Crown drops charges against top cop Fantino
No prospect of conviction: Province
February 3, 2010 Hamilton Spectator
CAYUGA - The Crown has withdrawn a charge of trying to influence elected officials against OPP commissioner Julian Fantino.
Ontario's chief counsel for justice prosecutions this morning withdrew the charge of attempting to influence Haldimand councillors against Fantino. The OPP leader was not in court.
Caledonia activist Gary McHale laid the charge privately after Fantino warned Haldimand councillors that he might not renew the OPP's policing contract if elected officials appeared at rallies.
Crown Milan Rupic told Justice of the Peace Dan MacDonald that there as no prospect of obtaining a conviction in the case.
See the Crown' reasons for withdrawing charge
See Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer testimony at Gary McHale's preliminary hearing (page 20-21 of transcript PDF)
Rupic told Ontario Court in Cayuga that there is a low threshold of evidence for laying a private charge. But he said the Crown applies a much higher standard of evidence in determining if a charge should proceed. In this case, he said, there was no hope of a conviction.
McHale, founder of Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality, has been a vocal critic of how the OPP handled the sometimes volatile native occupation of the former Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia.
The activist led a number of public rallies to protest what he views as two-tiered policing, meaning one standard for Six Nations protesters and another for residents of the town.
The private charge arises from an e-mail that Fantino sent in April 2007 to Mayor Marie Trainer and Haldimand council, which was distributed to senior members of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's staff. The two-page letter warned councillors against expressing support for McHale. The e-mail stated that Fantino would recommend against renewing the OPP's contract with the county if politicians publicly supported McHale.
Fantino's letter was widely circulated and Trainer was quoted on radio and television to say she understood his words to be a threat to withdraw police services from Haldimand County.
Fantino encouraged his officers to bring Caledonia protester McHale to court and "publicly expose him for the mischief-maker that he is."
The statement is contained in December 2007 e-mails, obtained by McHale through the legal disclosure process, in which officers discuss the possibility of a court order or charges against McHale.
"At some point McHale has to go," Fantino wrote in another e-mail.
In another, he wrote: "What are we doing in Caledonia? We seem to be in an almost state of paralysis when it comes to proactively doing anything respecting McHale et al. If it isn't us being told what to mdo (sic) by feeble Crowns, it's our own lack of fire. It seems to me that we are reactive to the point that McHale is the orchestra leader while we are almost captive to his nonsense."
After a sentence that was redacted before its release to McHale, Fantino continued: "Ahh, I can't believe this!!!!!"
McHale, 47, is the founder of Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality.
He believes the OPP has failed to enforce the law against the native protesters who have occupied land in Caledonia since 2006.
Fantino believes McHale's actions have made it more difficult to reach a peaceful solution to the dispute.
In an e-mail, Fantino urged officers to bring McHale to court to seek an order to keep him out of Caledonia. "Even if we are unsuccessful," Fantino wrote, "we will be able to publicly expose him for the mischief-maker that he is and whose activities if not stopped will surely result in more violence."
In addition to organizing protests at the disputed site, McHale has launched legal actions against parties involved in the case, including a possible criminal charge against Fantino, whom he alleges influenced or attempted to influence the Haldimand County council by sending an email criticizing a councillor for expressing support for McHale.
Fantino could not be reached Tuesday night for comment on the e-mails.
McHale, formerly of Richmond Hill, now lives in the Hamilton community of Binbrook, where he moved to be closer to Caledonia. He faces charges of counselling mischief, not committed; under his bail conditions, he is barred from the disputed site.
He said the e-mails proved allegations for which he had been mocked in court. He also said they revealed a dangerous attitude on the part of top police officials.