Ministry of the Attorney General
Crown Attorney
Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton
Court House
Suite 3045
161 Elgin Street
Ottawa, ON
K2P 2K1

Tel: 1.613.239.1200
Fax: 1.613.239.1214

November 8, 2002

Mr. Thomas Kennedy
P.O. Box 9333
Ottawa, Ontario
K1G 3V1

Dear Mr. Kennedy:

RE: Privately Laid Informations Against Richard Warman

I am writing in regards to three privately laid Informations alleging charges of defamatory libel and extortion against Richard WARMAN. You are one of two complaintants and an informant in these charges. The alleged offences are indictable offenses and as such is is the duty of the Crown Attorney's Office to intervene in this matter.

The Crown Attorney's office takes all allegations of criminal misconduct very seriously. In considering whether or not to prosecute a given allegation, however, the Crown Attorney's office must take into consideration many factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, whether or not there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and whether or not it is in the public's interest to prosecute the matter. After reviewing this matter I have come to the conclusion that he Crown Attorney's office will not prosecute these charges.

Reasonable Prospect of Conviction

In order for a conviction to be established the Crown Attorney's office must establish every element of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt. With respect to the allegations of defamatory libel, the Crown would be unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Warman subjectively knew these claims to be false. Indeed, the information provided to our office suggests that Mr. Warman had reasonable grounds to believe the claims were true. Furthermore, the Crown would not be able to prove that Mr. Warman intended to defame you or Mr. Lindsay. Accordingly, the Crown Attorney's office cannot continue with this prosecution and these charges will be withdrawn.

With respect to the allegations of extortion, the Crown would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Warman's comments induced Rev. Watson to cancel the meeting. Moreover, there is no reasonable prospect that the Crown could establish that Mr. Warman had no justification. Accordingly, this charge will also be withdrawn.

Public Interest

Furthermore, even if there were a reasonable prospect of conviction in this matter, it would not be in the public's interest to pursue a criminal prosecution of this matter. Several circumstances support this conclusion, not the least of which, is that these allegations are based on a personal letter written from Mr. Warman to a Rev. Watson. The letter was not published at large and was not threatening.

Taking into account all of these considerations I have concluded that these charges must be withdrawn. Accordingly, at the next appearance date, November 18th, 2002 in Courtroom No. 5, these charges will be withdrawn.

Yours truly

Hilary McCormack
Crown Attorney

HM/ltb