Another ship jumper from the Dalton Gang?

Source:Metro
Watson expected to announce bid for mayor's chair


It’s going to be fun.”

That’s what Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen, already a candidate for mayor, said of the prospect of Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Jim Watson stepping into the race.

After months of speculation, Watson is releasing a statement this morning “regarding his political future,” a press release stated. He is expected to announce his intention to run for mayor. Watson served as mayor of Ottawa in 1997.

If Watson does enter the race, he’ll be a major player, said Cullen.

“What voters will have to find out is, ‘What does Jim Watson stand for?’” he said.

Cullen said people should look at the choices Watson is offering in terms of rapid transit, sewage into the river and other city services.

Watson would be the second provincial cabinet minister to move into municipal politics.

Former deputy premier George Smitherman is registered to run in Toronto.

After a difficult year for the provincial Liberals with OLG, eHealth and the HST, it appears as if high profile Grits are jumping a sinking ship, said Ottawa Nepean Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod, who has been pressing Watson for weeks at Queen’s Park to reveal whether or not he would run for mayor.

“He’s going to make a decision based on his own self-interest and not the best interest of the city,” said MacLeod. “Otherwise, he would have done that for taxpayers earlier in terms of communicating his ambitions to the public.”

Last week, Watson told Metro Ottawa people have been encouraging him to run for mayor.

“It’s evident that there are challenges that emanate from the budget process, transportation and environmental issues,” he said recently

Ontario's top cop Fantino facing charges

Source: Global

Kathryn Blaze Carlson and Kenyon Wallace, National Post; With Files From Matthew Coutts: Monday, January 11, 2010

Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Julian Fantino is facing a charge of attempting to influence municipal officials, an indictable offence, after a justice of the peace yesterday signed a summons requiring the former Toronto police chief to appear before a criminal court.

The summons comes after a Dec. 31 Ontario Superior Court order demanding a formal charge be laid in relation to allegations against Mr. Fantino brought forward by a private complainant, Gary McHale, who has long been at odds with the commissioner over his handling of the aboriginal protests in Caledonia.

"The summons makes sense," said Mr. McHale. "It's great that the system has finally kicked in and the charge has gone forward. I'm happy that the courts have upheld the rights of average people to have these types of cases prosecuted."

The OPP could not be reached for comment last night, but Brendan Crawley, spokesman for the Ministry of the Attorney General, wrote in an email that "when a private prosecution involves an indictable offence, the Crown Attorneys Act requires the Crown to intervene and assume carriage of the prosecution."

Now that Mr. Fantino has been summoned, onlookers question the logistics of launching a criminal case against the province's top officer.

"This is a very unusual case," said Steven Skurka, a partner at Toronto law firm Skurka & Spina LLP. "I can't remember a police officer ever being charged in private prosecution, let alone the chief."

"This is uncharted territory," echoed James Stribopolous, associate law professor at York University's Osgoode Hall.

At the centre of the current dispute is Mr. Fantino's April 7, 2007 email to Haldimand County's mayor and councillors in which he allegedly warned the politicians not to support anti-occupation protests.

The Commissioner wrote that he would hold the county directly accountable for any injuries suffered by OPP officers during protests by a contentious group known as "Caledonia Wake Up Call," led by Mr. McHale. He also warned that he would advise the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services not to renew the OPP's contract with Haldimand County for policing once it expired if councillors supported the protest group.

A letter sent to Mr. McHale yesterday by the Ministry, and obtained by the National Post, states that because Mr. Fantino is a police officer, the case will be assigned to a Crown within the justice prosecutions unit, a division formed to prosecute criminal cases where the accused is someone involved in the administration of justice, such as a police officer.

"I can assure you that the Crown assigned to this matter will fairly and appropriately apply all of the applicable legal standards to this case as are applied to every other criminal case in Ontario, regardless of who is charged, or who commenced the charge," wrote Kenneth Campbell, director of the Crown's criminal law office.

