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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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/blaine-higgs-federal-government-1.7057572
Clean energy transition will be difficult, says Higgs, as he unveils 12-year strategy
Plan involves doubling nuclear energy generation capacity by developing small modular reactors
But the 12-year plan unveiled Wednesday falls short of putting a price tag on the transition, with Premier Blaine Higgs warning it will be a "difficult" endeavour that will require help from Ottawa.
"Is it going to be easy? No it's not," Higgs said at a news conference in Fredericton.
"We have to balance affordability and the reliability, and … ensure that at the end of the day we don't put more and more hardship on the citizens to a point where they just can't afford to live and work in our province.
"Are we on a path to higher energy costs? Absolutely. I mean that path was set 10 years ago, I would say, by the federal government."
The strategy, titled "Powering our Economy and the World with Clean Energy," lays out a series of objectives the province hopes to meet between now and 2035.
If followed through on, the strategy would see New Brunswick quadruple its reliance on renewable sources of energy such as wind and hydroelectricity, while doubling its nuclear energy production through the startup of small modular reactors.
The New Brunswick government is aiming to boost the capacity of nuclear energy production by 600 megawatts annually by 2035. (Government of New Brunswick)
Meanwhile, the province would convert its Belledune generating station from burning coal to burning biomass, while relying on its gas and diesel-fired power plants only on rare occasions when demand exceeds capacity — anticipated to only account for one per cent of the province's needs by 2035.
The provincial government's strategy aims to position New Brunswick to meet the federally set target for the province to decarbonize its electrical grid by 2035.
It comes just months after N.B Power, the Crown utility, released its own report indicating "considerable uncertainty" when it came to how it planned to do so.
The report, released in August, said a mix of wind power, a costly update to the Mactaquac Dam, an extension to the life of its Bayside gas-fired plant and small modular reactors, were all essential to meeting the 2035 deadline.
But the cost of developing small modular reactors — a key pillar in the plan — remains a "significant unknown," and the timing of their deployment depends on the pace of the technology.
Speaking alongside Higgs on Wednesday, Energy and Natural Resources Development Minister Mike Holland said the province has familiarity with the costs associated with wind and hydroelectricity, but admitted the cost for bringing small modular nuclear reactors up to the anticipated capacity remains unknown.
Energy
Minister Mike Holland says he doesn't know how much small modular
reactors will cost long term but is hoping the federal government comes
forward to help develop the technology. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
"We will be looking to the federal government to assist and join us in funding some of the projects, some of the research," Holland said.
"And at the end of the day when we move forward, we also have an understanding that the ratepayers of the province in New Brunswick have thresholds and we certainly aren't going to be moving into an area that exceeds the ability to pay."
According to a chart included in the province's latest report, nuclear energy is expected to be the largest source of electricity, at 38 per cent, by 2035.
It's followed by wind at 23 per cent, clean energy imports at 19 per cent, hydroelectricity at 11 per cent, natural gas at three per cent, and solar and diesel and oil at single percentage each.
Too much reliance on nuclear, Coon says
Green Party Leader David Coon said he was disappointed by the strategy's plan to double the capacity of nuclear energy in the province.
He said the energy source is among the most expensive in the world and could contribute to higher rates for consumers if it becomes relied on to the degree set out in the plan.
"So they want to double it, which means to me, doubling the debt for N.B. Power and doubling power rates for New Brunswickers, on top of the ecological consequences of going more into the nuclear realm."
Coon also questioned how the strategy arrived at a forecast that sees the total amount of electricity consumed in the province going up by 60 per cent by 2035.
"We just can't support that growth. I don't know where that's coming from."
Liberals want greater focus on refurbishment
Liberal energy critic René Legacy said he admired how the strategy took a broad look at the province's energy ambitions, such as targets around efficiency and generating electricity both on and off the grid.
Liberal
energy critic René Legacy says he would have liked to have sees the
strategy say more about the need to refurbish aging infrastructure. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
But he said he thought there should have been more attention paid to aging infrastructure.
"I still find it's a little lacking on the situation we have right now, which is aging assets that need refurbishment, and we're kind of dragging our feet on them," Legacy said.
Legacy said whether N.B. Power goes ahead with a $3 billion refurbishment of the Mactaquac generating station looms large in the backdrop, adding that other generating stations will be nearing their end of life in the next two decades.
"I'm not saying it should be one or the other, but it just seems the minister is focused on new technologies like small modular reactors."
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Content Deactivated
What planet did Higgy and Holland come from?
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Anybody bother to read the news today about the former leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative party who led the party to defeat in the 1995 provincial election?
So this is news?
David Amos
Reply to Ron parker
I have been dealing with this nonsense within the EUB or quite awhile
"On December 13, the Government of New Brunswick released its strategy for transitioning the province to clean energy: Powering our Economy and the World with Clean Energy – Our Path Forward to 2035.
