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Justice official not told of charge

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Kivalliq (May 17/04) - Former Nunavut Deputy Minister of Justice Nora Sanders was not notified that a charge had been laid against former house speaker and Arviat MLA Kevin O'Brien, said one of Nunavut's top police officers.

Criminal operations officer Insp. Doug Ready of Iqaluit's "V" Division said the Department of Justice was only notified that the RCMP were investigating O'Brien.

O'Brien was charged in January 2004 with a violation of the Liquor Act stemming from a July 2003 incident in Arviat while he was still house speaker.

Ready said it's customary for the RCMP to advise the Department of Justice of any investigation that might implicate somebody in the higher levels of government, especially in situations that might attract media attention.

"The basic idea is so people don't wake up in the morning and find it on the news," said Ready.

"But we have to be careful on the type of information we give, because we're responsible (for the investigation) and there's a certain level of independence there with respect to the operations of the police.

"We supply the information to those entitled to it and it's up to them to decide what to do with it."

Justice Minister Paul Okalik maintains he knew nothing of the O'Brien case until it was reported in the Kivalliq News in April.

Okalik accepted Sanders' resignation this past week over what his department described as the handling of information concerning the RCMP's investigation.

However, when asked if anyone within the Justice Department had been notified when O'Brien was charged with the offence, Ready answered, "No! No, there wasn't.

"In this specific situation, it took quite a long time to lay the charge and it wasn't a criminal offense."

When asked if it was feasible that no one within the Department of Justice was aware O'Brien had been charged until the editorial appeared in the Kivalliq News, Ready answered, "Yes, that's very feasible.

"That being said, when we lay charges, they're registered with the clerk of the court with the Department of Justice, so, it that sense, the information was there."

Okalik and Sanders have refused to comment.