Former MP Bernard Valcourt acquitted of resisting police
Judge rules Edmundston officers did not have authority to arrest him at special care home
A well-known former MP and cabinet minister from northwest New Brunswick has been acquitted on criminal charges of obstructing and resisting police.
Bernard Valcourt was found not guilty by Provincial Court Judge Luc Labonté Thursday afternoon.
Labonté found that two Edmundston city police officers did not have reasonable grounds or authority to try to arrest Valcourt during a confrontation at the Villa des Jardins special care home in October 2022.
"It's clear the police officers were acting in good faith and were responding to a call for help," the judge said.
But "the accused was at the home for valid reasons. … The police had no authority to act in the way they did."
Valcourt did not speak to reporters after the verdict.
The 72-year-old lawyer represented the area as an MP from 1984 to 1993 and again from 2011 to 2015, holding senior cabinet positions in the governments of prime ministers Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell and Stephen Harper.
Besides his time in federal politics, Valcourt was also provincial Progressive Conservative leader from 1995 to 1997, leading the party to defeat in an election campaign called shortly after he took over the leadership.
Valcourt was charged with violating Section 129 of the Criminal Code on Oct. 4, 2022, when, according to the charges, he obstructed and resisted the two officers.
His December trial was told that staff at Villa des Jardins were concerned when he met alone with Colette Cloutier, a resident diagnosed with dementia whose son Charles had power of attorney over her affairs.
According to testimony, there was a disagreement in the Cloutier family over her diagnosis and her money.
Another son, Philippe, had contacted Valcourt and said his mother wanted to hire him to look at, and possibly change, the power-of-attorney arrangement.
When nursing home director Diane Bouchard asked him to leave, he refused, so she called the police.
Their arrival led to a noisy, physical confrontation, which ended when the two police officers handcuffed Valcourt and led him out of the facility.
Valcourt insisted in his testimony that Cloutier was lucid and told the two officers when they arrived that she was hiring him as a lawyer and had a right to speak to him — a right that is sacrosanct in law, he argued.
Cloutier could be heard making those assertions on police audio played in court.
"She had the right to invite whomever," Labonté said in his decision Thursday.
Given that police didn't have the authority to arrest him, Valcourt could not be found guilty of obstructing or resisting them, the judge said.
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With files from Honorine Ngounchoup and Yves Levesque, Radio-Canada
Former MP defends behaviour with dementia patient in tense cross-examination
Bernard Valcourt is charged with resisting and obstructing police during nursing home confrontation
During a tense 50-minute cross examination, Edmundston lawyer Bernard Valcourt clashed frequently with the prosecutor about his behaviour the day he was arrested by police in a local nursing home.
Valcourt insisted that an elderly resident of the Villa des Jardins wanted to hire him as a lawyer and police had no right to interfere with that.
"I'm the honourable Bernard Valcourt, and I respect the law," he said, referring to the title he retains as a former federal cabinet minister.
"I'm a member of His Majesty's Privy Council.… I'm not the kind of person who ignores the police and who doesn't follow the rules. That's not Bernard Valcourt."
Valcourt
is accused of violating Section 129 of the Criminal Code on Oct. 4,
2022, when, according to the charges, he "voluntarily obstructed" two
Edmundston city police officers and "resisted" them as they were trying
to do their work.
On Wednesday, the trial was told staff were concerned that he was meeting alone with Colette Cloutier, a resident diagnosed with dementia, whose son Charles had power of attorney over her affairs.
According to staff testimony, there was a disagreement in the Cloutier family over her diagnosis and her money. Another son, Philippe, had contacted Valcourt and said his mother wanted to hire him to look at the power-of-attorney arrangement.
Colette Cloutier, an elderly resident of Villa des Jardins, was
diagnosed with dementia and died in May. (Bellavance funeral home)
Nursing home director Diane Bouchard testified that when Valcourt insisted on staying, she called Charles to put him on speaker phone with his mother.
She said Valcourt cut off the call but he denied that, testifying he tossed the phone aside to protect lawyer-client confidentiality but did not hang up the call.
