Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Crown prosecutors want Ottawa protest organizer Tamara Lich sent back to jail to await trial, claiming she breached her bail conditions by agreeing to participate in an event next month where she will receive a “Freedom Award.”
In an application filed in advance of Lich’s bail review hearing, the Crown claims she violated the court-imposed condition that she not express support for anything related to the Freedom Convoy movement she led in Ottawa earlier this year.
At a gala organized by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) scheduled for June 16, Lich will be given the “George Jonas Freedom Award” to recognize her participation in the protest that gridlocked Ottawa’s downtown for more than three weeks.
Lich was arrested in Ottawa in February after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act. She was charged with multiple offences related to the protest, including mischief and obstructing a peace officer Her initial bail request was denied but that decision was reversed after a bail review.
After spending 18 days in jail, she was released on March 7th under conditions that require her to reside in Alberta and not travel to Ontario except for court appearance or to meet with counsel.
The bail conditions also require Lich “not to verbally, in writing, financially, or by any other means, support anything related to the Freedom Convoy.”
The Toronto gala will feature a keynote speech by columnist Rex Murphy, with VIP tickets selling for $500. Two other galas are scheduled for Calgary and Vancouver this summer.
Promotional material for the events says Lich “inspired Canadians to exercise their Charter rights and freedoms by participating actively in the democratic process,” calling the occupation of Ottawa a “peaceful protest” that awakened many to the “injustice” of COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates.
Unless her bail conditions are revised, Lich would not be able to attend the events in person.
“Tamara Lich has continued her support of the Convoy cause with the assistance of Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms,” the Crown’s application says,
The Crown also alleges that the Calgary-based JCCF, a registered charity that has led legal challenges of COVID measures, has a “collaborative and representative” relationship with Lich. The application says JCCF lawyer Keith Wilson referred to Lich as “the spark that lit this fire” and on one occasion identified her as his client.
Wilson and other JCCF lawyers attended the Ottawa protest and spoke on the behalf of Lich and other organizers at a press conference. They also posted videos on social media supporting the protest.
The Crown’s application notes that the organization hired a private investigator to follow a Manitoba judge presiding over the JCCF’s legal challenge of provincial lockdown mandates for churches last year.
The Crown also argues that the judge who granted Lich bail made several errors of law and asks that his decision be overturned, sending her back to detention.
The application will be heard in an Ottawa court on Thursday and Friday.
At the same hearing, Lich will ask the court to change the bail conditions that restrict her social media use and prevent her from travelling to Ontario.
Lich’s lawyer in the criminal matter, Lawrence Greenspon, declined to comment on the Crown’s application.
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.