OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Canadian political pundits and right-of-center media were quick to blast what they called “onerous” house arrest conditions placed on Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, who were sentenced yesterday by an Ontario judge after earlier being found guilty of mischief. 

Rebel News head Ezra Levant, who has been covering the trial extensively, gave his assessment of the verdict, saying there was “good” and “bad” news.

“Good news: no additional jail time for Tamara Lich or Chris Barber,” he wrote on X.

“Bad news: onerous house arrest provisions. The real punishment was the longest mischief trial in Canadian history. Total political vendetta by Doug Ford’s prosecutors.”

On October 7, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey sentenced Lich and Chris Barber to 18 months’ house arrest after being convicted earlier in the year convicted of “mischief.”

As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government was hoping to put Lich in jail for no less than seven years and Barber for eight years for their roles in the 2022 protests against COVID mandates.

Interestingly, Perkins-McVey said during Tuesday’s sentencing, “They came with the noblest of intent and did not advocate for violence,” Perkins-McVey said of Lich and Barber.

Political commentator Rupa Subramanya was pleased with the overall outcome.

“So no jail time for @LichTamara and @ChrisBarber1975. House arrest, curfew, and time in the community for both. Good outcome. Finally, they can put this chapter behind them. And everyone can move on. It’s been a long 3 years!”

Brian Lilley, a political commentator for the Toronto Sun, called the overall sentence “too stiff.”

“Lich & Barber both given 18-month conditional sentences with house arrest, with carve-outs, for their mischief convictions related to the Freedom Convoy. Too stiff in my view based on the facts, but better than what other judges would have given,” he wrote on x.

Well-known Canadian celebrity and commentator Brett Wilson observed while the sentence could have been worse, Lich and Barber should have had “nothing” as punishment, saying instead that former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be the one penalized.

“Delighted with the overall Freedom Convoy sentence being JUST house arrest. Not jail,” he wrote on X.

“Trudeau should be sharing a matching penalty. And I wish the sentence were nothing. But here we are. The Crown Sentence request was absolute bullsh*t.”

Canadians should not accept house arrest verdict as ‘victory,’ warns commentator

Well-known online commentator Viva Frei was not as gracious with Lich and Barber’s verdict, saying “having to tolerate injustice and rationalize it as being acceptable” is like the “boiling frog analogy.”

“The understandable reaction is going to be ‘Well, the crown was asking for much more, so this is actually a victory. Bullsh*t. Having to tolerate injustice and rationalize it as being acceptable because it’s less of an injustice than what could’ve been is bullshit,” he wrote on X.

“It’s the boiling frog analogy. You tolerate injustice, you rationalize injustice, you will get more injustice.”

Frei doubled down, calling the sentence “absolute judicial horsesh**,” noting how saying,

“it could’ve been worse” will pretty “much always be true.”

“Call it out for what it is. This sentence is an absolute outrageous injustice. The sentence should have been time served, with an apology from the judge,” he wrote.

“The entire system in Canada is fu**ed beyond belief. Possibly fu**ed beyond repair.”

Specifically, Barber was handed an 18-month conditional sentence, with a concurrent three-month sentence for counseling disobedience of a court order, that can be served in the community.

Lich was given 18 months less time, taking into account the time already spent in custody, which amounts to 15 1/2 months.

Both Lich and Barber must remain in their house for the first 12 months except for medical emergencies and certain appointments. They are allowed to work and can leave their house for certain permitted activities for up to five hours once a week. They were also given a curfew and 100 hours of community service.

In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Trudeau’s government enacted the never-before-used Emergencies Act (EA) on February 14, 2022.

During the clear-out of protesters after the EA was put in place, one protester, an elderly lady, was trampled by a police horse, and one conservative female reporter was beaten by police and shot with a tear gas canister.

Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23.