Because the allegations were brought forward by a private complainant, the Identification of Criminals Act does not apply, and Mr. Fantino will not be photographed or fingerprinted.

Next, the Ministry must decide whether to pursue the charge, a decision Mr. Skurka said rests on two criteria: whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and whether it is in the public interest to do so.

"They could withdraw the charge, but that's not something to be done capriciously," he said. "There's an added layer of political accountability."

Mr. Skurka said the Attorney General's decision would be announced at the first court appearance, likely within several weeks of the summons. Mr. McHale said he was informed yesterday by the Ontario Court of Justice in Cayuga, about 50 kilometres south of Hamilton, that Mr. Fantino is expected to appear as early as Feb. 3.

If the Crown decides to pursue the charge, which can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, the Ministry may choose to hire an independent criminal lawyer -- as it did in the case of former Attorney General Michael Bryant.

Mr. Skurka said that while the case is certainly unusual, the Attorney General "prosecutes police officers all the time," and it makes no difference that Mr. Fantino is the commissioner.

"I see no conflict of interest in terms of the Attorney General dealing with this matter," he said. "Commissioner Fantino is independent of the Attorney General's office."

Mr. Stribopolous, meantime, said it would be "a prudent move" for the Ministry to hire independent counsel. "It's a grey area, but I would think they'd bring in a special prosecutor for the sake of optics," he said, adding Mr. Fantino would benefit from such a decision.

"That way, if the charges are dropped, then it would not look like he was getting any favours. If I were Fantino, I'd want exoneration from an independent prosecutor."

Whether the Attorney General decides to hire a special prosecutor might affect Mr. Fantino's decision to stay on as commissioner, Mr. Stribopolous said. "He'll probably want to see what happens at the first court appearance," he said. "It might be unseemly to stay on as commissioner, but there's no hard and fast rule."

Said Mr. Skurka: "My view is that it is appropriate for him to stay on as commissioner because he has the right to a presumption of innocence just like anyone else."

© Copyright (c) CW Media Inc.

It never ends...ANOTHER Police officer charged...with fraud!

A Leamington police officer was charged today with fraud over $5000

Const. Paul Mensour a 14 year vetran from Leamington Police, faces a charge of fraud over $5000


Thankfully Paul gets his day in court to face this allegation!

No action yet on Fantino-Caledonia complaint

CBC.CA


Despite an Ontario Superior Court justice ruling last week that Ontario's top police officer must face allegations he illegally influenced municipal officials, the Ministry of the Attorney General says no further action has yet been taken.

In a decision released last Thursday, an Ontario Superior Court justice ruled provincial police Commissioner Julian Fantino must face allegations brought forward by Gary McHale.

McHale, who led numerous rallies to protest what he has called two-tier justice in the policing of an aboriginal land occupation in Caledonia, Ont., claims Fantino influenced municipal officials in the town when the commissioner sent an email allegedly telling the mayor and councillors not to attend McHale's rallies.

A justice of the peace who heard McHale's complaint refused to issue a summons or warrant for Fantino.

But Superior Court Justice David Crane, who reviewed the case, ordered the justice of the peace to issue such an order in a ruling released Dec. 31.

Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the attorney general, said Tuesday no further action has been taken since the Superior Court issued its decision.

"As a result, there are currently no charges outstanding in this matter, and no summons has been issued," Crawley said in an email.

"As set out in the order, the court documents need to be returned to the court to have 'process issued' with respect to the charges Mr. McHale is seeking to have privately laid," Crawley said.

OPP 'aware of the court ruling'
A court date will be set once this has occurred, he said. Provincial police are "certainly aware of the court ruling" however they have not received an indication that Fantino has received a summons for any type of charge, Insp. Dave Ross said on Tuesday.

Influencing or attempting to influence an official in municipal activities is an offence under the Criminal Code and a conviction carries a prison term of up to five years.

Lawyer Andrew Bell, who represented the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in the case, referred questions to the ministry.

