Tamara Lich told ‘very controversial’ Pat King not to go to Ottawa protest, she tells inquiry
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Lich also described the protest in Ottawa as a ‘love fest’ and said she saw no evidence to support reports of harassment and intimidation
Publishing date:
Nov 03, 2022 • 18 minutes ago • 3 minute read • 29 Comments 
Tamara Lich testifies at the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa on November 3, 2022. Photo by Patrick Doyle/Reuters Article content
OTTAWA – Convoy leader Tamara Lich said the massive amount of money raised for the Freedom Convoy became an enormous source of tension among protest organizers.
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While most of the money organizers raised became embroiled in legal disputes and was either returned to donors or left frozen in escrow accounts, the convoy raised more than $24 million across several platforms.
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Lich, who is still facing criminal charges, said she was under constant pressure over the money, with people wanting her to spend it on sound systems for the protests or hot dogs for everyone.
“I just felt like the vultures are circling,” she said. “I had a lot of people coming up to me and… telling me what I needed to do with the money, what I should do with the money, could be doing with the money,” she said. “It was very overwhelming.”
She said people became focused on her because they assumed she had control over the funding.
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“They just saw $10 million over my head.”
She agreed with previous testimony that there were “power struggles” between groups involved in the convoy and felt like some were just looking for an opportunity for self-promotion. She pointed out a group called “Taking Back Our Freedoms” in particular.
She denied that she had any desire to promote herself.
Controversial convoy organizer Pat King speaks at inquiry: ‘What’s a little bit of horns for ten days?’ 
Freedom Convoy raised $24M but frozen funds didn’t get to truckers Lich also described the protest in Ottawa as a “love fest” and said she had seen no evidence to support testimony by local residents, businesses and police about harassment and intimidation. “I can’t say I ever witnessed any of that.”
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Previous testimony on Thursday gave more insight into some of the divisions between organizing factions.
Lich said there were tensions between herself and Pat King, whom she described as “very controversial.” She confirmed she had a tense conversation with King about his involvement and that she’d both told him he should not come to Ottawa and to “check his ego” after he claimed he’d organized the convoy alone.
She described herself as “concerned” about King’s controversial rhetoric. He had previously said in videos that Prime Minister Trudeau might “catch a bullet” or spoke of a conspiracy that there is a plan to depopulate the Anglo-Saxon race.
“I was getting messages and phone calls from a lot of people that were concerned that he was involved,” she said.
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Benjamin Dichter, a former Conservative candidate who became a convoy organizer, testified before Lich (who described him as a friend) and said he was frustrated by the decision making.
Dichter complained about a deal that some convoy members struck with the City of Ottawa to move vehicles out of residential areas and onto Wellington Street, in front of Parliament Hill.
Dichter said the deal was a bad idea and the people pushing it weren’t aligned with the protesters broader goals.
“I think they were focused on ending the protests and getting everybody out of the city as quickly as possible,” he said.
Dichter said Keith Wilson, a lawyer that had represented the convoy, led them astray and seemed more interested in scoring political points.
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“I thought we were getting professional counsel. We got Pat King in a suit.”
The commission also heard from James Bauder, a convoy organizer who published a controversial memorandum of understanding, calling for the Senate and the Governor General to work with a citizens’ commission taking over from the government.
His proposal would have suspended all COVID-19 mandates and refund any fines people had paid for breaching COVID rules.
Bauder said he stood by the document, but ultimately no one was willing to sign on.
“It means nothing because nobody signed it. nobody entered into it.”
Several other organizers have testified that they didn’t want anything to do with Bauder’s memorandum. He confirmed he had written it himself without any legal help.
He said he didn’t want any political parties involved and saw the Senate as the last hope for citizens.
“This was just strictly the people of Canada to sit with their Senate.”
But Bauder contradicted himself later when he saw a press conference where another organizer suggested the convoy could sit with opposition parties in a coalition government and said that would be a good idea.
• Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com | Twitter: ryantumilty
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