Media outlets await court decision for Coutts warrant details

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on May 5, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

After trying for nearly two months to receive information used by RCMP to obtain search warrants in relation to weapons and ammunition seized during the Coutts border protest and blockade, five national media outlets are still waiting.
The news media - CBC, CTV News, Global News, Postmedia and The Globe and Mail – want a judge to unseal the documents used by the RCMP to obtain the warrants, and are waiting to schedule a hearing for a judge to address their application.
The search warrant information the media outlets are seeking is specifically related to four individuals who were arrested during the trucker protest in January and February and who remain in remand custody. Anthony Olienick, 39, Jerry Mitchell Morin, 40, Chris Carbert, 44, and Christopher Lysak, 48, are each charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
The matter was back in Lethbridge provincial court Wednesday, ostensibly to set a date when a judge would hear the application by the news media. However, lawyer Matthew Woodley, who represents the media, explained the court co-ordinator was still trying to arrange a date.
In addition to lawyers representing the four men charged with conspiracy to commit murder, lawyers for nine other individuals, Ursula Allred, 22, Johnson Chichow Law, 39, Justin Martin, 22, Eastin Stewart Oler, 22, Joanne Person, 62, Janx Zaremba, 18, Luke Berk, 62, Jaclyne Martin, 39, and Evan Colenutt, 23, are also interested in being involved in the application to obtain the information. The nine accused, who were previously released on bail, are charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Lysak, Olienick, Morin and Carbert are also charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief to property, and Lysak faces an additional charge of uttering threats.
Police reported that a small group within the protest was prepared to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade. During the early-morning raid Feb. 14, police uncovered 13 long guns, as well as handguns, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and body armour. Two additional weapons were seized later in the day.
The matter has been adjourned until next week to allow more time for the court co-ordinator to arrange a date for a judge to hear the lawyers’ application.

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