In his decision, Crane wrote that the Fantino email says Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer and certain councillors "were not to support the public attendances of Gary McHale in Caledonia, nor to make statements of support of Mr. McHale to the residents of Caledonia."

"I observe on the record in this application there is evidence of influenced behaviour by the mayor and county council in response to the Julian Fantino letter," Crane wrote.

Fantino and McHale have tangled in court in the past.

McHale faces charges of mischief stemming from a protest in 2007.

Fantino testified during a preliminary hearing earlier this year that he told subordinates he would have gladly arrested McHale himself for inciting civil unrest in Caledonia, which is located near Hamilton.

As McHale questioned him on the stand in that case, Fantino said McHale's repeated visits to Caledonia dangerously inflamed the situation and he called him a "lightning rod to the conflict."

Funeral for slain Ottawa police officer Eric Czapnik set for Thursday

Loved ones will gather later this week in Ottawa to bid a final farewell to slain police Const. Eric Czapnik.

Fellow police officers from across Canada are expected to attend Thursday's funeral service at the Ottawa Civic Centre.

The fifty-one-year-old constable was ambushed Tuesday while sitting in his cruiser outside an Ottawa hospital.

A 43-year-old suspended Mountie, Kevin Gregson, has been charged with first-degree murder in Czapnik's death.

Czapnik, married with four children, joined the police force in his late 40s after a career in retail.

A Polish immigrant, he moved to Canada in 1990 and eventually followed in the footsteps of his father, who was an officer in Poland for 30 years

680news

OPP officer charged

Wasaga Beach
by Kevin Bernard

A Huronia West OPP officer is facing charges after a car crash in Oakville.

The collision happened December 16th on Highway 407.

An OPP investigation shows a marked OPP cruiser collided with another eastbound vehicle around 2:20 PM.

The cruiser was being operated by an on-duty officer.

No one was injured in the crash.

Constable Jay Blackburn -- a 7 year member of the force who is assigned to the Huronia West detachment -- is now charged with failing to drive in a marked lane under the Highway traffic act.

It is a provincial offence, meaning a traffic ticket.

bayshorebroadcasting.ca

The OPP and a law twice-tossed

The OPP and a law twice-tossed

Jan 02, 2010


Has the Ontario Provincial Police not heard that in our judicial system the legislature passes laws, the courts (if they so choose) rule on their constitutionality, and the police – supposedly, servants to the legislature, the courts and the people – enforce them accordingly?

Not, apparently, these days.

Justice Peter West ruled recently in a Newmarket court that Ontario's stunt driving law, which automatically imposes various levels of punishment on anyone accused of violating it (not convicted; only accused) is unconstitutional.

As the Star reported, West ruled that an accused driver's Charter rights are "clearly infringed" by potential jail time because this law, as it exists, doesn't permit the person to put forward a defence.

He described the law as an "absolute liability," which means those accused can't argue they took precautions or they didn't realize how fast they were driving.

A street-racing charge automatically leads to a conviction, which can carry a minimum fine of $2,000, immediate suspension and vehicle impoundment, and a maximum jail sentence of six months.

West really had no choice but to toss this law. The Charter of Rights, part of our Constitution, is quite clear: you cannot face a charge that can lead to jail without having the ability to defend yourself.

Would you want it any other way?

The way this law is written, the police officer lays the charge, passes judgement and metes out the punishment, all with you having no chance to state your defence, and that my friends is just not on.

Inspector David Ross has said the OPP will continue to lay charges and impound cars, in defiance of the Constitution, because, as he told the Star: "It has been an effective tool in combatting speeding and reducing collisions and deaths on the highway."

What the hell?

We shouldn't be surprised, because that was the police's reaction when Justice Geoffrey Griffin ruled likewise in a Napanee court this past September.

The attorney general's office has appealed Justice West's ruling and it will go to Court of Appeal this month.

The OPP didn't like either ruling, so its officers are ignoring them. So far, more than 15,000 Ontario drivers have been charged, almost all with exceeding 50 km/h over the posted limit.

