Tamara Lich, the woman who dared to defy Trudeau, to appear in Ottawa Courthouse on Tuesday, July 5

It isn't getting much publicity, but a full-day bail hearing for Tamara Lich is set for Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at the Ottawa Courthouse, starting at 9 a.m. Lich was one of the organizers and fundraisers for the Freedom Convoy 2022 protest. She spent the Canada Day long weekend in jail following her Monday, June 27, arrest in Medicine Hat, Alberta, on a Canada-wide arrest warrant for allegedly having breached bail conditions earlier that month. She will remain in jail until her hearing on Tuesday.

One wonders if her arrest just in time for Canada Day for an alleged offence committed on June 16 and a "Canada-wide" warrant for someone not in hiding from police are a message to Trudeau's political opponents. These opponents remain a thorn in his side by their continued opposition to his mandates. It's difficult not be struck by the vast difference in the treatment meted out to Lich and the leniency afforded to David Alexander Zegarac. The contrast that should awaken even the most complacent Canadian to our country's gentle slide into tyranny.

Lich had never committed an act of violence yet was denied bail on February 22 following her February 17 arrest on charges of mischief, subsequent to Trudeau's evocation of the Emergencies Act to crush the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau-appointed Judge Julie Bourgeois said Lich's continued detention was necessary for the "safety and protection of the public." Although the Convoy had by then dispersed, Lich remained in jail until her bail review hearing on March 2, when she was brought to court in leg shackles, which the judge asked to be removed. Lich was released on bail on March 7, under "outrageous" conditions that the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms said violated her Charter rights. Her most recent arrest was for violating those bail conditions by attending the JCCF's Freedom Award gala in Toronto on June 16, where she was the recipient of the Freedom Award. Although she had obtained permission to travel to Ontario (from Alberta) to attend the event, the Crown alleges that because she was seen speaking with Tom Marazzo, a spokesman at the Convoy protests, she had violated her bail conditions.

On the evening of February 4, a few weeks before Lich's first arrest, David Alexander Zegarac, an deliberately rammed his Jeep Patriot into a Freedom Convoy march in Winnipeg, injuring four people. He then fled in his vehicle, committing many traffic violations until stopped by police 40 minutes later, who arrested him "after a struggle." Yet, although Zegarac had committed serious violence and had advocated for violence in his lyrics, he was released on $10,000 bail the day after his arrest. Where was the court's concern about the "safety and protection of the public" in that instance?

It seems that protesting Prime Minister Trudeau's mandates is a more serious offence than deliberately driving into people with an SUV. Perhaps that applies only when the victims of vehicular assault belong to a pesky "fringe minority" who hold "unacceptable views."

Tamara's all-day bail hearing well be held on Tuesday, July 5th, at the Ottawa Courthouse, 161 Elgin St., Room 4, starting at 9 a.m. If you are able to attend and show support for this courageous woman, please do so.

The Courthouse is located on the east side of Elgin, between Laurier Ave. W. and Lisgar St., about four blocks south of the War Memorial.