Tamara Lich is seen in Redcliff on Jan. 24, 2022 as the "Freedom Convoy" passed Medicine Hat on the way to Ottawa. (CHAT News File Photo)

By Chris Brown

Guest of Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA

Loud applause for ‘Freedom Convoy’ leader in Alberta legislature

Mar 1, 2023 | 2:18 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – As the United Conservative Party was releasing Budget 2023, a former party member was being criticized online for who he invited to the legislature.

Cypress-Medicine Hat Independent MLA Drew Barnes brought constituent Tamara Lich, who received a round of applause when Barnes introduced her.

Lich, from Medicine Hat, was a leader of last year’s “Freedom Convoy” and is to go to trial in September on mischief charges for her role in the occupation of Ottawa.

Barnes called her “a grandma, a musician and a true leader within the freedom movement” and that it was a distinct pleasure to welcome Lich

“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,” Barnes said.

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Lich stood in the gallery to loud applause.

Cathy Hogg, who won the Alberta NDP nomination contest in Barnes’ constituency on Tuesday, thinks Barnes and his former party should have other priorities.

“I think that Drew Barnes and the UCP are focused on the wrong things,” she says. “I think going forward I would against want to be focused on health care, making life more affordable and building a resilient jobs economy.”

Reaction on social media to Barnes’ chosen guest was mostly negative.