The Atlantica Centre for Energy is pleased that the strategy is focused on four areas ensuring affordability, energy security and reliability, regulatory reform and economic growth, which are in line with its submission to the New Brunswick’s Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship in September 2023.
Strategy Overview:
The strategy is presented in several chapters; providing an overview of New Brunswick’s current energy mix, a vision for the energy mix and economic opportunities in 2035, and identifying actions to accomplish to ensure the vision is achieved.
The strategy identifies the demand for energy will increase with population growth, industrial expansion, and a shift toward low-emission energy. Specifically, the demand for electricity will increase with the electrification of many vehicles, industrial processes and heating. Energy conservation and customer choice will be increasingly important considerations.
Other drivers of change include climate change and federal requirements, such as changes to energy sources including the federal coal phase-out, the Clean Fuel Regulations, the proposed Clean Electricity Regulations, and carbon pricing."
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Robert G. Holmes
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Reply to Le Wier
Reply to Robert G. Holmes
David Amos
Reply to Le Wier
Methinks Mr Outhouse should agree that Higgy
will announce that he is retiring and the following leadership contest
will anoint Allain as leader before the next election N'esy Pas?
Shawn Tabor
This is good, if SMR’s are developed and stand the test of time. They have been using them on ships and submarines for many years. The best bet yet
MR Cain
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Hardly; we won't see one within a decade.
Robert G. Holmes
Reply to Shawn Tabor
The chart indicates a bigger component will come from wind and solar. What is the construct to commissioning time for wind and solar? 12-15months? Why is NB way behind PEI and NS in transition? Have the operators gotten the Kent County towers back up and secure yet?
Shawn Tabor
Reply to MR Cain
If you are allowed to go there, and i very highly doubt it. You will see your first one in Little NB in maybe 3 years,,,, stay tuned. Might take a little bit to get the ( kinks) out of it, but in 5 years, they will win. Take it to the bank. They already exist
MR Cain
Reply to Shawn Tabor
But the cost of developing small modular reactors — a key pillar in the plan — remains a "significant unknown," and the timing of their deployment depends on the pace of the technology. So there you go; technology is not there, nor is the money.
MR Cain
Reply to MR Cain
They are also not talking about domestic demands; they will want to be able to sell it, same as Lepreau
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Tech is there, and like those ships( frigates) that they built, they had to build the first 2-3 of them at least 3 times. After that they turned on the jets and built a whole bunch more. LOL
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Still building them today, a better model but not in this province, the place is Halifax
Shawn Tabor
Reply to MR Cain
Yes, i like that as well, go big or stay home. Getter going like we know you can.
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
The way of the future, like robots and AI
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
As far as A I goes, you have been carrying one for many years, its called a phone. Tip of the iceberg. Not sure how old you are, but good chance you will travel with your own little, R2D2 or maybe a C3P0, before you kick the bucket. I want a hot sexy one, you know what i mean. Not dead yet, LOL
Eugene Peabody
Reply to Shawn Tabor
I think you better check out your info some more. The state of Utah has worked for several years trying to develop SMR ,spent over a billion dollars and had to drop the idea a couple of months ago when they could not get their neighbors to sign contracts for the electricity and agree to dump another billion or two dollars to develop it. I do not know of any SMR that has been developed yet. There is a big push on in Europe ,China and North America to try to build one that is safe and works.
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Eugene Peabody
Yes i have read this or little about it. Its going to happen, just a matter of time. I am glad that we as a province recognize this, the way of the future. Nice to be looking at it, then for it. Everyone get their thinking cap on, and a little help from A I, nothing we can’t do. Thanks and keep the faith
MR Cain
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Don't understand why you would be excited by this antiquated technology. It is just an expensive way to boil water. Likewise with AI and its limitations. It won't put a roof over your head.
Shawn Tabor
Reply to MR Cain
Brother and Sister both worked at Homer’s house, LOL. I visited Point Lepreau as a kid, on a tour. Oh i guess i should of said a SHE3PO, a cute one. Going up to the Spirit in the sky, might as well go with a smile, you understand. It’s doable, take a little more time, but going to happen.
MR Cain
Reply to Shawn Tabor
I worked at the station. I don't have the time to wait.
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Not sure what you mean, and maybe i do not want to, just saying.
Shawn Tabor
Reply to MR Cain
Hope all is good or going good for you. Take care
David Amos
Reply to Shawn Tabor
its time for your nap
Shawn Tabor
Reply to David Amos
They are breaking ground as a speak, down at Lepreau for the SMR’s
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Time for you to get out and actually see
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
You really have to get out, go for a walk and explore. Can’t do it all from a computer.
David Amos
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Clearly you can't see what my computer sees
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Nope, but they are breaking ground as i speak.
Shawn Tabor
Reply to David Amos
They are breaking ground as i text you
David Amos
Reply to Shawn Tabor
You forgot to ask me if I cared
Reply to Shawn Tabor
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