Lawyer’s payment a hurdle in Bain trial

A hurdle remains in place in the murder case against Richard Henry Bain, but the plan is for his trial to begin in May. Bain is charged with the murder of Denis Blanchette, a man who was fatally shot outside the Metropolis club in 2012, while the Parti Québécois was celebrating its election-night victory. Dave Courage was also shot and injured that night. With the trial approaching, Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer placed a publication ban on what was discussed at a pretrial conference hearing at the Montreal courthouse on Friday. The plan is to begin jury selection on May 24 and that the jury begins hearing evidence on May 30 in a trial that is estimated to last for a month. There remains one matter — concerning how Bain's defence lawyer will be paid — to be dealt with to maintain that schedule and Cournoyer set Nov. 11 as a date to potentially resolve it. A pretrial conference has been set for Dec. 3.