"She works there but she doesn't have the power to prevent a resident who has a right under the Charter of Rights to consult a lawyer," he said.
When Valcourt refused Bouchard's request that he leave Cloutier's room, she called police.
Their arrival led to a noisy, physical confrontation, which ended when the two city police officers handcuffed Valcourt and led him out of the facility.
Prosecutor Annie-Claude Breton repeatedly pressed Valcourt on how calm he had been when the police arrived and whether he told them he was refusing to leave.
"I'm calm when it's the time to be calm," Valcourt said.
"What is 'calm?' For me, 'calm' means nothing's happening, everything's quiet. It wasn't quiet, absolutely not."
He became "less calm" after one of the police officers needled him, repeatedly calling him a joker, he testified.
That officer, Const. Denis Bourgoin, testified Wednesday he did that to draw Valcourt's attention away from Cloutier, who was becoming agitated and alarmed by the commotion.
Valcourt's lawyer, Basile Chiasson, was granted his request to submit
written closing arguments in the case. (Yves Lévesque/Radio-Canada)
But Valcourt testified Wednesday that Cloutier was lucid and told the two officers when they arrived that she was hiring him as a lawyer and had a right to speak to him — a right that is sacrosanct in law, he argued.
Cloutier could be heard making both statements on police audio played in court.
"I was trying to say [to the staff and police], 'Look, this makes no sense.' … I was surprised that someone like that didn't understand what I was saying."
Breton continued to push Valcourt to acknowledge that he didn't heed the staff's request that he leave nor the police's insistence that he leave, and that he refused the officers' requests to put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed.
They can be heard asking him to do so on the audio played in court.
"I never said I wouldn't leave," Valcourt responded. "I was trying to articulate that I didn't have to leave.… The police had no right to ask me to leave."
Judge Luc Labonté said he'll deliver his verdict March 28. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Valcourt was the last witness in the two-day provincial court trial.
Judge Luc Labonté granted a request from his defence lawyer, Basile Chiasson, to submit written closing arguments.
Chiasson said that was necessary because the facts in the case raised issues around lawyer-client privilege and new power-of-attorney legislation that took effect in 2020.
He'll submit his arguments in January, Breton will respond in February and Labonté said he'll deliver his verdict March 28.
Several Edmundston-area residents sat in to watch the proceedings, including some former college classmates of the 71-year-old veteran politician.
Valcourt represented the area as an MP from 1984 to 1993 and again from 2011 to 2015, holding senior cabinet positions in the governments of prime ministers Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell and Stephen Harper.
He was also provincial Progressive Conservative leader from 1995 to 1997, leading the party to defeat in an election campaign called shortly after he took over the leadership.
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High-profile former MP on trial for resisting, obstructing police
Bernard Valcourt charged in nursing home incident linked to family feud over money
A high profile and popular former politician in northwest New Brunswick went on trial Wednesday on charges of resisting and obstructing police during an episode stemming from a family dispute over a dementia patient's money.
Bernard Valcourt, a former MP and cabinet minister in the governments of prime ministers Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell and Stephen Harper, listened intently in an Edmundston court as staff from a local nursing home testified about the alleged incident.
"I said, 'Bernard, what are you doing? I've never seen you act like that,'" Jean-Anne Pelletier, the care manager at Villa des Jardins, told the court.
Pelletier testified that she had known Valcourt for a long time, and he was "a happy man" but he also had a temper.
According to prosecutors, Valcourt, a lawyer, violated Section 129 of the Criminal Code on Oct. 4, 2022, when he "voluntarily obstructed" two Edmundston police officers and "resisted" them as they were trying to do their work.
Colette Cloutier, an elderly resident of Villa des Jardins, was
diagnosed with dementia. (Bellavance funeral home)
In his testimony, Valcourt disputed the prosecution's account, telling the court a resident of the nursing home wanted to hire him as a lawyer, and she had the right to consult him without interference.
"I tried to explain [to the police] and they didn't want to hear anything about it," he testified.
The Crown is seeking a summary conviction that would carry no jail time.
