWE champion testified that he was 'completely humiliated' when the sex video became public. Hogan's lead trial attorney, Ken Turkel, recalled Thursday how his muscular, mustachioed client cried in court as the jury verdict was read. 'To him the privacy part of it was integral. It was important,' Turkel said. 'Eight-year-old kids were googling 'Hulk Hogan' and 'Wrestlemania,' and they were getting a sex tape. That was hurtful to him in a real personal way.' The three-week trial was closely followed far beyond the courtroom in St. Petersburg, Florida, as thousands of wrestling fans, First Amendment watchers and others stayed glued to their screens as the trial was streamed live online. Salacious details emerged about Hogan's sex life as jurors and spectators viewed. images of him in thong underwear. Other testimony focused on how New York-based Gawker practiced journalism differently than traditional news outlets. And Hogan explained to the jury about the difference between his wrestling persona and his private life. Jury rejected that First Amendment protected publishing sex tape The jury ultimately rejected arguments by Gawker's attorneys that Hogan's sex tape was newsworthy and that publishing it, no matter how distasteful, was protected speech under the First Amendment. 'Now more people, including judges, understand that it's possible to sue someone for revealing something truthful, as long as that something is deeply personal and its publication is highly offensive,' said Amy Gajda, a Brooklyn Law School professor who followed and wrote about the case against Gawker. News outlets still have broad legal protection for publishing information about public figures, even things that would generally be considered private, Gajda said 'As long as there is news value in what is published and the media can argue that effectively, they can get a privacy case dismissed very early on,' she said. ___ Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
