Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus says he wants police to take complaints of harassment and threatening behaviour seriously after charges against a man accused of making death threats against him and his staff were dropped due to lost evidence.
The New Democrat said he was subpoenaed to testify at the trial, which opened last week in Kirkland Lake, Ont., but received a call to cancel his appearance.
According to court records obtained by CBC, prosecutors told Judge Joseph Gilbert Raoul Maille that evidence had been lost.
“There are missing statements, there are some voicemails that are the subject of the indictment, I believe there are some missing police records,” the prosecutor said. “Normally, as I said, I would ask for an adjournment, but in this case, I don’t think some of the evidence is going to be found, so it’s not going to go away.”
The prosecutor, who is not named in the recording, said he could not fully explain why there was a lack of evidence and, out of fairness to the defendant, he would withhold the charges and not move forward.
The prosecution also said the accused had complied with a maintenance of peace order since being charged.
CBC is not publishing the names of the defendants because they have not been given an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges, which were filed about 19 months ago.
The judge, recorded, did not comment on the matter.
OPP acknowledges decision to withhold charges
Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Sergeant Rob Simpson said in a statement that the Ontario Provincial Police is aware of the prosecutor’s decision to withhold charges.
Simpson also said he was not in a position to comment on specific details and that the OPP was still reviewing the circumstances that led to the charges being withheld.
Angus said he was surprised by the turn of events.
I plead with police to take these matters seriously and recognise that this is not only a threat to individuals, but a threat to our democratic system of government.– NDP MP Charlie Angus, Timmins-James Bay
“So I was really surprised when I heard the case was dismissed because evidence was lost,” he told CBC this week. “But I’m really concerned that these cases need to be treated seriously because we’re seeing threats of violence escalate and we’re seeing someone get hurt.”
This is not the first time Angus has sought relief from the courts over similar complaints.
He said he was charged in an unrelated case in 2021, which resulted in a restraining order being issued.
This latest revelation comes after the House of Representatives’ chief of security said the number of instances of lawmakers being harassed in public has increased by nearly 800 percent over the past five years.
Patrick McDonnell, the Capitol Police chief and head of corporate security, told a committee of lawmakers investigating the House of Representatives’ harassment policies that the spike was due to incidents “primarily online, but also in-person and at events.”
Angus said he has a good relationship with police and is not aware of what happened in the case regarding the missing evidence.
“I urge police to take these matters seriously and recognise that this is not just a threat to individuals, but a threat to our democratic system of government. We must treat this with the level of seriousness it deserves.”
Angus said that while he continues to deal with the threats and harassment, they are not the reason for his decision to leave politics after 20 years as the Timmins MP and that he will continue to serve his constituents until the next election.