The nursing home's manager, Diane Bouchard, told the trial that Valcourt arrived at the home on Oct. 4, 2022, to see Colette Cloutier, an elderly resident diagnosed with dementia.
Bouchard said Cloutier's son Charles had power-of-attorney over her care and her legal affairs, so staff were concerned when Valcourt went to her room to meet with her alone.
Bouchard confronted Valcourt in Cloutier's room and asked him why he was there.
"He said, 'It's none of your business.' I said, 'Yes, it's my business. Madame Cloutier has dementia, and she can't have discussions alone with a lawyer.'"
Valcourt's lawyer, Luc Roy, objected that prosecutors had introduced no power-of-attorney documents as evidence and said that would be key to the defence.
"Mr. Valcourt had the right to speak to the lady.… That's the nub of the problem," he said.
Valcourt testified that Cloutier was unhappy with what he referred to as "the so-called power-of-attorney" and wanted his legal advice.
Luc Roy is representing Bernard Valcourt in court in Edmundston. (Yves Lévesque/Radio-Canada)
He said he was there to get a sense of whether she was competent to make decisions about hiring him.
Earlier, Bouchard had recounted calling Charles on her cell phone and putting him on speaker so he could find out what Valcourt was discussing with his mother.
Charles testified that he asked his mother, "It's your son Charles, what's going on there?" but his mother's answers weren't clear. "She was confused," he said.
Valcourt contradicted that. Cloutier recognized him immediately from his years in politics. "Why, it's Bernard!" she declared when he arrived, according to his testimony.
Bouchard said after Valcourt cut off two attempts by Charles to speak to his mother, "I said, 'That's enough, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.' He sat down and said, 'I'm not leaving.'"
In Valcourt's account, he insisted that the solicitor-client relationship was confidential and privileged and that he could stay.
He also said Cloutier told her son over the phone, "I'm finished with you.… I can make decisions for myself."
When the police arrived, Bouchard testified Valcourt became confrontational and was yelling, which alarmed a tearful and confused Cloutier.
Annie-Claude
Breton, a prosecutor from Quebec, is handling the trial because of
Valcourt's high profile and network of connections in the New Brunswick
legal system. (Yves Lévesque/Radio-Canada)
Police testified Valcourt told Cloutier not to answer their questions and he refused to co-operate with them.
"He said if I wanted him to leave, I was going to have to make him leave," Edmundston police Const. Samuel Côté testified.
But Roy, Valcourt's lawyer, suggested during his cross-examination of Côté that the situation wasn't that clear-cut.
He played police dispatch audio of the confrontation in which Cloutier can be heard saying of Valcourt, "I hired him" and asserting, "I have a right to talk to him."
The officers said Valcourt resisted their efforts to handcuff him, though Valcourt disputed that.
Getting up out of the witness stand to act out the arrest, waving his arms, he said when the officers cuffed him, "It felt like they were tearing my arms out of the sockets."
According to testimony from Bouchard, Pelletier and another nursing home employee, Melissa Martin, staff at the home were frequently caught in the middle of a dispute within Cloutier's family, and in particular between two of her sons.
Valcourt said there was no feud but that Cloutier's other son, Philippe, had contacted him to tell him his mother wanted him as a lawyer.
Pelletier said some family members accepted she had dementia and others did not. There were disagreements about money, she added, and the sale of her house came up during Valcourt's visit.
Then-prime minister Stephen Harper with Bernard Valcourt in 2011.
Valcourt was a cabinet minister in the Harper government. (Adrian
Wyld/Canadian Press)
Valcourt had two stints as a federal MP, first from 1984 to 1993 as the MP for Madawaska-Victoria and then from 2011 to 2015 as MP for Madawaska-Restigouche.
He resigned from the Mulroney cabinet in 1989 after pleading guilty following a drunk-driving accident, but was reappointed in 1990.
He was also leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative party, taking the party to defeat in the 1995 provincial election.
His personal popularity in the region was always high, with a walking bridge over the Madawaska River named in his honour.
But in 2021, some local residents launched a petition to remove his name from the bridge after he accused media organizations of quoting a local doctor as part of "a campaign of terror" about COVID-19.
