Tamara Lich arrives to appear as a witness at the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa, on Friday, Nov 4, 2022.--CP Photo Sean Kilpatrick
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
COLLIN GALLANT
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com
Twitter: CollinGallant
A three-week protest shut down Ottawa and spawned others across the country, millions of dollars raised, arrests, headlines, court cases and a month-long parliamentary inquiry looking into the government’s actions to stop it.
The Medicine Hat woman at the centre is the local newsmaker of 2022.
Tamara Lich and the Ottawa Convoy may be a polarizing choice – it is a polarizing issue – but there is little doubt the Hat resident who became the face of the protests garnered the most press attention in the last 12 months.
And yet, she has made very few statements to the mainstream media, but became a clear symbol of resistance to not only pandemic restrictions but the federal Liberal government writ large.
To her supporters, she’s seen as a 49-year-old grandmother being bullied by Ottawa.
But, Lich isn’t universally seen as a free-speech advocate.
Polling in December found that two thirds of Canadians felt the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act was justified, and even in the Prairies, a bare majority sided with its use.
About 30 per cent of nationwide respondents to the Nanos poll were opposed to the act, about 46 per cent felt the protesters left the worst impression overall, 26 per cent the federal government and 10 per cent said everyone looked worse for it.
But, weekend gatherings in the Hat to show support for the movement, and opposition to “lockdowns” continued for much of the year.
“I was very concerned about the things I was seeing happening to Western Canada in politics, so I became an advocate,” Lich said during emotional testimony on Nov. 3 to the federal inquiry examining the government’s use of the Emergency Act.
At the national level, a separate parliamentary committee – including Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner MP Glen Motz as a member – was created to oversee the government’s actions while the Act was in force.
A required inquiry in to the enacting of the extraordinary legislation convened and heard testimony from Lich and other convoy leaders.
It pointed to a fractious relationship between the visible convoy leaders in Ottawa, no direct conspiracy between it and other substantial blockades in Coutts and Windsor border crossings, but also no clear leadership structure of the protests.
But it also gave Lich a chance to describe her motivations and the mounting stress she felt Canadians endured during the pandemic by late 2021.
“Albertans were suffering and there were jobs losses,” she said. “People were coming into my office with resumes with tears in their eyes two weeks before Christmas (in 2021), I felt like I had to get involved.”
Lich, who worked in administration for an oil servicing company, was a regional co-ordinator for Wexit Canada, and an organizer with the United We Roll convoy that protested so-called anti-oil polices.
When she heard about a new convoy protest to Ottawa, one objecting to vaccine mandates, she offered her services.
Eventually, she became the face of online fundraising that totalled nearly $9 million, and which became the focus of government action.
She told the inquiry that by the end of the three-week protest, she was ready to discuss “an exit strategy” with officials in Ottawa.
After weeks on the streets in Ottawa and on TV sets, social media sites and in national headlines, protests were broken up and Lich and other convoy protesters were arrested on Feb. 17.
Lich was also arrested in late June on allegations that she broke bail conditions by attending an awards dinner put on by the Justice Centre of Constitutional Freedoms.
That led to dozens of protesters setting up across from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre, where she was kept prior to her transport back to Ottawa and eventual release by a superior court judge.
Her trial on original charges is expected to proceed in September 2023.
Also in the News
Lich wasn’t the only the only major newsmaker in the region in 2022.
Premier Danielle Smith made a major splash winning the leadership of the United Conservative Party to become premier, and then became the MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat.
Facing sleepless nights after the Russian invasion of his native Ukraine, Hatter George Kovalev created Hatters Help Ukraine in the spring to raise money and help resettle families in southeast Alberta.
On the arts front, Mackenzie Porter headlined a night show at the Medicine Hat Stampede in its return to full speed after stepped down events in 2020 and 2021.
Local doctor Fredrykka Rinaldi became president of the Alberta Medical Association in the fall. In the social media age, local emergency room doctor Paul Parks and former Hatter and medical doctor Gabe Fabreau also remained in the public eye.
On the sports front, Tigers fans may rather forget the 2021-22 season, but may still see a major benefit from obtaining the top draft pick after a poor season. Top prospect Gavin McKenna, a 14-year-old who can only play in limited games this season, recorded four assists in the team’s home opener in September.
