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Alberta

Conspiracy charges dropped, Chris Lysak, Jerry Morin released after agreeing to plea deals

Published

3 months ago

7 minute read

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Ray McGinnis

” the Crown dropped conspiracy to commit murder of police, and mischief charges, against both Lysak and Morin. The Crown got a plea deal from Lysak and Morin on minor firearms charges. These charges the two pled guilty to were never part of the original indictment that prompted their arrests. “

Two of the four men at the Coutts blockade arrested in February 2022, accused of conspiracy to commit murder and mischief – Chris Lysak and Jerry Morin – are free men. They were released on February 6, 2024. They remained in custody in remand centres for 723 days. While in custody, Morin was in solitary confinement for 74 days.

After relying on legal aid lawyers with little results, in November 2023 Lysak crowdfunded for better counsel. His new lawyer Daniel Song brought a section 8 charter application to examine the Crown’s case against his client. Suddenly, the Crown dropped conspiracy to commit murder of police, and mischief charges, against both Lysak and Morin. The Crown got a plea deal from Lysak and Morin on minor firearms charges. These charges the two pled guilty to were never part of the original indictment that prompted their arrests.

Lysak and Morin are now reunited with their families and will begin the long journey to rebuild their lives. Both are fathers. Morin is a lineman and Chris Lysak is an electrician.

Lysak pled guilty to improper storage of a firearm which was properly registered under his name and legally purchased. The Crown also dropped charges against Chris Lysak for uttering threats.

Though the RCMP released a shocking photo of a stash of weapons around a table with an RCMP cruiser in the background, the majority of weapons on display turned out to have no connection to any of the four men arrested on conspiracy to commit murder charges. The RCMP photo was taken before Jerry Morin was arrested west of Calgary around noon on February 14, 2022. Morin was on the way to work for a rancher on a farm when he was arrested by a SWAT team.

These men were in deteriorating health and facing financial ruin. And the Crown knew this. Once they pled guilty to the minor charges, they were free men.

Dropping conspiracy to commit murder of police officer charges by the Crown is significant. News of the arrests was pointed to in the Rouleau Report as key to its justifying invocation of the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022, by the Liberal government. Now that these charges are dropped it appears the Crown and the RCMP never had evidence to convict the accused of conspiracy to commit murder. Instead, they put them through gruelling custody in remand centres, hoping to break them. The decision to deny them bail for nearly two years was politically motivated. They were deemed too dangerous to be granted bail on one day. Then on the next they were released and deemed no threat to the public.

Lysak and Morin refused earlier offers to plea guilty. But after two years the strain of the whole ordeal led them to agree to a coerced confession to new charges in order to survive.

The plea deal was struck in a courtroom outside of the courtroom where the pre-trial motions were set to begin at 10 AM on February 6. The dropping of serious charges and confession to new minor firearms charges, and release of these two men came as a surprise.

A friend of Chris Lysak, Fort Macleod councillor Marco Van Huigenbos, said “723 days pretrial is a travesty of justice in Canada, and it has to be treated as such. There has to be a full inquiry into these prosecutions.”

Is all that is required to deny bail for those accused of serious crimes to argue that their release will undermine confidence in the justice system? The justice system is not immune from corruption or politicization. What confidence can citizens have in it? It appears lawfare is alive and well in Canada. The case of the Coutts Four shows that the Crown have the power to lay serious charges against citizens and let them linger for years in custody without bail or trial. 

Is all that is required to make the Crown walk back charges of conspiracy to commit murder a smart lawyer who knows how to make a section 8 charter application?

On January 15 Chris Carbert was denied bail for the second time. The lawyer who successfully represented Chris Lysak, Daniel Song, is now being considered to represent Chris Carbert (along with his existing lawyer) at the upcoming February 20 court hearing. The remaining ‘Coutts Two’ – Chris Carbert and Tony Olienick – will be at that hearing. Olienick has just hired a new lawyer who needs to get up to speed on the details of the case.

Is the Crown now proceeding with a charge of conspiracy to commit murder against Carbert and Olienick, when it has conceded that Lysak and Morin were not part of a conspiracy? Carbert and Olienick are scheduled to stand trial in June.

 

Ray McGinnis is a senior fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. His forthcoming book is Unjustified: The Emergencies Act and the Inquiry that Got It Wrong

Watch Ray McGinnis on Leaders on the Frontier here. September 27, 2023 (70 minutes)

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Alberta

Former senior financial advisor charged with embezzling millions from Red Deer area residents

Published on April 26, 2024

By

News release from Alberta RCMP

Former senior financial advisor charged for misappropriating nearly $5 million from clients

On April 4, 2024, the RCMP’s Provincial Financial Crime Team charged a Calgary resident for fraud-related offences after embezzling millions of dollars from his clients while serving as a senior financial advisor.

