The Contrecoeur corruption trial will go ahead, albeit starting in January 2017.
Quebec Court Judge Yvan Poulin rejected motions that had been filed by the defence to halt the trial in a ruling he issued in court on Friday morning.
The accused include former Montreal city executive committee chairman Frank Zampino, who served as the No. 2 politician at city hall, and former construction magnate Paolo Catania. They had filed motions to stay the proceedings shortly after the trial began in February. Their lawyers argued that late disclosure of certain evidence by the Crown and non-disclosure of certain other evidence infringed their clients’ right to a fair trial.
Poulin ruled that the Crown had disclosed evidence that it was required to and had answered defence lawyers’ requests promptly in the time leading up to the trial.
However, Poulin said the Crown’s sudden announcement to the defence last November, a few months before the trial, that it intended to amend the charges against the accused “could be considered reprehensible.” But it does not constitute a prejudice that warrants halting the trial, he ruled.
Quebec’s anti-corruption squad, UPAC, arrested nine people in May 2012 over the sale of the city-owned Contrecoeur land in east-end Montreal.
The trial has yet to hear a single witness or examine any evidence because the court has been dealing with various motions, mostly filed by the defence and mostly concerning the disclosure of evidence.
Their trial is to resume on Jan. 16, 2017, Poulin told the court on Friday. That’s the next date that is available to the court and the defence lawyers involved.
Poulin announced the trial will proceed between January and June 23, 2017, with the exception of a handful of days during that period.
