(Ottawa) The woman who went to court seeking an injunction against the “freedom convoy” last year confronted protest organizers in criminal court Monday in one of the most intense interrogations combatives that the trial has seen so far.
Zexi Li testified Monday morning at the criminal trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, accused of mischief and advising others to commit misdeeds.
The courtroom was unusually crowded when Mr.me Li took the stand on Monday. She maintained her composure on the witness stand during cross-examination.
At the start of his testimony, defense attorneys took issue with Ms.me Li used the word “occupation” to describe the protest, during which large trucks and large crowds blocked the streets of 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.”
Mme Magas said the word was inflammatory, particularly because the witness is “pretty invested” in the cause.
Mme Li is the representative in the request to file a $290 million class action against the organizers of the convoy, on behalf of the residents, workers and business owners of downtown Ottawa. The motion alleges that downtown residents were harmed when thousands of protesters took to Ottawa’s streets with trucks for three weeks.
Mme Both Lich and Mr. Barber are defendants in this class action request.
Judge Heather Perkins-McVey told Mme Li said she would prefer if she used 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 this trial, Mr.me Li on Monday described excessive noise from honking trucks “for 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, Mme Li went to court to successfully obtain an injunction against the constant sound of horns. She admitted Monday that the noise became less incessant afterward, but that she still occasionally heard stretches of “collective honking,” where it seemed like all the horns were blaring in concert for a while.
The Crown intends to prove that Mme Lich and Mr. Barber had influence over the crowds.
Credibility flaws
In cross-examination, Mme Li said she could only remember the date of one specific instance of “collective honking,” Feb. 7, 2022. She could not say how long the honking lasted.
Mme Li told the court that during the third week of protests, she went walking in the streets to record evidence that the court injunction was not being respected.
She also took a photo of a truck carrying cans of fuel that was partially parked on the sidewalk. The witness testified at trial that the driver “backed the truck” toward her, while nearby protesters honked their horns and shouted at her. She called the police who made an incident report, but took no further action. She could not give the exact date of the incident in court.
During his cross-examination, M’s lawyerme Lich, Lawrence Greenspon, explored potential flaws in M’s credibilityme Li, comparing his responses in court to his testimony before a federal investigation into the government’s use of Emergency Measures ActLast year.
“There are a number of areas where she has always said things and has never really been challenged,” Mr. Greenspon said outside court 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 faced today. »
For example, during the federal investigation, Mme Li said she remembers police coming to her apartment building to ask about residents throwing eggs at protesters. On Monday, she claimed to have only heard about the police investigations on her building’s Facebook page.
Mr Greenspon also asked if she remembered cursing the protesters during the confrontation involving the truck and the fuel cans.
She confirmed she had done so, but Mr Greenspon showed the court a transcript of her sworn testimony last year when she said: “I may have said that.”
He also questioned M’s previous legal actionsme Li.
Intimidation
In his decision to grant the injunction against the horns, Judge Hugh McLean ruled that the protest would be allowed to continue as long as it was lawful and peaceful.
The injunction lasted only 10 days and M’s lawyerme Li, Paul Champ, requested his extension on February 16.
Mr. Greenspon stressed that Mr. Champ did not summon the protesters to court for defying the order to remain lawful and peaceful. He did not request that the injunction be extended to other aspects of the demonstration.
The defense lawyer also asked why Mr.me Li had a conversation with his lawyer, Emilie Taman, during the lunch break.
After hearing the snickers of spectators in court, Mme Perkins-McVey said it was serious to raise the specter of breaching professional secrecy and threatened to expel anyone she believed did not show the necessary respect.
Mme Li told the court she was discussing what she was going to make for dinner when Mr Greenspon interrupted and suggested she should not speak to her lawyer.
She was seen leaving the courtroom a short time later, in tears.
His lawyer, Paul Champ, declared last week that Mme Li preferred not to testify, but that she would do her duty as a citizen if asked.
He maintains that Mme Li has been the victim of harassment since she went to court against the convoy, and again after her testimony before Judge Paul Rouleau’s commission of inquiry into the federal government’s use of Emergency Measures Act. She had a police escort while she was at the courthouse.
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 protest began, he said he got in his car and jumped a curb to escape downtown.
“We ultimately had to flee the city because I was unable to continue working,” he told the court, pointing to the “cacophonous” noise and smell of idling vehicles.
When he returned on February 9, he spoke of having difficulty finding food.
“We couldn’t order food or get food at the grocery store and we had used up almost all the food in our pantry,” he said.