Manderson peace bond case delayed again

Peace bond proceedings against Guelph blogger Bill Manderson have been deferred yet again – although not as long as Manderson would have liked.

On Monday, justice of the peace Zeljana Radulovic de­layed the matter until April 6 to give Manderson time to review new evidence he received just last week.

“Can I appeal that?” Man­derson asked Radulovic. He wanted the matter delayed until April 20, but the justice denied that request and told Mander­son it is not the court’s job to provide legal advice.

Manderson explained he was waiting for a response about legal representation from the Canadian Civil Liberties As­sociation.

“I have a compounding situation,” he said, telling Radu­­lovic the disclosure he received on Feb. 27 seemed to identify a third complainant in the case, in addition to county councillor Brad Whitcombe and county Chief Admin­istrative Officer Scott Wilson.

But private prosecutor  Stev­en Tanner, of McCarthy Tetrault, the firm representing Whitcombe and Wilson, said there are still just two complainants.

He added the case has been ongoing since January and delayed twice already and suggested a deferral until April 6 will provide plenty of time for Manderson to prepare.

“It’s of some urgency to my clients,” Tanner said.

Manderson countered that the case was delayed once, through no fault of his own,­  because the Crown was deciding whether or not to prosecute.

As such, he lobbied – unsuccessfully – to defer the matter until April 20.

The complaints in the peace bond case stem from alleged writ­ten threats made by Man­derson in over 150 letters to county officials as well as on his website, smelly-welly.com.

If granted, the peace bond will require Man­derson to keep the peace for 12 months or face criminal charges.

 

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