Leader charged with assaulting woman

Page 1

Gerald Morin, then president of the Metis National Council (MNC), was charged with assault and mischief by Ottawa police after a complaint was filed on Dec. 11, 2002.

But that's just the beginning of a long and complex story that ended with Metis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras succeeding Morin as national Metis leader, at least in the interim.

It was 20 days before the Ottawa press corps learned of the charges, which became public after the incident was reported by a Saskatchewan radio station on Dec. 31. Reporters in the nation's capital spent New Year's Eve seeking confirmation of the radio report. Just who leaked the story or how the radio station learned of it is still a mystery, because nobody at the station is talking.

The first national news coverage mentioned only the charges against Morin. On Jan. 8, a National Post story revealed the alleged victim was a woman. The next day, James Parker, the reporter who broke the David Ahenakew story, wrote in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix that the alleged victim was the vice-president of the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, Lorna Docken. She and Morin had had a personal relationship for several months, Parker reported, citing unnamed sources.

The couple had attended the Liberal Party of Canada Christmas party at the downtown Ottawa Westin Hotel on the evening the alleged assault occurred. Sources say Gerald Morin was arrested and charged at the Albert on Bay Hotel, located several kilometres away from the Westin in downtown Ottawa, the next day Dec. 12, 2002.

When he was contacted for comment on Dec. 31, Morin issued a statement saying, "[M]y actions were reprehensible but I take full responsibility for my behavior. I apologize to the Metis people for any embarrassment that I have caused and will do whatever I can to earn their trust and respect once again. I understand that alcohol has become a destructive factor in my life and this incident is the final warning sign for me to deal with this problem."

Morin, a 42-year-old lawyer, did not offer specific details of the actions he admitted were reprehensible, nor did he mention the name of the alleged victim or her gender. For the almost three weeks between his arrest and his statement, Morin remained on the job. During that time he issued a statement on behalf of the MNC condemning the anti-Semitic remarks of former Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Senator David Ahenakew.

On Jan. 6, a week after news of the charges was made public, the MNC board of governors announced that Morin would be entering a professional treatment program for health related reasons for a six-week period in the near future. The board of governors also stated that Clem Chartier, vice-president of the MNC and president of the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, would be assuming the role of interim national spokesperson and chair of the Metis Nation cabinet. The announcement said Morin would be resuming his responsibilities and duties as president of the MNC on March 3.

But then the identity of the alleged victim was made public and the board of governors issued another statement on Jan. 8.

"The board of governors of the MNC deeply regrets to announce that it has, by unanimous decision, asked Gerald Morin to resign as president," the statement began. "On Jan. 7, the board of governors received details of Mr. Morin's actions on Dec. 11, 2002, which were not initially known to the board of governors at their meeting of Jan. 6, after which their initial press statement was issued. These actions involved a woman and have resulted in the pending charges of assault and mischief against Mr. Morin. The board of governors will not condone, in any way, any violence by its leadership and has zero tolerance for any violence against women within our communities and within society as a whole."

The board of governors, made up of the five provincial Metis association presidents-British Columbia's Harley Desjarlais, Alberta's Audrey Poitras, Sasatchewan's Clem Chartier, Manitoba's Dave Chartrand and Ontario's Tony Belcourt-then revealed that Morin had refused their demand to resign.

"It is extremely troubling to the board of governors that Mr. Morin has refused this request. The board had hoped that further discredit and undue grief to the Metis Nation could be averted by Mr. Morin's resignation. The board will now review all legal options open to it at its meeting in Vancouver scheduled for this weekend," the statement read.

The five governors also went on the record on the subject of family violence, even though their president is presumed innocent until proven guilty and convicted in a court of law.

"This incident also brings important attention to the issues of lateral and family violence. Flowing from this situation, the leadership of the Metis Nation will focus attention to address these issues within our communities," the board stated.

At the Vancouver meeting, Morin was removed from office and Poitras was named his interim successor. The MNC must now hold a leadership convention within 90 days.

Sources say Morin has been in a treatment centre operated by the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan during all this time. He has not been available for comment. Many Metis political veterans suspect he may try to regain office when his treatment is completed.

There are many questions about the board's handling of this affair. Foremost among them is the board's assertion that they knew nothing of the identity of the alleged victim until after it appeared in the press. In order to accept the board's version of events, one must believe that Lorna Docken, the vice-president of the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, did not mention the events of Dec. 11 to her colleague Clem Chartier, a close friend of Morin's and the president of the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, for 27 days.

One must also believe that the board did not ask for any details from Morin when he informed them of the criminal charges laid against him.

indspeaker tried to get someone on the board of governors to speak to our concerns surrounding this matter. Before he heard our questions, MNC communications director Miles Morrisseau, said Audrey Poitras, the organization's acting president and spokesperson, was too busy to deal with the questions. After hearing the questions, he called back to say he had discussed them with Poitras and she had agreed to call us and provide comment. Though our deadline was made amply clear, she did not call.

As for Morin, legal sources say it's possible, even likely, that he could escape this situation without a conviction or criminal record even if he actually committed the acts with which he is charged-something that has not been and may not ever be proved.

One reason the press had such a hard time discovering the name of the alleged victim is that the Crown prosecutors and police try to keep the name of alleged victims secret in cases where spousal abuse is alleged. A lawyer with experience in this kind of law, who asked not to be identified, explained that that's because they know many women in that situation are reluctant to testify when the case gets to court many months later. By then, apologies have been made, promises to get help issued and pressure to not go forward with criminal action applied.

The lawyer also said the justice system feels tremendous pressure to convict a man charged with spousal abuse because of an effective campaign mounted by the feminist movement to draw attention to a phenomenon that used to be tolerated in less enlightened times.

It is a popular misconception that someone who calls the police and complains of being assaulted can later withdraw the charge. The Crown lays the charge and the Crown expects the complainant to repeat the allegations made at the time of the complaint when the matter gets to court. That has led to the Crown being forced to charge reluctant witnesses with obstruction of justice if they refuse to testify, meaning the lleged victim suffers legal consequences while the original accused does not.

Rather than allow this potentially unjust series of events to unfold, in cases where no serious injury or bodily harm was inflicted and the accused has no previous criminal record, deals are made where conditional convictions are entered and then expunged when an agreed upon treatment is completed by the alleged offender.