Latest news with #PublicOrderEmergencyCommission
CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Top officer says Canada's laws are ‘inadequate' to fight cross-border crime
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique appears at the Public Order Emergency Commission, in Ottawa, on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang VICTORIA — The head of the Canada's police chiefs association says they are guided by 'outdated and inadequate' laws that were never designed to take on the current criminal landscape that no longer respects international borders. Thomas Carrique, president of the Association of Chiefs of Police, says police would have been in a better place to 'disrupt' transnational crime, if the federal government had listened to his group in 2001, when it last proposed such changes. Carrique says 'geopolitical instability and social unrest' around the world are driving what he called 'a new wave of public safety threats' as Canadian police confront transnational organized crime, extremism, drug trafficking and exploitation through the internet. He says the current Strong Borders Act legislation proposed by the federal governments gives police many — but not all necessary — tools to confront globalized crime. The government says the bill would help authorities combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of fentanyl, crack down on money laundering and bolster police response to criminal networks. Carrique, who's the commissioner of Ontario Provincial Police, says the legislation aligns closely with several resolutions the group has passed during its annual conference being held this week in Victoria, but there are a 'number of loopholes' that must be closed to reflect the realities of 21st century crime. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
Toronto Sun
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Sentencing hearing underway for 'Freedom Convoy' leaders Lich, Barber
Published Jul 23, 2025 • 3 minute read Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber wait for the Public Order Emergency Commission to begin, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022 in Ottawa. Photo by Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — The sentencing hearing for 'Freedom Convoy' leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber has started in Ottawa, months after the two were found guilty of mischief. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Barber is appearing virtually due to the sudden death of one of his parents, while Lich is attending in person. Dozens of people have filled the courtroom to watch the proceedings. Two days have been set aside for the parties to present their sentencing submissions. The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber, who also was convicted of counselling others to disobey a court order. Lich and Barber were key figures behind the convoy protest that occupied downtown Ottawa for three weeks beginning in late January 2022 to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic measures. The protest ended after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time ever. The convoy was cleared out of Ottawa's downtown core in a three-day police operation that began on Feb. 18. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said she found Lich and Barber guilty of mischief because they routinely encouraged people to join or remain at the protest, despite knowing the adverse effects it was having on downtown residents and businesses. Barber also was found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order for telling people to ignore a judge's injunction directing convoy participants to stop honking their truck horns. Lich was not charged with that offence. In a separate Ottawa-based trial for Pat King, another convoy leader, the Crown sought a sentence of 10 years in prison for mischief and disobeying a court order. King was sentenced in February to three months of house arrest, 100 hours of community service at a food bank or men's shelter and a year of probation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He received nine months credit for time served before his conviction. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the Crown's sentencing proposals for Lich and Barber. In a social media post Monday, Poilievre compared the sentencing range to sentences for other crimes and asked, 'How is this justice?' While it's quite rare for elected officials to comment directly on a sentencing hearing, Poilievre's message was echoed by several other prominent Conservatives. Deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman called the Crown's proposed sentence 'political vengeance not actual justice.' Some Conservatives, including Poilievre, were openly supportive of the 'Freedom Convoy' as trucks and other vehicles clogged roads around Parliament Hill. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Both Lich and Barber thanked Poilievre for his support in separate social media posts. 'There is a fine line between politics and the judiciary, as there should be, and I have long understood the uncomfortable position elected officials find themselves in when it comes to commenting on cases that are before the court,' Lich said on X Tuesday. 'In our case, the double standard and the vindictive nature from the prosecution office has become too obvious to ignore and will set a precedent going forward that will affect all Canadians who choose to peacefully protest or deter them from exercising their Charter Right to peacefully assemble.' 'Thank you, Pierre, we've been waiting so long for elected officials to speak up,' Barber wrote in his own post. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Poilievre lost his Ottawa-area seat in the April election and is running in an Alberta byelection. Both Lich and Barber were found not guilty on charges of intimidation, counselling to commit intimidation, obstructing police and counselling others to obstruct police. Justice Perkins-McVey said intimidation carries a sense of menace or violence. She said that both Lich and Barber repeatedly called for protesters to remain peaceful throughout the protest. As for obstructing police, Perkins-McVey said both were arrested without incident and were in custody before the main police operation began to clear downtown Ottawa. Charges for counselling others to commit mischief were stayed at the request of the Crown. Golf Canada Toronto & GTA World Ontario