The trial is expected to conclude Thursday, with the prosecution's cross-examination of Valcourt and closing arguments.
A prosecutor from Quebec, Annie-Claude Breton, is handling the trial because of Valcourt's high profile and network of connections in the New Brunswick legal system.
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Roles - Hon. Bernard Valcourt
Current and Past
Member of Parliament
Political Affiliation
Offices and Roles as a Parliamentarian
Election Candidate
| Date | Election Type | Constituency | Province / Territory | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 19, 2015 | General Election | Madawaska—Restigouche | New Brunswick | Defeated |
| May 2, 2011 | General Election | Madawaska—Restigouche | New Brunswick | Elected |
Bernard Valcourt | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development | |
| In office February 22, 2013 – November 3, 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
| Preceded by | James Moore (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Carolyn Bennett |
| Associate Minister of National Defence | |
| In office July 4, 2012 – February 21, 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
| Preceded by | Julian Fantino |
| Succeeded by | Kerry-Lynne Findlay |
| Minister of Labour | |
| In office June 25, 1993 – November 3, 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Kim Campbell |
| Preceded by | Marcel Danis |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Axworthy |
| Minister of Employment and Immigration | |
| In office April 21, 1991 – November 3, 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney Kim Campbell |
| Preceded by | Barbara McDougall |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Axworthy |
| Minister of Fisheries and Oceans | |
| In office February 23, 1990 – April 20, 1991 | |
| Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney |
| Preceded by | Tom Siddon |
| Succeeded by | John Crosbie |
| Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs | |
| In office January 30, 1989 – July 4, 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney |
| Preceded by | Harvie Andre |
| Succeeded by | Harvie Andre (acting) |
| Member of Parliament for Madawaska—Restigouche | |
| In office May 2, 2011 – October 18, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jean-Claude D'Amours |
| Succeeded by | René Arseneault |
| Leader of the Opposition of New Brunswick | |
| In office May 14, 1995 – October 17, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Greg Hargrove |
| Succeeded by | Elvy Robichaud |
| Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick | |
| In office May 14, 1995 – October 17, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis Cochrane |
| Succeeded by | Bernard Lord |
| MLA for Edmundston | |
| In office September 11, 1995 – June 6, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Roland Beaulieu |
| Succeeded by | Madeleine Dubé |
| Member of Parliament for Madawaska—Victoria | |
| In office September 4, 1984 – October 25, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Eymard Corbin |
| Succeeded by | Pierrette Ringuette |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 18, 1952 Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Political party | Conservative (2011–) |
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Conservative (1984–1993) |
| Residence(s) | Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Bernard Valcourt PC KC (born February 18, 1952) is a Canadian politician and lawyer, who served as Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Madawaska—Restigouche, New Brunswick until he was defeated in the 2015 federal election.
Early federal political career and Mulroney cabinet
Valcourt was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1984 election that brought Brian Mulroney to power. He was appointed to the Cabinet of Canada in 1986 as a Minister of State. In January 1989, he was promoted to Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs,[1] but was forced to resign from Cabinet in August when he was involved in a drunk driving motorcycle accident that cost him an eye.[2]
He returned to Cabinet seven months later as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.[1] In 1991, he was promoted to Minister of Employment and Immigration,[1] and held the position until the government of Mulroney's successor as Progressive Conservative Party leader and prime minister, Kim Campbell, was defeated in the 1993 election. Valcourt was defeated in that election, along with every Tory MP in Atlantic Canada except Elsie Wayne.
