Cornwall Ontario – When you work full time in the media and do investigative journalism you see the best of people, but far more often you see the very worst; the scariest even. You shake your head and hope you don’t end up with PTSD or addiction issues because frankly; like in law enforcement, or working for child protection services, or even workers in the justice system themselves, seeing these kinds of incidents as often as we do does have an impact.
I always marvel at how health professionals seem to not react to guts and gore the way most of us civilians do.
This morning I was given paperwork that just had me stunned.
The first thing that came to mind was that if I had uttered the words allegedly said, and supported by reliable witness testimony, I’d be arrested on the spot, especially if Sgt Brian Snyder of the CCPS was within charging distance. (Former Cornwall Mayor Kilger’s former brother in law)
Terms like:
You better watch yourself.
I’ll get you!
I’d like to blow up your house.
..would land yours truly in jail because locally our justice system isn’t fair. I’ve delivered complaints, at the advice of my legal reps, to local police, and one case of blatant copyright infringement to the RCMP; over a dozen in fact, without a single charge being made. All of these complaints were very simple and supported heavily by proof and evidence.
As a matter of fact the last one I made to the CCPS saw a constable Patrick Depratto attempt to draw me into a confrontation as I had to sit through abuse to myself and CFN. He also refused to file a charge in response to my complaint. Apparently some think repeatedly calling this newspaper a blog upsets me when it just points out how intellectually insufficient some of these people are.
I’ve also been arrested for a clearly false claim with no hard evidence other than a spoofed phone (my phone or phone records were not reviewed prior to threatening phone call charges) and then kept under conditions for nearly a year by two Crowns after a production order showed I never made a single call as per the disclosure.
Yet the person that repeated those words in red above, in a courthouse no less, with multiple witnesses, was given a free pass by Sgt Snyder just as he laughed and told me to take my complaint after being struck on camera to a Justice of the Peace.
While Sgt Snyder isn’t in the video; he was at the scene and seemed quite entertained by the event including laughing about it. Our local JP and crown, reviewing the video in court refused to issue a charge even though the event and admission were on camera. Mr. Bowering made restitution after being taken to small claims court subsequently, a process that saw a net financial loss which is not justice. CFN has won all of our court cases, but the running gag is that the Judges refuse to grant me remotely fair awards or costs, with one exception in several cases that a corrupt judge taxed back in full, in my conflict of interest application against our mayor, as the firm that lost the cost award case was one he had been a partner in before becoming a judge. (the judge never disclosed his relationship to the firm prior to the hearing, and had been parachuted in after the first judge recused themselves for the very same conflict that the mayor and two councilors were accused of)
This begs the question of how many other people has Sgt Snyder given free passes and why? (Sgt Snyder is the 7th highest paid member of the CCPS) as there have been many high profile cases punted, such as the investigation to Mayor Kilger’s alleged sexual assault of a former St. Hubert Chicken worker while he was managing the restaurant many years ago. (guess who was involved in that investigation….)
In the meanwhile the party that allegedly uttered those phrases above has not only never been truly held accountable for their actions, but in fact has since been “promoted” in their field.
And they wonder why Cornwall isn’t attracting more investment and good quality people?
If we don’t hold law enforcement and justice officials accountable, all the way up to judges, how can we expect anyone to respect the laws of our land? Simple question; not so simple answer. Our police should not be thugs for corrupt politicians. They are there to serve and protect all of us and uphold the laws of the land. This clearly hasn’t been the case locally; at least from my own personal experiences, and from the multitude of files in my archives(close to 20,000 records and counting since 2009)
And how can we in the media do our jobs and expose many of these instances if the public allows the media to be persecuted for simply telling the truth? Truths that impact all of our lives?
It’s like healthcare; nobody really seems to care until they’re a victim of the system.
What do you think dear CFN viewers? You can post your comments below.
Jamie I knew about Cornwalls abuse since I was a child and I wanted out of that town by hook or by crook and I got out. Cornwall has always been backward and lost all of its population to people leaving and to the graveyard. I would not go back down to Cornwall ever again to live. We learned the hard way and no there is no justice only injustice.
Excellent article. It says lots when this happens, whether it be here or anywhere else.