(Ottawa) The woman who went to court last year to seek an injunction against the “Freedom Convoy” confronted protest organizers in criminal court on Monday in one of the most intense interrogations the trial has seen to date.
Published yesterday at 9:40 p.m.
Laura Osman The Canadian Press
Zexi Li testified on Monday morning in the criminal trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, who were accused of mischief and advising others to commit misdeeds.
The courtroom was unusually crowded as Ms. Li took the stand on Monday. She maintained her composure on the witness stand during cross-examination.
Earlier in her testimony, defense lawyers objected to Ms. Li’s use of the word “occupation” to describe the protest, which saw large trucks and large crowds block streets in downtown Ottawa for weeks.
“I object to the continued use of the word ‘occupation,'” said Chris Barber’s attorney, Diane Magas. It’s very irritating to my ears.”
Ms Magas said the word was inflammatory, particularly because the witness was “very committed” to the matter.
Ms. Li is the representative in the motion to bring a $290 million class action lawsuit against the convoy organizers on behalf of residents, workers and business owners of downtown Ottawa. The application claims downtown residents were harmed as thousands of protesters drove trucks through Ottawa’s streets for three weeks.
Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber are both defendants in this class action lawsuit.
Judge Heather Perkins-McVey told Ms Li she would prefer to use the words “protest” or “demonstration”. But she added that what the witness says “depends on her.”
Like several other witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution in the trial, Ms. Li described on Monday the excessive noise caused by heavy trucks that honked “most of the day, if not all day.”
“It was difficult to live with as a human being,” she said.
During the second week of protests in Ottawa, Ms. Li went to court to successfully obtain an injunction against the constant honking. She admitted Monday that the noise became less incessant after that, but that she still heard occasional stretches of “collective honking,” where it seemed like all the honks were sounding together for a while.
The Crown wants to prove that Ms. Lich and Mr. Barber had influence over the crowd.
Lack of credibility
Under cross-examination, Ms. Li said she could only remember the date of a particular “collective honking,” namely February 7, 2022. She could not say how long the honking lasted.
Ms Li told the court that in the third week of protests, she walked the streets to record evidence that the court order had not been respected.
She also took a photo of a truck with gas cans partially parked on the sidewalk. The witness testified in court that the driver “backed the truck toward her” while nearby protesters honked and shouted at her. She called the police, who reported the incident but took no further action. She was unable to reveal the exact time of the incident in court.
During his cross-examination, Ms. Lich’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, examined possible flaws in Ms. Li’s credibility, comparing her answers in court to her testimony before a federal investigation into the government’s use of the Emergency Measures Act last year.
“There are a number of areas where she has always said things and has never really been challenged,” Mr Greenspon said in court on Monday.
“I think we can all look at the kind of cross-examination that took place before the Emergency Commission and it pales in comparison to what she experienced today. »
For example, during the federal investigation, Ms. Li said she remembered police coming to her building to ask if residents had thrown eggs at protesters. On Monday, she claimed she only learned about the police investigation on her building’s Facebook page.
Mr. Greenspon also asked if she remembered swearing at the protesters during the confrontation with the truck and fuel cans.
She confirmed she had done so, but Mr Greenspon showed the court a transcript of her sworn statement last year when she said: “I may have said that.”
He also questioned Ms. Li’s previous legal actions.
intimidation
In his decision to grant the injunction against the Horns, Judge Hugh McLean ruled that the protest could continue as long as it was lawful and peaceful.
The injunction lasted only ten days and Ms. Li’s lawyer, Paul Champ, requested its extension on February 16.
Mr. Greenspon stressed that Mr. Champ did not summon the protesters to court because they had defied orders to remain lawful and peaceful. He did not request that the injunction be extended to other aspects of the demonstration.
The defense also questioned why Ms. Li had a conversation with her lawyer Emilie Taman during her lunch break.
After hearing giggles from spectators in court, Ms Perkins-McVey said she was serious about raising the specter of a breach of professional secrecy and threatened to exclude anyone who she felt was not showing respect, which was necessary.
Ms Li told the court she was discussing what she was going to make for dinner when Mr Greenspon interrupted her and suggested she not speak to her lawyer.
A short time later she was seen leaving the courtroom in tears.
Her lawyer, Paul Champ, said last week that Ms. Li preferred not to testify but that she would fulfill her duty as a citizen if asked to do so.
He claims Ms Li has been the victim of harassment since she took action against the convoy in court and again after her testimony before Judge Paul Rouleau’s Commission of Inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergency Measures Act. When she was at the courthouse, she was escorted by police.
The court also heard testimony from Paul Jorgenson, an Ottawa resident, who said the entrance to his parking lot was completely blocked by trucks. A few days after the protests began, he said he got into his car and jumped a curb to escape downtown.
“We eventually had to flee the city because I couldn’t continue working,” he told the court, citing the “cacophonous” noise and smell of the idle vehicles.
When he returned on February 9, he spoke of difficulty finding food.
“We couldn’t order food or get food at the supermarket and had almost used up all the food in our pantry,” he said.