Former MP defends behaviour with dementia patient in tense cross-examination
CBC
During a tense 50-minute cross examination, Edmundston lawyer Bernard Valcourt clashed frequently with the prosecutor about his behaviour the day he was arrested by police in a local nursing home.
Valcourt insisted that an elderly resident of the Villa des Jardins wanted to hire him as a lawyer and police had no right to interfere with that.
"I'm the honourable Bernard Valcourt, and I respect the law," he said, referring to the title he retains as a former federal cabinet minister.
"I'm a member of His Majesty's Privy Council.… I'm not the kind of person who ignores the police and who doesn't follow the rules. That's not Bernard Valcourt."
Valcourt is accused of violating Section 129 of the Criminal Code on Oct. 4, 2022, when, according to the charges, he "voluntarily obstructed" two Edmundston city police officers and "resisted" them as they were trying to do their work.
On Wednesday, the trial was told staff were concerned that he was meeting alone with Colette Cloutier, a resident diagnosed with dementia, whose son Charles had power of attorney over her affairs.
According to staff testimony, there was a disagreement in the Cloutier family over her diagnosis and her money. Another son, Philippe, had contacted Valcourt and said his mother wanted to hire him to look at the power-of-attorney arrangement.
Nursing home director Diane Bouchard testified that when Valcourt insisted on staying, she called Charles to put him on speaker phone with his mother.
She said Valcourt cut off the call but he denied that, testifying he tossed the phone aside to protect lawyer-client confidentiality but did not hang up the call.
"She works there but she doesn't have the power to prevent a resident who has a right under the Charter of Rights to consult a lawyer," he said.
When Valcourt refused Bouchard's request that he leave Cloutier's room, she called police.
Their arrival led to a noisy, physical confrontation, which ended when the two city police officers handcuffed Valcourt and led him out of the facility.
Prosecutor Annie-Claude Breton repeatedly pressed Valcourt on how calm he had been when the police arrived and whether he told them he was refusing to leave.
"I'm calm when it's the time to be calm," Valcourt said.
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