Court rejects bid to release frozen funds to 'Freedom Convoy' organizers
An Ontario court has rejected a request from two “Freedom Convoy” organizers to release $200,000 of frozen funds to pay for lawyers to defend a lawsuit launched on behalf of Ottawa residents and businesses.
B.J. Dichter and Chris Garrah are among a long list of defendants named in the potential class-action lawsuit filed in February, seeking damages for “civil nuisance” caused by truck horns, diesel fumes and other disruptions to residents and local businesses during the protest in January and February.
In a motion, Dichter and Garrah asked for access to some of the money donated to the convoy through crowd-funding platform GiveSendGo, cryptocurrency transfers and other sources, so they could mount a defence.
But Justice Calum MacLeod on Tuesday denied that request, saying it would violate the agreement between the plaintiffs and other defendants to move about $5 million in donated funds into escrow, pending resolution of the lawsuit.
“Access to the frozen funds should not be granted lightly because it would effectively subject the frozen funds to the ‘death of a thousand cuts’ and would risk undoing the effect of the agreement reached between the parties,” MacLeod wrote in his decision.
The Ontario government has also filed a claim on the donated funds, as potential compensation should on-going criminal proceedings against several of the defendants result in convictions.
Both Dichter and Garrah claimed in court that they had limited income and minimal assets and were unable to pay a $200,000 retainer for lawyer Jim Karahalios to defend them.
Dichter, a truck driver and podcaster, said he had income of approximately $10,000 in 2021, with an additional $7,000 in corporate net income. He said he couldn’t earn material income for six months this year because of a broken foot.
Garrah also claimed only limited income of $15,000 in 2021 from his work as a general contractor, selling windows and doors, according to the court filing.
But Judge MacLeod said they hadn’t provided adequate evidence to show they were so impoverished they were unable to pay for their lawyers.
“Neither of the moving parties have made the kind of frank financial disclosure that might be necessary to make a finding of impecuniosity,” he wrote in the decision.
Karahalios told CTV News his clients were still reviewing the decision but were disappointed by the outcome.
“How do you defend yourself in a class action without lawyers?” he said.
“Access to justice is a fundamental principle.”
Karahalios said the agreement to put the funds into escrow allowed defendants to draw on them for their legal expenses. His clients, he said, were left without representation when they were removed from the board of Freedom Corporation, which is represented by the Judicial Centre for Constitutional Freedom.
Judge MacLeod added that, despite claims from the defendants that the protest was legal, they are not shielded from civil litigation over it.
“In their affidavits, the defendants seem to conflate these ideas just as they assert that if they themselves did not honk horns or block streets, they cannot be liable for the actions of others,” he wrote.
“In point of fact, however, the plaintiffs argue that the ‘occupation’ was both illegal and tortious. They are not alone in that point of view.”
None of the allegations in the civil suit have been proven in court, and MacLeod did not rule on the substance of the lawsuit.
Convoy organizers Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, Pat King and Tom Marazzo are also among the defendants. Freedom Corporation, the not-for-profit established by protest organizers, is being defended by lawyer Keith Wilson of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom, an Edmonton-based charity that has taken on several cases arguing against vaccine mandates.
The lawsuit was brought by Ottawa public servant Zexi Li and was later joined by Happy Goat Coffee Company, restaurant Union 613, and restaurant worker Geoffrey Devaney.
Lawyer Paul Champ intends to seek class certification to sue on behalf of all downtown residents, businesses and employees.
Champ also intends to seek certification of a defendant class that, if approved by the court, would make potentially liable all donors to the convoy, as well as truckers and other individuals who participated in the three-week protest against COVID-19 mandates and the federal government.
A hearing on certification isn’t expected until the fall of 2023.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Winnipeg trial hears admitted serial killer searched web for serial killer definition
The trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women has heard he searched the internet to look up the definition of what it means to be a serial killer.
Local Spotlight
Beyond books: Halifax libraries lends instruments, sports equipment, memory kits and more
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
'A special bird': The unbreakable bond between purple martins and humans
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
7-year-old Pokémon prodigy heading to Hawaii for world championship tournament
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
From DVDs to rehearsals: Halifax theatre company transforms Video Difference building into arts hub
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.