I repeat, and I wish I had a bigger type face: WHAT THE HELL?

Who's in charge here? Sadly, I guess we know.

Too many people are buying the OPP's spurious statistic that traffic deaths have dropped since the "stunt driving" law was passed.

Nonsense.

First, traffic deaths on a vehicle-per-kilometre-travelled basis have been dropping more or less continually for 70 years. This recent drop is, to at least some degree, part of an ongoing trend.

We would need more data — much more than the one year's worth of data for this law so far — to determine how large that degree is.

Second, supporters are failing to differentiate between correlation and causality. Just because two events coincide, doesn't mean one caused the other. The classic case is the correlation between high-fashion female skirt length and the stock market.

The number of traffic deaths is affected by a large number of factors, including — and this is a big one, according to several studies — economic downturns.

Anyone seen one of those around here recently?

Third, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation's own statistics show that a fast-shrinking percentage of fatal car crashes occur at ultra-high speeds.

Yeah, they are spectacular when they happen, but nailing these high-fliers just doesn't have the potential to reduce high-speed fatal crashes very much because there just aren't very many of them.

In fact, by any statistical measure, our safest roads are always our fastest roads: the 400-series highways.

Speed kills? No, it does not.

Simple as that.

The worst thing though is: even if this law did save lives, are we prepared to give up our Constitution for it?

The police have all sorts of laws to charge speeders, tail-gaters, lane-changers, impaired drivers and seat belt refusniks (the latter two being the only issues that really show up as statistically important).

And now, even hand-held cell-phoners and texters.

This so-called stunt driving law ("so-called" because it has nothing at all to do with "stunt driving" or "street racing," neither of which has any place on our highways and for which the cops already have plenty of legislative weaponry) is simply a power grab by the World's Biggest Street Gang.

"To Serve and Protect?"

Sorry. I am beginning to have serious doubts about either.

jim@jimkenzie.com

wheels@thestar.ca


Toronto Star

OPP head to face Caledonia misconduct allegations

Source:CBC.CA

Ontario's top police officer must face allegations he illegally influenced municipal officials, a judge ruled Thursday as he ordered either a summons or warrant be issued for Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino.

The allegations against Fantino were brought by Gary McHale, who has led a number of rallies decrying what he calls two-tier justice in the policing of an aboriginal land occupation in Caledonia, Ont.

McHale alleges that Fantino influenced municipal officials in the town when the commissioner sent an email telling the mayor and councillors not to attend McHale's rallies.

Influencing or attempting to influence a municipal official in municipal activities is an offence under the Criminal Code and carries up to a five-year prison term if convicted.

A justice of the peace who heard McHale's complaint refused to issue a summons or warrant against the commissioner.

However, Superior Court Justice David Crane, who reviewed the case, ordered the justice of the peace to issue such an order in a ruling released Thursday.

"The learned justice of the peace declined to issue process," Crane wrote in his ruling. "It is his duty to do so."

'Not a finding of guilt'
Lawyer Andrew Bell, who represented the Attorney General of Ontario in the case, said it's more likely that a summons will be issued for Fantino than an arrest warrant.

"It's not a finding of guilt, it doesn't have that weight," Bell said of Thursday's decision.

"There's a charge before the court that will have to be dealt with."

Requests for comment from Fantino or the provincial police were not immediately returned.

McHale, who represented himself in court, called Thursday's decision a "huge victory."

"We have set the standard for private citizens' rights to lay criminal charges against government officials," he said in a telephone interview.

In his decision, Justice Crane wrote that the Fantino email says Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer and certain councillors "were not to support the public attendances of Gary McHale in Caledonia, nor to make statements of support of Mr. McHale to the residents of Caledonia.

"The issue before the justice... was whether Julian Fantino made a threat to influence or in an attempt to influence Mayor Trainer and/or the council of Haldimand County to perform or fail to perform an official act," Crane wrote.

"I observe on the record in this application there is evidence of influenced behaviour by the mayor and county council in response to the Julian Fantino letter."

