Solzhenitsyn Proves Himself Right

Post-humously but, nonetheless, effectively:

Tamara Lich opened her first post-sentencing interview at the Prairie Rising Forum with a dry quip, “I put on pants today, so that was a win.” It shouldn’t feel like a victory to get dressed. 

Yet for Lich and Chris Barber, both now under tight conditions after their October 7 sentencing in Ottawa, daily life is boxed in by paperwork and house arrest. The court handed each an 18-month conditional sentence anchored by 12 months of house arrest. 

An extraordinary penalty for mischief convictions tied to a protest that, whatever you think of it, did not involve violence by these two organizers.  

Mischief is not treason. 

In Canadian law, it’s a hybrid offence that, when prosecuted summarily, is typically treated at the low end of the scale. The Criminal Code’s general mischief provision (s.430) sets out penalties that range widely depending on facts, but for ordinary property-related mischief, the ceiling on a summary track is two years less a day, and courts frequently look to non-custodial outcomes. 

Defence bars across Canada note that jail is uncommon for standard mischief. Normally, it is discharges, probation, and restitution. That’s the backdrop against which these sentences were given.  

Compare the Freedom Convoy leaders’ fate to how other high-profile mischief cases have been resolved. 

In 2001, Greenpeace activist and now cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault climbed the CN Tower. He was convicted of mischief and received one year of probation plus costs, not house arrest. 

The point isn’t to relitigate old protests. It’s to ask why similar offence labels are producing vastly different outcomes today.  

Listen to what Barber told the Prairie Rising Forum audience.

“House arrest is like prison except it’s on your yard,” said Barber.

He can work on the family hobby farm. However, Lich, living in the city, needs an exemption letter to leave her property — even for basic needs — and must carry papers at all times in case she’s stopped. 

These aren’t minor conditions. They’re sweeping controls for a non-violent offence where the judge acknowledged community supervision would do. That should bother anyone who cares about proportionality.  

 

According to the village idiot, it was worth it.