Tamara Leach and Chris Barber, otherwise known as Big Red, are on trial for conspiracy to commit mischief and counselling to mischief in relation to the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, Canada in 2011. They claim they are innocent and the charges are politically motivated.
00:00:00.000Hi, it's David Creighton here. Thank you so much for subscribing and supporting the station.
00:00:06.000We could not move forward without you. We're back for a very special episode today because just
00:00:12.480guess where I got back from right now. It was day one of the trial of Tamara Leach and Chris Barber,
00:00:21.900otherwise known as Big Red. This is the Freedom Convoy trial and it's going to last at least 16
00:00:28.700days. Started today in Ottawa at the Provincial Courthouse on Elgin Street. Hope you never have
00:00:36.840to go there. It's impossible to get out of in rush hour. But it was a very interesting day
00:00:46.160because we spent a lot of time in the morning doing legal housekeeping. It was a complete waste
00:00:51.480of time. We got to meet the judge and the crown prosecutor. We already know the
00:00:57.920lawyers working for the defense. But interestingly enough, I had a chance to talk to
00:01:05.860Lawrence Greenspawn, who was Tamara Leach's lawyer. And he really objected to the fact
00:01:13.520that the crown prosecutor kept talking about an occupation in his opening remarks.
00:01:19.340Occupation, occupation. And he said, I don't want to hear occupation anymore because this is a
00:01:25.580pejorative term. It is completely unnecessary to talk about this as an occupation. I talked to
00:01:32.280Greenspawn during the lunch hour break and I said, why do you object so much? And he said, it's
00:01:36.400hyperbole and completely unnecessary. And yet you hear all the mainstream media talking about the
00:01:43.300Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa as an occupation of the national capital. And this has always been
00:01:48.920and still is ridiculous. There were trucks parked on the street. Businesses did not have to close.
00:01:56.680They did not do anything to intimidate Ottawa residents. They did not honk their horns all night
00:02:05.460long. Businesses could have stayed open. And those that did, though, were subject to intimidation by the
00:02:13.040police. And it's interesting today, the crown prosecutor suggested that this trial is not about
00:02:23.860what? The political beliefs of Tamara Leach and Chris Barber. Oh, not at all. Except that's
00:02:31.820exactly what this is about. Leach and Barber are political dissidents on trial. This is a trial.
00:02:43.040A political dissidents, political enemies of the Trudeau state. That's what this is about. They're
00:02:49.660being charged in a multitude of things, including mischief and counseling to mischief. All this
00:02:54.520nonsense. It's got nothing to do with what this was. It's a peaceful protest. And I'll tell you,
00:03:00.460the Emergencies Act invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was anything but peaceful. It was a violent
00:03:06.620reaction, a convulsive, violent reaction to a peaceful protest that was completely unnecessary.
00:03:15.840Completely unnecessary. And you remember Trudeau? Very interesting. He refused to meet with anybody
00:03:23.340for the Freedom Convoy, not the rank and file, not the leadership, nobody. And he dismissed them all as a
00:03:29.100bunch of racist and misogynistic people. Exactly what Justin Trudeau has exhibited. Those are the
00:03:34.440characteristics he has exhibited for most of his adult life. And so the Crown Prosecutor emphasized
00:03:41.840this is not about their political beliefs. And of course it is. And he suggested the protests were
00:03:48.800anything but peaceful. Once again, that's projection. The Emergencies Act was anything but peaceful.
00:03:56.740It was a violent reaction. Let's remember exactly what Trudeau said here.
00:04:06.140And you remember, he was challenged by this, by my friend and convoy lawyer,
00:04:14.140Eva Cipiuk, at the Emergencies Act Inquiry. And Trudeau lied.
00:04:21.840A small fringe minority of people who are on their way to Ottawa or who are holding unacceptable views that they are expressing
00:04:34.680do not represent the views of Canadians who have been there for each other, who know that following the science
00:04:45.180and stepping up to protect each other is the best way to continue to ensure our freedoms, our rights, our values as a country.
00:04:54.180People have testified in this inquiry, referencing your widely published comments and calling the unvaccinated racists and misogynists.
00:05:03.180And we have heard testimony in this inquiry about how some of your officials wanted to label protesters as terrorists.
00:05:10.580Would you agree with me that one of the most important roles of a prime minister is to unite Canadians and not divide them by engaging in name calling?
00:05:18.580I did not call people who were unvaccinated names.
00:05:27.580I did not call people who were unvaccinated names.
00:05:35.580So I want us to remember this as the trial continues. I will be there reporting the truth as I was there during the Freedom Convoy reporting the truth.
00:05:45.580Because I think there is such a thing as objective truth.
00:05:50.580And the mainstream media did not try to find they kept repeating the talking points of the political orthodoxy.
00:05:56.580They kept repeating the talking points of the Justin Trudeau government.
00:05:59.580They kept repeating the talking points that they were fed.
00:06:02.580Which was this was some kind of horrible terrorist activity.
00:06:06.580This was an occupation like the Germans occupied Paris.
00:06:10.580That's what you were supposed to think about when they kept saying occupation.
00:06:17.580So we're going to be watching this every day.
00:06:20.580This is an exciting time to be a Canadian.
00:06:23.580Because I think this is the first time the federal government has tried political dissidents.