Tynan Liebert, a Toronto-based CUPE activist and organizer with the Communist Workers Circle, has been given probation and restrictions on his right to protest following his sentencing in the Ontario Court of Justice, at the beginning of November. He was charged for the shut-down of a fundraiser for then–Liberal ministers Chrystia Freeland and Yara Saks. His case comes amid a broader wave of activists targeted by Toronto’s Project Resolute for organizing against genocide in Palestine.
Nearly two years after his arrest for protesting a Liberal fundraiser, Tynan Liebert was sentenced by the Ontario Court of Justice: one year of probation, a $100 fine, a five-year weapons ban, a ban on various forms of activities at protests, and a peace bond—which according to Liebert, amounts to a ban on protesting the Liberal Part of Canada entirely.
In the courtroom, Liebert attempted to read out his response to his sentence:
“By sentencing me, judge Rick Libman has merely convicted the judiciary of being a machine for the repression of labour by capital, and he has proven that its function is inseparable from imperialism and the zionist project in Palestine.”
But before finishing his statement in the presence of the dozens of supporters, the police quickly rushed everyone out and escorted him away.
Growing repression
Liebert told The North Star the reasons that led him to participate in this action. “It was a fundraiser for Liberal cabinet ministers, Chrystia Freeland and Yara Saks. Chrystia Freeland was both vice PM and Minister of Finance at that time. She was directly responsible for exploitation of labour by capital, not just in Canada, but on a world scale in deadly mines across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She [is] a lifelong sympathizer of Ukrainian Nazis and an outspoken supporter of the Zionist regime that’s perpetuating a holocaust in Gaza.”
Anti-zionist protest has become widespread and regular in the city; between 2023 and 2024 alone, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) estimated that there were 1500 protests related to Israeli aggression in Palestine. In TPS, reportedly at the behest of Indigo CEO and IDF sponsor, Heather Reisman, launched “Project Resolute”. Resolute is an initiative by the TPS Hate Crimes Unit formed shortly after October 7 to target Palestine solidarity activists through surveillance, arrests, and pre-dawn raids.
Since its inception, Project Resolute expanded the Hate Crimes Unit from 6 to 32 police officers and broadened their surveillance capacities. To date, the TPS has arrested over 130 activists, workers, and organizers under this initiative.
Liebert points out that despite a housing and affordability crisis, the state is directing its resources at protesters, and that he had been charged despite a lack of evidence. He was convicted in August for being in the presence of a high-level former Trudeau staffer when she was shoved. According to his lawyer, Matthew Campbell-Williams, “the court’s justification was that Tynan was a party to the assault that took place. The court did not find that he was the one who committed the assault, but that he participated by encouraging it”.
An issue far greater than himself
As waves of demonstrations continue to be organized across the country, the Ontario court’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for implicating anyone who is physically or verbally supportive of blocking access or holding a picket line. “The same government and authorities that are prosecuting Palestine solidarity activists are also breaking strikes, cutting funding, and ramming through landlord bills like Bill 60,” says Liebert.
Despite this lengthy process, Tynan notes, “I am fortunate enough to be an example of where state repression backfires. Because throughout this drawn-out case […] people have gotten involved. The state is teaching us how to do all those things. It is giving us invaluable experience.”
He was impressed by the support he received. Since the police were due to arrive in the morning, “people came to my apartment [the night before]. It’s a tiny apartment. They camped on the floor. In the morning, my union president came. He’s not sympathetic to the cause, but he felt like he should be a good lawyer. We had someone carry all the electronics out of my apartment and circle the block with them. We had multiple camera angles. The cops came, and they said, ‘can we come in?’ and I said ‘no’. I had people with me the whole time”.
“We have to hang tough. We can’t succumb to intimidation. We have to get organized and keep pushing until there’s that breakthrough.”
Liebert intends to appeal the conviction, a process which is difficult, time sensitive, and expensive. Funds are currently being collected to support him with his legal case.
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