Here in my hometown…small town Canada: Fredericton, New Brunswick…the Police State is alive and well. Our local newspaper ran an article today saying that Prosecutor and Federal Police Official came to town to seek an arrest warrant. Not a problem…arrest warrants are issued daily, but this one is different because the Federal prosecutor won’t reveal the charge, the nature of the warrant, or the accused person’s name. So as I type this someone in my city is in a jail cell and the public has no right to know what the charges are.

Feds File Secret Charge in Court

Tight-lipped | Federal prosecutor won’t reveal charge, nature of warrant, accused

A secret federal charge was filed in Fredericton provincial court Monday, and a judge issued a secret arrest warrant.

Officials declined to say what the charge is, who’s charged and why the arrest warrant was issued despite the principle that the Canadian justice system is meant to be open and transparent.

Crown prosecutor Monica McQueen with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada’s Halifax office appeared briefly in provincial court in Fredericton before Judge Graydon Nicholas on Monday afternoon.

An officer accompanying her swore an information before the judge, and it was filed with the court.

An information is the official document detailing a criminal or quasi-criminal charge for a court, listing the accused, the charge, and the time and place of the alleged offence.

McQueen asked for an arrest warrant – presumably for the accused person listed on the information – be issued, and Nicholas granted the request.

The prosecutor said in open court she didn’t want to get into details about the charge or warrant.

No publication ban was requested, and the judge issued no such order.

When asked by a reporter about the nature of the charge once the court was in recess, McQueen declined to reveal any information.

Staff members at the provincial court office also told The Daily Gleaner they were instructed not to reveal any details about the charge,

the arrest warrant or the identity of the accused.

Workers in the provincial court office said the information and arrest warrant were sealed.

Informations filed with a court are considered public documents.

In the past, The Daily Gleaner has obtained names, charges and even addresses of accused persons listed on informations once they’ve been sworn before a judge.

Search warrants granted by the courts can be sealed. For example, a search warrant issued in a drug case based on a tip from a confidential informant can be sealed, and details can be redacted from such warrants when the defence asks to see them in preparation for trial.

However, sealed or secret charges and arrest warrants are unusual.

Marc Bourgeois, president of the New Brunswick Criminal Defence Lawyers’ Association, said such secretive dealings are uncommon and run contrary to the philosophy that Canadian courts are open to the public.

“The public has a right to know who’s being charged with what,” he said.

After being contacted by The Daily Gleaner on Monday afternoon, Bourgeois conducted research and discovered a scenario through which a charge and identity of an accused might be kept from the media and the public.

He said if a charge were laid and arrest warrant issued in relation to a security certificate under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, officials might be able to keep details such as an accused’s identity and the charge a secret.

However, he said, officials would still be required to reveal the legislation that allows them to withhold such information.

Security certificates issued under the act allow federal officials to detain or deport individuals for reasons of national security.

Such situations are uncommon, Bourgeois said, and they’re generally associated with terrorism investigations.

Officials with Justice Canada and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.

What gets me the most are some of the comments from people below the article. There are people here that actually condone this type of behavior. That just disgusts me and destroys my faith in society.

They condone a lack of transparency in government. This brings fear and the potential for any citizen to disappear at any time and the government does not have to explain itself. CRAZY MAN. THIS IS JUST CRAZY! Yes sir it is good to know that in small town Canada the Police State is alive and well.

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