Crown prosecutors want Ottawa protest organizer Tamara Leach to be sent back to jail to await trial, claiming she violated her bail conditions by agreeing to attend an event next month to receive an “Award for freedom. “
In a petition filed before Leach’s hearing for bail, the Crown said it had violated a court’s requirement not to support anything related to the Freedom Convoy movement, which he led in Ottawa earlier this year.
At a gala on June 16 at the Center for Justice for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), Leach will receive the George Jonas Freedom Prize to honor her participation in a protest that has blocked the Ottawa city center for more than three weeks. .
Leach was arrested in Ottawa in February after the federal government invoked the Emergency Situations Act. She has been charged with a number of crimes related to the protest, including mischief and obstruction of a peace officer. Her initial application for bail was rejected, but that decision was overturned after a bail review.
After spending 18 days in jail, she was released on March 7 under conditions that required her to live in Alberta and not travel to Ontario except to appear in court or meet with a lawyer.
The terms of the guarantee also require Leach “not to support orally, in writing, financially or in any other way anything related to the convoy of freedom.”
The Toronto gala will feature a keynote address by columnist Rex Murphy, with VIP tickets selling for $ 500. Two more gala parties are scheduled for Calgary and Vancouver this summer.
An ad for the event says Leach “inspired Canadians to exercise their Charter rights and freedoms by taking an active part in the democratic process”, calling the Ottawa occupation a “peaceful protest” that woke many to the “injustice” of blocking COVID and vaccine mandates.
Unless her bail conditions are reviewed, Leach will not be able to attend the events in person.
“Tamara Leach continued to support the Convoy cause with the assistance of the Center for Justice for Constitutional Freedom,” Crown said in a statement.
The Crown also claims that the Calgary-based JCCF, a registered charity that manages the legal challenges of COVID’s measures, has a “joint and representative” relationship with Lich. The appendix says JCCF lawyer Keith Wilson called Leach “the spark that ignited that fire” and once identified her as his client.
Wilson and other JCCF lawyers attended the Ottawa protest and spoke on behalf of Leach and other organizers of the press conference. They also posted videos on social media in support of the protest.
Crown’s statement said the organization had hired a private detective to track down a Manitoba judge presiding over the JCCF’s legal dispute over mandates to block provinces for churches last year.
The Crown also claims that the judge who gave Lich bail made several mistakes in the law and wants his decision overturned by sending her back to custody.
The application will be heard in the Ottawa court on Thursday and Friday.
At the same hearing, Leach will ask the court to change the terms of the bail, which restrict her use of social media and prevent her from traveling to Ontario.
Leach’s criminal lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, declined to comment on the Crown’s request.
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