Trial of key convoy figures Lich, Barber nears end of the road

Closing arguments start this morning in the trial of key Freedom Convoy figures Tamara Lich and Chris Barber — the beginning of the end for a slow-rolling legal drama that began two and a half years ago.

For the accused, it's been a long and uncertain road that keeps leading them back to Ottawa.

«For a city that sure doesn't want me to be here, would like to get rid of me forever, they can't seem to let me go,» Lich, 50, told CBC News from her home in Medicine Hat, Alta., earlier this year. «Like, they won't let me leave.»

Lich and Barber are jointly accused in connection with their roles in the 2022 protest that clogged Ottawa's downtown core and prompted the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act, an unprecedented move.

Despite efforts by all parties to keep the trial focused, the sidewalks outside Ottawa's Court of Justice have become a forum for protests by both supporters and opponents of vaccine mandates.

Barber, 48, who has made several trips to the capital from his home in Swift Current, Sask. since 2023, said he's baffled by the slow «wheels of justice.»

«I've never been in the law before, I've never been in the back of a police car, I've never been in custody, never had handcuffs on in my life until 2022,» he told CBC.

He and Lich are charged with committing mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.

If convicted, the two could face up to ten years behind bars.

The defence team — backed by well-funded libertarian and right-wing organizations — has signaled that it would appeal a guilty verdict. The Crown also could appeal if Lich and Barber are found not guilty.

Both Barber and Lich have said they expect to return to Ottawa many more times in the months and years to