EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) –– Canadian Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich was given a warm round of applause by many, but not all, Conservative Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) after being introduced in the Alberta provincial legislature in Edmonton on Tuesday.
Lich, along with freedom-fighting lawyer Eva Chipiuk, were invited to attend the legislature on Budget Day 2023, on behalf of independent MLA for Medicine Hat-Cypress Drew Barnes.
“Mr. Speaker, to you and through you, it is my distinct pleasure to welcome one of my constituents. She is a grandma, a musician, and a true leader within the freedom movement,” said Barnes.
“She gave hope to all of Alberta, Canada, and the world. She was proud to stand strong and free in the face of the worst government overreach in a generation, Tamara Lich.”
Barnes noted that Lich, as well as the Freedom Convoy in general, had the support of thousands of Canadians.
“This includes a constitutional lawyer from Alberta who held the prime minister to account during the Emergencies Act inquiry. Please welcome Eva Chipiuk and Tamara Lich. Ladies, please stand and accept a warm welcome,” said Barnes.
In response, many MLAs gave a warm round of applause to welcome Lich and Chipuk.
Not unlike Lihc, Barnes faced large personal consequences for his stance in defense of freedom and against COVID-related measures.
In 2021, Barnes’ vocal opposition to COVID mandates and lockdowns got him booted from the United Conservative Party (UCP) under its former leader Jason Kenney.
Lich, who lives in Barnes’ riding of Medicine Hat, has been a strong supporter of both her and the Freedom Convoy.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich was jailed for weeks on non-violent mischief charges related to her role in organizing the Freedom Convoy protest in early 2022.
She was last set free from jail immediately after Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman granted her bail last August. The judge, in his decision, criticized her earlier detainment as invalid.
Despite being released on bail, Lich is still obligated to upheld certain conditions of release, which include not “verbally, in writing, financially, or by any other means, support[ing] anything related to the Freedom Convoy.”
She is also mandated to reside in her home province of Alberta and cannot use social media.
Her trial is set to take place in the fall of this year.
This is not the first time Lich has been met with applause by pro-freedom Canadians.
After spending almost three weeks in jail in early 2022, Lich was met with a hero’s welcome upon returning home to Medicine Hat.
Many also see Lich and the Freedom Convoy as a pivotal moment in Alberta politics, as it was shortly thereafter that Kenney was replaced by Danielle Smith as premier of the province and leader of the UCP.
Under Kenney, thousands of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare and government workers lost their jobs for choosing to not get the jabs, leading Smith to say – only minutes after being sworn in – that over the past year the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group of people in her lifetime.