I have not yet received any response from you to my earlier email raising concerns about the Fredericton Police Department's raid on Charles Leblanc on January 19, 2012.
I learned with alarm today that one of your Crown Prosecutors was involved in approving the search warrant before it was submitted to the Justice of the Peace. This was reported in today's Daily Gleaner, who quoted Mayor Woodside as follows:
If this is indeed the procedure that was followed, it is disturbing that any Crown Prosecutor in Canada would approve a search warrant based on s. 301 of the Criminal Code of Canada. That section is notable not only for having been found unconstitutional in four provinces (R. v. Finnegan, [1992] A.J. No. 1208 (Alta. Q.B.) ; R. v. Lucas, 1995 CarswellSask 130 (Sask. Q.B.) ; R. v. Gill, 1996 CarswellOnt 1314 (Gen. Div.); and R. v. Byron Prior,276 Nfld & PEIR 99) but also for the extraordinary ease with which this information can be located. Also, a glance at those cases quickly establishes that a different result is unlikely in any other Court."In this case, a charge is presented to the Crown and the Crown will then look at whatever evidence is there and then decide whether or not the case will go forward ... There was a search warrant sought from the Crown. The Crown then had to approve the search warrant, then present it back to the police with the approval and then present it to a judge, so there were two sets of eyes (reviewing it). That process was followed," the mayor said Monday.
It is also disturbing that the Crown Prosecutor would approve a search warrant to be executed by the Fredericton Police Force in such a little used section of the Criminal Code based solely on a complaint by a member of the Fredericton Police Force. On the face of it, there is a serious apprehension of bias. Further, the words alleged to constitute the libel are in the nature of schoolyard insults, typically not intended to be believed in any literal sense, and unlikely to sustain a criminal code charge of defamatory libel.
The participation of the Crown in this matter can only escalate a deeply troubling crisis, which now threatens to taint the independence of the Crown's office as it has tainted the impartiality of the police and civic authorities in Fredericton.
The facts about Charles Leblanc's treatment by the police over the past 6 years show a shocking pattern of bullying and intimidation against a man who lacks even the meanest resources to defend himself other than by exercising his passion of documenting his experiences and interests. In the course of this, Charles has become an effective journalist, He has interviewed dozens of Members of the Legislature and cabinet ministers, civic authorities, and citizens. Charles' widely recognized journalistic activities raise alarms about the seizure of his computer equipment and archives and suspicions that the effort to imprison and silence Charles is precisely due to his effectiveness as a journalist.
A close examination of the facts leading up to Charles' arrest will show that a small number of individuals associated with law enforcement have recurred over the years as antagonists of Charles. Aside from the impropriety of representatives of public security bodies placing themselves in an antagonistic relationship with a citizen, one of these individuals was the complainant named in the search warrant that was approved by one of your Crown Prosecutors and executed on January 19.
This is a very cursory sample of the pertinent facts which indicate bias, conflicts of private interests with public duties, and abuse of process, all matters which invite your intervention. In the interest of justice, all of the facts pertaining to the persecution of Charles Leblanc must be examined and appropriate actions taken forthwith to ensure that the grave injustices perpetrated against Charles Leblanc cease immediately and steps taken to ensure that he and other citizens are no longer subject to such arbitrary and callous treatment within this jurisdiction.
Yours truly,
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