Provincial leader
In May 1995, Valcourt was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.[3] While he won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 1995 provincial election, his party only won six seats against 48 for Frank McKenna's Liberals. Valcourt resigned as leader in 1997 following a lukewarm endorsement of his leadership at a party convention, and was succeeded by Bernard Lord.[4]
Return to federal politics
On March 28, 2011, Valcourt declared his candidacy in the 2011 federal election, running in the riding of Madawaska—Restigouche, which covers the bulk of the territory he'd represented two decades earlier.[5][6] He was elected on May 2, 2011, defeating Liberal incumbent Jean-Claude D'Amours. He was subsequently appointed to cabinet as Minister of State for both the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and La Francophonie. His sister Martine Coulombe was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2010 provincial election.[7] On July 4, 2012, he was given the additional portfolio of Associate Minister of Defence.[8] Valcourt was part of the AEG initiative, saying co-operation between both the federal and provincial governments, as well as utilities, is key. "The Atlantic Energy Gateway initiative has brought the critical players in the region's energy sector together to not only work toward an affordable, secure, clean energy future, but to also maximize the business and job growth potential of further developing our region's clean and renewable energy industries," said Valcourt in a release.[9]
On February 22, 2013, Valcourt became Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development in a cabinet shuffle.[10] Valcourt stirred controversy when he claimed that the high rates of suicide among aboriginal youths were "the responsibility of their parents".[11]
In the 2015 federal election, Valcourt was defeated by Liberal René Arseneault, finishing third with just over 16% of the vote.[12]
Electoral record
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Madawaska—Restigouche | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
|
|
Liberal | René Arseneault | 20,778 | 55.70 | +20.91 | $66,315.47 | ||
|
|
New Democratic | Rosaire L'Italien | 9,670 | 25.92 | +6.58 | $92,730.82 | ||
|
|
Conservative | Bernard Valcourt | 6,151 | 16.49 | -23.99 | $101,364.85 | ||
|
|
Green | Françoise Aubin | 707 | 1.90 | +0.10 | – | ||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 37,306 | 99.08 | $199,271.58 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 348 | 0.92 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 37,654 | 74.02 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 50,871 | |||||||
|
|
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +22.45 | |||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13][14] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election: Madawaska—Restigouche | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
|
|
Conservative | Bernard Valcourt | 14,224 | 40.64 | +7.41 | $52,308.15 | ||
|
|
Liberal | Jean-Claude D'Amours | 12,309 | 35.17 | -12.23 | $60,570.18 | ||
|
|
New Democratic | Wilder Jules | 6,562 | 18.75 | +3.13 | $6,934.01 | ||
|
|
Independent | Louis Bérubé | 1,290 | 3.69 | – | $113.00 | ||
|
|
Green | Lynn Morrison | 612 | 1.75 | -2.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 34,997 | 100.0 | $81,731.56 | |||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 577 | 1.62 | +0.04 | |||||
| Turnout | 35,574 | 69.80 | +3.03 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 50,966 | |||||||
|
|
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +9.82 | |||||
| Sources:[15][16] | ||||||||
| 1995 New Brunswick general election: Edmundston | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
|
|
Progressive Conservative | Bernard Valcourt | 4,215 | 59.20 | +38.41 | |||
|
|
Liberal | Roland Beaulieu | 2,803 | 39.37 | −26.91 | |||
|
|
New Democratic | Maureen Michaud | 102 | 1.43 | −11.50 | |||
| Total valid votes | 7,120 | 100.0 | ||||||
|
|
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +32.66 | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Liberal | Pierrette Ringuette | 16,058 | 48.8 | +5.0 |
|
|
Progressive Conservative | Bernard Valcourt | 15,045 | 45.7 | −2.5 |
|
|
Reform | Kimberly Spikings | 955 | 2.9 | +2.9 |
|
|
New Democratic | Parise Martin | 844 | 2.6 | −5.4 |
| Total | 32,902 |
|
| ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Progressive Conservative | Bernard Valcourt | 14,747 | 48.2 | −3.7 |
|
|
Liberal | Romeo Rossignol | 13,385 | 43.8 | +1.9 |
|
|
New Democratic | Réal Couturier | 2,441 | 8.0 | +1.8 |
| Total | 30,573 |
|
| ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Progressive Conservative | Bernard Valcourt | 16,411 | 51.9 | +29.0 |
|
|
Liberal | Gerald Clavette | 13,245 | 41.9 | −23.9 |
|
|
New Democratic | Floranne McLaughlin-St-Amand | 1,968 | 6.2 | −5.1 |
| Total | 31,624 |
|
| ||
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