Editor’s Note: This column has been updated to further clarify that decisions to prosecute and appeal are made by the Crown and not police – April 22, 2025I love the sound of sobbing government officials in the morning. It's the sound of Crown prosecutor Stephanie Morton finally and officially admitting that her case against me was made up and unwinnable. On Tuesday, she dropped her faux appeal against the dismissal of the faux charges against me. Yes, those charges against me for yelling at teenage vandals on my property who told police that my walking cane (from a motorcycle accident) was a shotgun. It was a silly incident with teenagers who had an overactive imagination. The police officers on the scene all dismissed it as a nothing-burger, once they realized that my walking cane was incapable of killing ducks. But weeks later, Calgary Police Service Det. Lindsay Audibert called me in and repeatedly refused to let me have a lawyer present during questioning. She claimed that even though the walking cane was not a shotgun, the vandals believed it was, and so I had effectively threatened them with a shotgun. It was at that point that I used some rather salty language to tell the detective that her cognitive abilities were less than adequate for the competent execution of her job. And when it went to trial the Court threw the case out, hard. That must have been embarrassing for Morton and Audibert. The vast majority of cases that go to trial in Alberta (and Canada) result in a successful conviction. The high media profile of my case meant that a lot of eyes were on them. We had a full two-day trial with all the trimmings at a very high cost to the taxpayer, and the Crown lost badly and publicly. After the loss, they didn't stick around to talk to the press who had been camped out there for days, but high-tailed it straight for the door. The career prospects of Morton and Audibert are not well-served by losing a high-profile case that — to any reasonable person — obviously had no business ever coming before a court. In what I expect was to save face, the Crown appealed the loss. The appeal filed with the court said only that "the learned justice erred." It didn't say what "error" Justice Allan Fradsham made, just that he made one. You really have to wonder where Morton got her law degree..Within 24 hours of winning, I filed several Freedom of Information (FOI) requests with both the Crown prosecution and Calgary Police Service for the records of their discussions of my case and for how much taxpayers' money they shovelled into getting me.By appealing the loss, they were able to put a complete stop to my FOI requests and prevent the information from coming out. As of today, those FOI requests have been submitted again. I now have serious concerns as to just how well the documents I initially requested have been preserved. Time will tell what eventually comes out.But this much is clear: CPS Detective Lindsay Audibert is unfit for her job. She laid charges that were clearly groundless after her colleagues on the scene dismissed it. In my opinion, this was not in keeping with the proper application of the law. I am filing a formal complaint against her with the Calgary Police Commission. And Crown prosecutor Stephanie Morton is painfully incompetent. A prosecutor is expected to triage the cases that come before them, determining which are most serious and have a good chance of obtaining a conviction. Holding my 12-gauge walking cane as vandals flee my property does not hold up on either account. She is either incompetent in the extreme or was under orders from someone else who needs to be held to account.The Crown has finally run out of time and, having no other choice, have been forced to drop the appeal and tacitly admit that their case was made up.They might be done with me, but I am not done with them.
Editor’s Note: This column has been updated to further clarify that decisions to prosecute and appeal are made by the Crown and not police – April 22, 2025I love the sound of sobbing government officials in the morning. It's the sound of Crown prosecutor Stephanie Morton finally and officially admitting that her case against me was made up and unwinnable. On Tuesday, she dropped her faux appeal against the dismissal of the faux charges against me. Yes, those charges against me for yelling at teenage vandals on my property who told police that my walking cane (from a motorcycle accident) was a shotgun. It was a silly incident with teenagers who had an overactive imagination. The police officers on the scene all dismissed it as a nothing-burger, once they realized that my walking cane was incapable of killing ducks. But weeks later, Calgary Police Service Det. Lindsay Audibert called me in and repeatedly refused to let me have a lawyer present during questioning. She claimed that even though the walking cane was not a shotgun, the vandals believed it was, and so I had effectively threatened them with a shotgun. It was at that point that I used some rather salty language to tell the detective that her cognitive abilities were less than adequate for the competent execution of her job. And when it went to trial the Court threw the case out, hard. That must have been embarrassing for Morton and Audibert. The vast majority of cases that go to trial in Alberta (and Canada) result in a successful conviction. The high media profile of my case meant that a lot of eyes were on them. We had a full two-day trial with all the trimmings at a very high cost to the taxpayer, and the Crown lost badly and publicly. After the loss, they didn't stick around to talk to the press who had been camped out there for days, but high-tailed it straight for the door. The career prospects of Morton and Audibert are not well-served by losing a high-profile case that — to any reasonable person — obviously had no business ever coming before a court. In what I expect was to save face, the Crown appealed the loss. The appeal filed with the court said only that "the learned justice erred." It didn't say what "error" Justice Allan Fradsham made, just that he made one. You really have to wonder where Morton got her law degree..Within 24 hours of winning, I filed several Freedom of Information (FOI) requests with both the Crown prosecution and Calgary Police Service for the records of their discussions of my case and for how much taxpayers' money they shovelled into getting me.By appealing the loss, they were able to put a complete stop to my FOI requests and prevent the information from coming out. As of today, those FOI requests have been submitted again. I now have serious concerns as to just how well the documents I initially requested have been preserved. Time will tell what eventually comes out.But this much is clear: CPS Detective Lindsay Audibert is unfit for her job. She laid charges that were clearly groundless after her colleagues on the scene dismissed it. In my opinion, this was not in keeping with the proper application of the law. I am filing a formal complaint against her with the Calgary Police Commission. And Crown prosecutor Stephanie Morton is painfully incompetent. A prosecutor is expected to triage the cases that come before them, determining which are most serious and have a good chance of obtaining a conviction. Holding my 12-gauge walking cane as vandals flee my property does not hold up on either account. She is either incompetent in the extreme or was under orders from someone else who needs to be held to account.The Crown has finally run out of time and, having no other choice, have been forced to drop the appeal and tacitly admit that their case was made up.They might be done with me, but I am not done with them.
