B.C. Crown to prosecute protesters
Attorney general names two lawyers to decide on charges against MPs May and Stewart
B.C.’s Attorney-General’s ministry has agreed to take over conduct of the prosecution of dozens of protesters who have been arrested at Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline project work site in Burnaby.
Trevor Shaw, a lawyer for the B.C. Prosecution Service, on Monday told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Affleck that the Crown had done a general review of the circumstances of the case and concluded that criminal contempt of court proceedings were warranted.
He told the judge that two special prosecutors — Vancouver lawyers Greg DelBigio and Michael Klein — had been appointed to handle the cases of MPs Elizabeth May and Kennedy Stewart respectively. Both May, the leader of the Green party of Canada, and Stewart were among the protesters who were arrested.
Last week, given the nature of the public defiance of the protesters, the judge had asked the Attorney-General’s ministry to take over prosecution of the case from the company and had asserted that he believed the violations of his court injunction were criminal in nature rather than civil.
The first trial of 10 protesters who were arrested on March 17 is expected to get underway May 7, the judge heard Monday.
DelBigio told the judge that his job was to independently review the case and determine whether criminal contempt had occurred.
He said he would be the one who would make a decision for May’s case and Klein would be the one who makes a decision in Kennedy’s case.
DelBigio asked that the May and Kennedy cases be adjourned for two weeks, a request that was granted by the judge.
Richard Fowler, a lawyer for Stewart, and Andi MacKay, a lawyer for May, told the judge that they were content to proceed with the plan outlined in court.
Neil Chantler, a lawyer for several of the protesters, told the court that while he appreciated the efforts to streamline the process, he was concerned that a number of people who were arrested had not yet been properly served with legal notices.
He said that there had been no consultation with defence counsel regarding scheduling of trials and noted that there may be scheduling conflicts for some lawyers. The failure to accommodate those concerns could affect the ability of some people to be properly represented, he said.
Several lawyers expressed similar concerns, including issues surrounding disclosure of evidence.
But the judge said while he accepted that there might be a number of difficulties with the administration process, it was important that the trials be held “as expeditiously as possible.”
Maureen Killoran, a lawyer for Trans Mountain, told the court that 167 people have been issued with motions for contempt, with 124 of them having been served personally or through other means.
Outside court, Fowler and MacKay said that no public funds were being spent on the defence of their clients.
The next court appearance in the case is for April 23. The court also set a date of April 30 for anyone wishing to enter a guilty plea in the case.