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Chris Barber. (File Photo)
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The lawyer for Stewart Valley's Chris Barber requested an absolute discharge for her client at the first day of his sentencing hearing in Ottawa.

Barber and fellow "Freedom Conoy" leader Tamara Lich were convicted in April of mischief for their role in the 2022 demonstration.

Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher said Wednesday they're requesting harsh sentences for Lich and Barber because of the harm caused by the three-week convoy. 

Barber's lawyer, Diane Magas, noted the local trucker has been out on bail without incident for the last 3 1/2 years.

A discharge would mean Barber wouldn't have a criminal record.

"His intention was not to harm the people of Ottawa," Magas said. "It was an unfortunate consequence of what occurred in the protest."

She added that if the judge decides a criminal record is necessary, she is requesting Barber receives a suspended or conditional sentence served at home.

The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber.

He was also found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order.

Magas described the sentencing proposal as "cruel and unusual." 

She compared the case to mischief sentences from protests at the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto which resulted in much shorter sentences than those proposed by the Crown.

Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey countered it is hard to draw comparisons between the two protests because the incidents in Toronto were "old-fashioned mischief" and the damage from the convoy was less tangible.

Wetscher defended their sentence requests saying they are because of what Lich and Barber did, not their political beliefs.

She suggested that Lich and Barber may have come to Ottawa with noble intentions, but they kept encouraging the protests even when the impact on residents and businesses became impossible to ignore.

Wetscher shared that Ottawa police reported their cost from the protest at $55 million.

Barber attended the proceedings virtually.

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