A decision on the date for a bail hearing for the Kingston, Ont., youth charged with terrorism-related offences was pushed back for the fourth week in a row, but according to the youth’s new defence lawyer, a date may be set within the coming weeks.
The youth, who appeared in a Kingston court on Tuesday, is charged with knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and with counselling someone to use an explosive or other lethal device to cause death or serious bodily injury.
This came after two RCMP raids on Jan. 24 in the city, and weeks of air surveillance preparing for the youth’s arrest.
As of last week, the youth’s representation changed from former defence counsel Douglas Caldwell, to his new counsel, Sean Ellacott and Simon Borys, who run two private firms in the city.
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Borys, a police officer turned criminal lawyer, told Global News that he and Ellacott have teamed up on larger cases before. It is still unclear why Caldwell left the case.
Borys said the extended period of time the defence is taking before they set a bail hearing is to allow for thorough studying of the evidence provided to them by the Crown. He also said the Crown was being very forthcoming and very professional with their disclosure.
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For their part, the federal Crown attorneys, Luc Boucher and Pierre Lapointe, have already indicated they will not support releasing the suspect on bail and have been prepared to set a date for the hearing for weeks.
Borys said he and Ellacott are aiming to have the youth released on bail, and noted that generally, Canadian courts try not to deny bail for young offenders.
Borys says that at this point, he and Ellacott are still working out suitable sureties for the youth should he get bail, along with other details of their bail plan.
Boucher had already noted that the Crown will need a full day for their arguments, something Borys mirrored for the defence, which means when the date is set, the bail hearing could take at least two days.
Despite the complexity of the case and the change in representation, Borys says he and Ellacott are aiming to have a date for a bail hearing pinned down within the next couple of weeks.
Until then, the case was adjourned to Feb. 26, when the youth will appear again via video in the Kingston Criminal Court.
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