Tamara Lich receives Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms' freedom award

'Freedom Convoy' organizer Tamara Lich appears in court Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, as seen in this courtroom sketch by illustrator Greg Banning.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has announced Tamara Lich is the winner of its 2022 George Jonas Freedom Award.

The Medicine Hat, Alta. resident currently faces charges for her role in organizing last winter's convoy that brought thousands of people to Ottawa to protest COVID-19 vaccination mandates. Lich spearheaded a GoFundMe campaign for the convoy that collected more than $10 million in donations before the initiative was halted.

She was arrested on Feb. 17 and subsequently charged with:

The 49-year-old has returned to Alberta where she is permitted to stay as per her release conditions. She continues to await a decision on her request to have her bail conditions — which include significant restrictions on her use of social media — reviewed by a Superior Court of Justice.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms — a Calgary-based legal organization — will be hosting a reception dinner in Toronto on June 16 where Lich is scheduled to receive her award.

Past recipients of the George Jonas Freedom Award, honouring the Hungarian author who championed freedom after moving to Canada from the communist nation, include:

With files from CTV Ottawa