Former attorney general was acting in public interest when ordering review of Nygard case, Crown argues
A former Manitoba attorney general was acting in the public interest and out of concern for victims of sexual assault when he asked for a review of a decision not to charge a former fashion fashion mogul following complaints of sexual assault, the Crown argued in court on Monday.
Charles Murray, a Crown attorney, told Provincial Court Judge Mary Kate Harvie that Kelvin Goertzen's request for a second opinion in the Peter Nygard case may have been unusual but it is one within the power of the office of the attorney general.
"A case like this, one that's high profile, it's important to get it right," Murray told court. "That's what the attorney general was trying to do because it was already on public display. It had an impact on the public consciousness and the perception of the justice system. It was one of those important cases from an accountability perspective."
Nygard's lawyer, Gerri Wiebe, has argued her client's Winnipeg charges should be stayed because there was an abuse of process when Goertzen intervened.
She said the decision was "unprecedented," resulting from political pressure and media attention and that the attorney general treated Nygard differently than other people the Crown has decided not to pursue charges against following complaints of sexual assault.
"It's a violation of the rule of law on its face to treat one person differently than you treat everyone else simply because their case is high profile," Wiebe told court Monday. "And that's the piece that's missing from my learned friend's submissions is why Peter Nygard?
"There's no denying that every day Crown opinions are given in sexual assault cases that there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction. The only difference here is that one is in the media and one is not."
Nygard was first arrested in Winnipeg in December 2020 under the Extradition Act, after he was charged with nine counts in New York, including sex trafficking and racketeering.
At the time, the Winnipeg Police Service had been investigating Nygard for months. The files of eight women who alleged they'd been assaulted by Nygard were sent to Manitoba's Justice Ministry for review in December 2020, but Manitoba prosecutors decided in 2021 not to lay charges.
In 2022, while he was attorney general and justice minister in the previous Progressive Conservative government, Goertzen asked Saskatchewan prosecutors to review the decision by the Manitoba Prosecution Service not to charge Nygard.
The review resulted in Nygard being charged in 2023 with sexual assault and unlawful confinement in Winnipeg, in connection with offences allegedly committed in November 1993 involving a then 20-year-old woman.
Wiebe has argued there's no Crown policy for the attorney general to review a decision not to charge but Murray told court the lack of a policy doesn't mean Goertzen's conduct was egregious.
He also argued there's no evidence of political gain for the government of the day and that the attorney general was "honouring and representing the community's sense of justice."
"He hears the public on this, he hears the house," Murray argued. "And he says this is what I'm doing."
"That doesn't make it purely partisan. Why is that only good for the PC party and not good for the public because that's the legal test."
Victim will 'get their day in court,' Crown argues
Murray told the court even if the judge does agree there was something wrong with the process, there should not be a stay of proceedings.
"In this case what's happened for Mr. Nygard is he's become subject to a process where he is presumed innocent, he's going to be fairly tried. He has all of the Charter protections that are on offer," Murray argued.
"It's simply a decision where he does have to answer to charges and that the victim is going to get their day in court."
Goertzen said in a statement on Friday he stands by the decision.
Judge Harvie reserved a decision on the matter.
No date has been set.
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