Heliport
2nd Nov 2003, 14:19
Canada.com report Judge unseals helicopter deal documents
TORONTO -- An Ontario judge has ordered the release of sealed evidence at the centre of a court case that has dragged on behind closed doors for nearly three years.
The ruling is expected to shed light on the politically charged case of Eurocopter Canada Ltd., which faces fraud allegations in connection with a 1986 deal that saw an earlier incarnation of the company supply helicopters to the Coast Guard.
Since shortly after the Fort Erie, Ont., company was raided by the RCMP in December, 1999, a myriad of lawyers have been meeting regularly in an unmarked courtroom, arguing the constitutional validity of the search warrants.
Included in the room have been lawyers representing Brian Mulroney, the former prime minister, and German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.
Yesterday, Justice Edward Then of the Ontario Superior Court ruled many of the records at the heart of the case -- including the search warrants themselves -- should be unsealed.
However, the judge subjected the documents to a seven-day publication ban, leaving all of the lawyers one week to file an appeal if they see fit.
In the meantime, media outlets are scrambling to read the documents and prepare stories for the moment the ban is lifted.
Exactly what prompted the fraud charges has been an intriguing mystery since the Mounties first searched the company's offices.
That same year, CBC's the fifth estate reported a company controlled by Mr. Schreiber received "secret commissions" from MBB Canada -- now Eurocopter -- in connection with a $25-million Coast Guard deal.
Last October, the firm and two officials at its German parent company were charged with fraud as part of an ongoing investigation into kickbacks.
A separate preliminary inquiry into the criminal charges is underway in Ottawa.
The case is made that much more compelling by the fact that Eurocopter, in conjunction with Lockheed-Martin Canada, is a leading contender to replace the military's ageing Sea King Helicopters.
On Thursday, Canadian navy officials grounded the country's entire fleet of Sea Kings -- 28 helicopters in all -- because of an unspecified technical problem.
The media's role in the Eurocopter controversy has also been propelled into the spotlight. Early in the case, CBC reporter Harvey Cashore walked into the closed courtroom and asked if he could stay. A lawyer for the CBC was later invited to participate in the hearing.
Exactly how the broadcaster found out about the hush-hush proceedings remains unclear.
"I have questioned how the CBC got into this room," said Mr. Schreiber's lawyer, Edward Greenspan, who did not go so far as to suggest the reporter was leaked information about the case. "That the CBC is here is a mystery."
CanWest News Service first reported the existence of the case in June, 2002, but last month, lawyers for The Globe and Mail formally asked Justice Then to provide basic details about the case so the paper could determine whether it was worth trying to overturn the sealing order.
Justice Then told the Globe he was already contemplating whether to unseal the documents -- a decision he handed down yesterday.
Concerned the CBC would have an unfair "head start" on the rest of the media, Mr. Greenspan asked the judge to give all media outlets advance access to the documents. If none of the parties files an appeal before the deadline, he said, everyone can reveal the contents of the documents at the same time.
"It is absolutely fundamental that they not be given an inch head start on any other media," Mr. Greenspan said of CBC, repeating his concerns over how its reporter learned of the hearing.
Justice Then agreed, releasing guidelines for media outlets to view the documents in advance of the appeal deadline, set for Friday at 9 a.m.
That deadline could be moved up if all parties announce in advance that no appeals will be filed.
TORONTO -- An Ontario judge has ordered the release of sealed evidence at the centre of a court case that has dragged on behind closed doors for nearly three years.
The ruling is expected to shed light on the politically charged case of Eurocopter Canada Ltd., which faces fraud allegations in connection with a 1986 deal that saw an earlier incarnation of the company supply helicopters to the Coast Guard.
Since shortly after the Fort Erie, Ont., company was raided by the RCMP in December, 1999, a myriad of lawyers have been meeting regularly in an unmarked courtroom, arguing the constitutional validity of the search warrants.
Included in the room have been lawyers representing Brian Mulroney, the former prime minister, and German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.
Yesterday, Justice Edward Then of the Ontario Superior Court ruled many of the records at the heart of the case -- including the search warrants themselves -- should be unsealed.
However, the judge subjected the documents to a seven-day publication ban, leaving all of the lawyers one week to file an appeal if they see fit.
In the meantime, media outlets are scrambling to read the documents and prepare stories for the moment the ban is lifted.
Exactly what prompted the fraud charges has been an intriguing mystery since the Mounties first searched the company's offices.
That same year, CBC's the fifth estate reported a company controlled by Mr. Schreiber received "secret commissions" from MBB Canada -- now Eurocopter -- in connection with a $25-million Coast Guard deal.
Last October, the firm and two officials at its German parent company were charged with fraud as part of an ongoing investigation into kickbacks.
A separate preliminary inquiry into the criminal charges is underway in Ottawa.
The case is made that much more compelling by the fact that Eurocopter, in conjunction with Lockheed-Martin Canada, is a leading contender to replace the military's ageing Sea King Helicopters.
On Thursday, Canadian navy officials grounded the country's entire fleet of Sea Kings -- 28 helicopters in all -- because of an unspecified technical problem.
The media's role in the Eurocopter controversy has also been propelled into the spotlight. Early in the case, CBC reporter Harvey Cashore walked into the closed courtroom and asked if he could stay. A lawyer for the CBC was later invited to participate in the hearing.
Exactly how the broadcaster found out about the hush-hush proceedings remains unclear.
"I have questioned how the CBC got into this room," said Mr. Schreiber's lawyer, Edward Greenspan, who did not go so far as to suggest the reporter was leaked information about the case. "That the CBC is here is a mystery."
CanWest News Service first reported the existence of the case in June, 2002, but last month, lawyers for The Globe and Mail formally asked Justice Then to provide basic details about the case so the paper could determine whether it was worth trying to overturn the sealing order.
Justice Then told the Globe he was already contemplating whether to unseal the documents -- a decision he handed down yesterday.
Concerned the CBC would have an unfair "head start" on the rest of the media, Mr. Greenspan asked the judge to give all media outlets advance access to the documents. If none of the parties files an appeal before the deadline, he said, everyone can reveal the contents of the documents at the same time.
"It is absolutely fundamental that they not be given an inch head start on any other media," Mr. Greenspan said of CBC, repeating his concerns over how its reporter learned of the hearing.
Justice Then agreed, releasing guidelines for media outlets to view the documents in advance of the appeal deadline, set for Friday at 9 a.m.
That deadline could be moved up if all parties announce in advance that no appeals will be filed.