Protesters urinated, defecated on church property, convoy trial hears

An Ottawa resident working at a downtown church during what became known as the “Freedom Convoy” testified at the criminal trial of two organizers that during the protests demonstrators were urinating and defecating on the property.

Vivian Leir, an employee at St. Andrew’s Presybyterian Church near the intersection of Wellington and Kent streets, told court she was “overwhelmed with trucks parked all around our church” when they arrived at the end of January.

Leir’s testimony came on the 15th day of the trial for Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, who are charged with mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, intimidation and obstructing police for their role in the weeks-long protest in January and February of 2022.

She described the church as a sanctuary that was usually very peaceful but during the protests “this was all gone.”

“The whole environment of the church was brutally altered by this noise, by the fumes coming into my office,” she said, later in the day adding she “could hear the horns through the walls in the sanctuary.”

Leir said she and members of the church’s custodial staff found feces on church property as well as “garbage everywhere” that she described as “filthy” and “disgusting.”

“It’s a place of sanctuary,” she testified. “They were fouling it and they were rude.” 

She said she asked — more than once — that protesters respect the property but was sworn at “in foul language” on three occasions. 

“How dare they, they were trespassing.… More than once I had words with these people, because I won’t put up with that.” 

She described protesters commandeering a church sign stand so they could use it to put up their own signs on church property, and how protesters put clothing on one of the church’s statues of Jesus. 

On one occasion, she asked a trucker who was blaring music all day to turn it down, but said he swore at her and refused to do it. 

Leir testified she had to call police to ensure the minister could access the church and arranged police escorts to ensure the “gridlock” downtown didn’t prevent services.

“It was like being at a truck stop all day,” she said, adding the fumes were unhealthy and coming through the church’s ventilation system. 

She also testified the church lost money — more than $5,000 — because events booked in the space were cancelled, services were impacted because fewer congregants and volunteers were coming in and deliveries weren’t able to be dropped off.

‘Intolerable noise’ during protests

Another resident living downtown during the protests described “incessant honking” and clogged streets prevented her from sleeping, working and moving around downtown. 

Sarah Gawman, the first person called to give testimony about residents’ experience during the protests, told court she was living in a highrise apartment building near the centre of the demonstrations.

Gawman recounted trucks honking, non-stop drumming that went late into the night and fireworks on a near nightly basis in what she described as “intolerable noise.”

She is also a plaintiff in a proposed civil class action lawsuit against Lich, Barber and other convoy organizers. 

On Wednesday, Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled residents and business owners would be permitted to testify at the trial.

Crown lawyers are planning to use local witnesses, including business owners and residents, to illustrate the scope, nature and consequences of the protests to “rebut” any suggestion it was peaceful. 

They’re planning to call five residents as well as an employee each from the National Arts Centre and OC Transpo.