February 6, 2008
Deputy Mayor of Haldimand / Council member Buck Sloat made his first appearance in a Cayuga court this morning to answer to the assault charge laid I laid against him stemming from an August 2007 incident.
Accompanied by Councilor Craig Grice and a Haldimand County lawyer, Sloat appeared before a Justice of the Peace who remanded the matter until March 5 at 9am.
I was cautioned last month by a Justice that I should attend every hearing Mr. Sloat has to avoid any chance of the case being thrown out due to a lack of prosecution, and will be in attendance each time ready to assume the role of prosecutor should the crown opt not to try this case.
The significance of today is the fact that despite the objection of the previous crown, no effort was made to stay the charges and it looks as though this matter will proceed through the system. There have been a number of questions and comments regarding my motive for doing this since the story broke, and although I am not going to editorialize this story, I will clarify for those who don’t understand.
I do not know Mr. Sloat personally, and I have proceeded with this based solely on the belief that if an incident had taken place in which I had assaulted an elected official, the OPP would have charged me for it instead of claiming that the testimony of two people, and an audio recording of the incident is not enough evidence to lay a charge.
I neither expect nor request anything more then for a Judge to hear this case and make a ruling based on the evidence. The Criminal Code of Canada was not written to exclude public officials, and they should be held as accountable for their actions as you or I would be.
Jeff Parkinson Caledonia Wakeup Call Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality Jeff@CaledoniaWakeupCall.com
