Firstly I wish to express my condolences to Mr Cadieux and his family.
Having read the various articles regarding the sentencing of the driver I am compelled to make the following comments.
1. I am not commenting on the sentence that was handed out. I do not know if this was a plea, I do not know what evidence and facts this was based on.
2. I do take exception to the comment that it was not a lawyer, only a paralegal who appeared for the Crown.
I am acquainted with this paralegal and find her to very competent.
Secondly across the province most Provincial Prosecutors are paralegals. The reason is that Paralegals deal with POA matters daily and as such have the experience and competence to uphold the administration of the law. I do not know if the Crown’s Office had negotiated a plea? I do not know if the Crown Attorney approved the plea?
There are numerous facts I do not know nor am I entitled to know.
At the end of the day I am writing because the statement about the paralegal is unfounded and if there are issues with how this was handled it needs to be addressed by the Crown’s Office.
All paralegals in Ontario are licensed by The Law Society of Ontario. We abide by the same rules and educational requirements of lawyers.
Paralegals provide a much needed access to Justice to the public as paralegals tend to be specialized at a very high level competency and professionalism.
Yours sincerely,
James Moak www.Cornwallparalegal – 613 937 0347