TORONTO, December 21, 2017. With the Crown hinting that charges of “uttering threats” launched in a private prosecution by Warren Kinsella may be dropped, January 4 was set down as the date for next court appearance, the Crown told the Court
Publisher Leroy St. Germaine and editor Dr. James Sears are also charged with two counts of wilfully promoting hate under Canada’s notorious “hate law” against women and Jews. This case was put over also to 10:00 a.m. on January 4.
The Crown told the Court it is “still deciding whether to proceed with the charges” of uttering threats.
The uttering threats refer to a non-threatening sentence in the summer issue of YOUR WARD NEWS. Warren Kinsella, a mortal enemy of the satirical newspaper tried two police and several Crowns and was told the comments did not rise to the level of threats. Nevertheless, on June 21,he laid a private charge against Mr. St. Germaine and Dr. Sears, a charge which the Crown has since taken over.
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The National Post (June 21, 2017) reported that in the Summer, 2017 issue of YOUR WARD NEWS, editor Dr. James Sears explained “that his family had been targeted by a ‘hoax’ complaint to the Children’s Aid Society. In his column, Sears accused Lisa Kinsella of … being responsible for the complaint. Kinsella, for her part, vehemently denied any involvement.Sears said he waited months to inform his ‘thousands’ of friends and followers about the apparent CAS investigation due to fear that ‘some hothead who cares deeply about me and my family, would lose it and do something illegal, like bludgeon the Kinsellas to death.’” That passage, the Kinsellas alleged, constitutes a threat.
Kinsella went wild over a story. A person who is all elbows and insults in politics, Warren Kinsella went scurrying to the Metropolitan Toronto Police. The National Post’s account continued: “Kinsella brought the article to Toronto Police, but she was told that there was not enough evidence to pursue criminal charges.Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash told the National Post that a detective looked at the case, then asked the advice of a Crown attorney. That Crown attorney, in turn, asked another Crown. ‘Both Crowns came to the same conclusion as the detective’ Pugash said, “which was that there wasn’t enough evidence.'” So, the Metropolitan Toronto Police and two Crown Attorneys found no evidence of a crime. Still, the relentless Kinsellas initiated a private charge. This harassment is a time and resource waster. Dr. Sears and Mr. St. Germaine had to attend a court hearing August 2. The Kinsellas did not attend.
Neither Kinsella was in Court today. “This is the 7th or 8th appearance in this matter,” Dr. Sears told the Court: “I want the charges dropped by the next court date and, if not, I want an immediate date set for a judicial pretrial conference. This has been over six months and every delay has been the Crown’s fault.”
Again, there was no sign of the Kinsellas following up on the time and money wasting judicial mischief they’d caused.
More than a dozen free speech supporters jammed the tiny courtroom competing for seats with some two dozen sad sack accused all of whom had their cases adjourned. — Paul Fromm |