An Alberta cafe owner charged with breaches against COVID-19 legislation is seeking further disclosure after approximately 1,000 pages of email correspondence were revealed to his lawyers.. Chris Scott on the Whistle Stop Cafe rooftopChris Scott and others mocking Jason Kenney's Sky Palace dinner from the Whistle Stop Cafe rooftop .Christopher Scott, owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, was charged with seven violations of the Public Health Act and one violation of the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act in early 2021 in relation to alleged protests against Alberta Health Orders during the pandemic..Scott’s trial was originally scheduled for August 2022, which could have seen him facing imprisonment if convicted..However, soon after the trial began, Scott’s lawyers learned about the existence of undisclosed documentation in the possession of Alberta Health Services (AHS), which was relevant to Scott’s defence. The trial was therefore adjourned to resolve the disclosure issue..Approximately 1,000 pages of email correspondence were subsequently disclosed to the defence..According to court submissions filed by his defence lawyers, the newly disclosed documents consisted of emails showing there was high-level coordination between AHS, RCMP, and the Government of Alberta in prosecuting Scott..Within the court material are suggestions over motivations by the AHS and RCMP for the former to appear as effective enforcers of public health measures..Furthermore, submissions presented to the court imply one AHS staff member even expressed a wish that a COVID-19 case would arise from the Whistle Stop Cafe, presumably to justify the ongoing prosecution of Scott. .Scott has since filed a Charter notice alleging it was an abuse of process to target him for prosecution because of his outspoken disapproval of government action..The Democracy Fund-backed lawyers Chad Williamson and Yoav Niv appeared in court on April 12 seeking further disclosure in the ongoing prosecution..The purpose of disclosure is to protect an accused person’s right to make full answers and defence to charges, which includes the right to make reasonable Charter arguments..On May 9, the court will decide whether the sought-after disclosure must be produced by the crown, or whether it constitutes “third-party disclosure” meaning Scott would have to justify an order for its protection.