Following a thorough investigation, the accused is alleged to have fraudulently withdrawn funds from client accounts and deposited them into bank accounts he personally controlled. A total of sixteen victims were identified in the Red Deer area and suffered a combined loss of nearly $5 million.

Marc St. Pierre, 52, a resident of Calgary, was arrested and charged with:

  • Fraud over $5,000 contrary to section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code; and,
  • Theft over $5,000 contrary to section 344(a) of the Criminal Code.

St. Pierre is scheduled to appear in Red Deer Provincial Court on May 14, 2024.

“The ability for financial advisors to leverage their position to conduct frauds and investment scams represents a significant risk to the integrity of Alberta’s financial institutions. The investigation serves as an important reminder for all banking clients to regularly check their accounts for any suspicious activity and to report it to their bank’s fraud prevention team.”

  • Sgt. John Lamming, Provincial Financial Crime Team

The Provincial Financial Crime Team is a specialized unit that conducts investigations relating to multi-jurisdictional serious fraud, investments scams and corruption.

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Alberta

Political parties will be part of municipal elections in Edmonton and Calgary pilot projects

Published on April 25, 2024

By

Strengthening Alberta’s local elections

Alberta’s government is introducing legislation to ensure Albertans can rely on transparent, free and fair elections, and municipally-elected officials have clearer accountability measures.

In a democratic society, Albertans expect their local elections to be free and fair, and their elected officials to be held to account by clear rules that govern their local councils. The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act proposes amendments to the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) and the Municipal Government Act (MGA) to add greater transparency to local election processes and ensure local councils and elected officials continue to remain accountable to the citizens who elected them.

“Our government is committed to strengthening Albertans’ trust in their local governments and the democratic process that elects local leaders. The changes we are making increase transparency for Alberta voters and provide surety their votes will be counted accurately. We know how important local democracy is to Albertans, and we will work with local authorities to protect and enhance the integrity of local elections.”

Ric McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs

Local Authorities Election Act

Albertans expect free and fair elections and that’s why it’s important we strengthen the rules that govern local elections. To strengthen public trust in local elections, Alberta’s government will eliminate the use of electronic tabulators and other automated voting machines. All Albertans should be able to trust the methods and results of local elections; requiring all ballots to be counted by hand, clarifying rules and streamlining processes for scrutineers will provide voters greater assurance in the integrity of the results.

All eligible Albertans should be able to vote in local elections without impediment. Alberta’s government will limit the barriers for eligible voters to cast a ballot by expanding the use of special ballots. Currently, special ballots can only be requested for very specific reasons, including physical disability, absence from the municipality, or for municipal election workers. By expanding the use of special ballots, the government is encouraging more voter participation.

Amendments in the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act would increase transparency in local elections by enabling political parties at the local level. Political parties would be enabled in a pilot project for Edmonton and Calgary. The act will not require candidates to join a political party in order to run for a local or municipal office, but will create the opportunity to do so.

In addition, proposed changes to the Local Authorities Election Act would allow municipalities the option to require criminal record checks for local candidates, thus increasing transparency and trust in candidates who may go on to become elected officials.

Municipal Government Act

The role of an elected official is one with tremendous responsibility and expectations. Changes proposed to the Municipal Government Act (MGA) will strengthen the accountability of locally elected officials and councils. These include requiring mandatory orientation training for councillors, allowing elected officials to recuse themselves for real or perceived conflicts of interest without third-party review and requiring a councillor’s seat to become vacant upon disqualification.

If passed, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act will also unlock new tools to build affordable and attainable housing across Alberta. Proposed amendments under the MGA would also create more options for municipalities to accelerate housing developments in their communities. Options include:

  • Exempting non-profit, subsidized affordable housing from both municipal and education property taxes;
  • Requiring municipalities to offer digital participation for public hearings about planning and development, and restricting municipalities from holding extra public hearings that are not already required by legislation; and
  • Enabling municipalities to offer multi-year residential property tax exemptions.

Municipal Affairs will engage municipalities and other partners over the coming months to hear perspectives and gather feedback to help develop regulations.

Quick facts

  • The LAEA establishes the framework for the conduct of elections in Alberta municipalities, school divisions, irrigation districts and Metis Settlements.
  • The MGA establishes the rules governing the conduct of local elected officials once on council, as well as the overall administration and operation of municipal authorities in Alberta, including any policy those authorities may wish to implement.

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