Repeated exchanges
The case is not the first time Fantino and McHale have squared off in court.

McHale faces charges of counselling mischief not committed and Fantino testified during a preliminary hearing this year that he told subordinates he would have gladly arrested McHale himself for inciting civil unrest in Caledonia.

McHale is representing himself in that case as well and questioned Fantino on the witness stand.

During one exchange, Fantino told McHale that his repeated visits to Caledonia, already tense over the lengthy aboriginal occupation, dangerously inflamed the situation.

The commissioner called McHale a "lightning rod to the conflict" during his testimony and added police saved McHale from "grievous bodily harm numerous times."

Caledonia couple settles lawsuit against police, government

Christie Blatchford

Globe and Mail Update
Published on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 5:20PM EST

Last updated on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 5:38PM EST


.The Ontario government suddenly has settled out-of-court with the Caledonia, Ont., couple who were suing Queen's Park and the OPP for abandoning them to a lawless native occupation that began almost four years ago.

The surprise move came as the couple's trial was slated to resume next Monday in a Hamilton courthouse before Ontario Superior Court Judge Thomas Bielby.

Among the remaining scheduled witnesses were a number of OPP officers, at least one of whom, The Globe and Mail has learned, was prepared to testify about the front line's profound frustration with marching orders that saw “the law twisted” during the occupation.

Though it was never crystal clear at trial whether those orders originated with the Dalton McGuinty cabinet or the OPP brass, government lawyers acknowledged early on that normal policing, where officers conduct investigations and make arrests in a timely manner, didn't happen during the occupation.

Rather, as government lawyer David Feliciant said in his opening statement, both Queen's Park and the OPP were concerned that “provocative action” by the police could escalate the crisis, and relied instead on special guidelines for “aboriginal critical incidents.”

If the theory sounds ringing, as Judge Bielby heard, in practice the policy led to bald-faced two-tiered policing – strict, arguably over-enforcement of the law for non-natives, virtually none for natives – which infuriated Caledonia residents and emboldened the most lawless of the protesters.

Globe and Mail

Officer behind wheel, police say

SUV smashes through hydro box, then fences, before ending up in yard

December 28, 2009
Barbara Brown
The Hamilton Spectator
(Dec 28, 2009)




An off-duty Hamilton police officer is under investigation after a car crashed through a tall wood fence of a Mount Hope townhouse complex early yesterday.

The driver reportedly fled the scene.

Hamilton Police Superintendent Debbie Clark confirmed an off-duty officer driving a Volvo SUV was involved in a single-vehicle collision on Thames Way at 4 a.m., near Upper James and White Church roads.

Clark said nobody was injured and no charges have been laid as yet, although the accident remains under "active investigation."

The collision occurred in a residential subdivision west of the Mount Hope intersection. The vehicle also struck a hydro transformer and Hydro One was called to inspect the damage, said Clark.

Homeowner Cathy Robertson, 60, in whose back yard the sport utility vehicle came to rest, was awakened by a loud rumbling crash early yesterday morning. She got out of bed and went to peer out the sliding-glass doors into her back yard. She saw a grey SUV had smashed through a three-metre tall, wooden fence -- coming within two metres of her home -- before it struck a second fence.

Robertson said the Volvo's windshield was cracked and its headlights were out. A woman, dressed in civilian clothes, was walking away from the car when Robertson called to her.

"I called out to her because she was leaving and I asked her if she was all right. She said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'Is there anyone else in the vehicle?' And she said, 'No.' And then she disappeared into the dark."

The homeowner, who is a relative of former Hamilton police chief Ken Robertson, called 911.

Hamilton police marked off the accident scene with caution tape yesterday morning and blocked vehicle traffic to the street.

Robertson said it appeared in the light of day that the driver had first struck a hydro transformer located at the corner of Provident Way and Homestead Drive and then failed to negotiate the curve in the road.

The road conditions early yesterday morning were icy, she said.

bbrown@thespec.com

905-526-3494

The Spec