The record, 26 août 1998, mercredi 26 août 1998

Ayer's Cliff Fair Ayer's Cliff Fair August 27-28-29-30,1998 RECORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Thought of the Day Happiness sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.— Mother’s Treasures 60 CENTS Wednesday, August 26, 1998 Popular Mag;og mayor to retire MARTY PATR1QUIN .mmm.’’ Magog mayor Denis Laçasse with wife Monique.By Marty Patriquin After 16 years in office, Magog mayor Denis Laçasse is calling it quits.Laçasse announced his resignation yesterday morning, accompanied by his wife.“This is a very hard decision for us to make,” Laçasse said.“We wanted to do it together.” The mayor will remain at his post until Nov.1, when elections are to be held.He is not quitting his post, Laçasse explains.He is simply not renewing it.“No one is irreplaceable,” he said of his tenure.Many residents may disagree.Laçasse is credited with bringing down Magog’s debt from over $20 million to $16.8 million in five years.The economic community flourished, and became known across Canada as a top notch tourist attraction, a result Laçasse attributes to his excellent working relationship with Magog’s city coun- cillors.“I was spoiled by the management,” Laçasse said.His decision to leave, he says, came when he and his wife were biking last week.“Out of the blue, I asked her if she thought I should leave politics,” Laçasse said.“She was very happy.” Luckily, Laçasse joked, the decision didn’t cause any accidents.While he says the job was at times hard and painful, Laçasse said his time as mayor was very rewarding.One of his greatest achievements.Laçasse said, was the $450,000 grant he secured from the Liberals for the Magog Library.Asked what he will miss most, Laçasse chuckles.“Nothing!” he said.The mayor says he will de vote more time to his four children and eight grandchildren.He also plans to seek out the “winter sun” in Florida, where he owns a property, but will keep his Magog residence Demonstrators light up night By Rita Legault St-Claude There were bizarre happenings in a corn field just outside St-Claude on Monday night.Under dark overcast skies crackling with thunder and blazing with lightning, a loud buzzing could be heard and dozens of glowing bars of light appeared under the 735 kilovolt hydro line which crosses St-Claude on its way from the Des Cantons substation outside Windsor to Nicolet, north of Quebec City.But the weird events were not a Twilight Zone/Outer Limits supernatural phenomenon.They were natural occurrences caused by the presence of high voltage hydroelectric power lines which tower over local farmland.The strange staccato noises were caused by humidity from a fast-approaching thunderstorm.It increased in intensity as raindrops began hitting the high tension wires.The eerie lights were dozens of fluorescent bulbs held by about a hundred protesters from the Val St.François valley who don’t want a 735 kv line in their backyards.Because of the electromagnetic fields under the high voltage wires, the sensitive gas in fluorescent light bulbs illuminates without being plugged in.“If they will do that to a light bulb, what will they do to humans?” asked protester Marilyn Thompson and dozens of others.“No matter what Hydro-Québec says, a 735 kv line is not a small harmless structure,” charged Citoyen du Val St.François president Monique Fournier.At a public meeting after- PERRY BEATON/CORRESPONDENT It took one and a half seconds to expose fast film (ISO 1600) to get this picture of Gaston Momeau.His face is illuminated by aflourescent tube as he and a group of demonstrators stood under the 735kv.power line near St.Claude on Monday evening.The glow in the background is from the lights at Hydro- Québec’s Des Cantons substation.wards in the local community mony from a couple of people hall, Fournier said Monday’s demonstration was designed to raise questions about the effects and safety of high voltage wires.The meeting included testi- who had witnessed bizarre phenomena under hydro lines.The first was Shipton Township horse farmer Robert Mayette who dis-See light, page 3 THE SCOW EN FOUNDATION Presents: ROYAL BANK @8 FINANCIAL GROUP Summer Theatre 33 rd season que becs iongest running English theatre: • north hatley (Quebec)¦29 Sponsored by T&e Loïigstmli Liiie A romantic comedy by George Rideout Emily LeBaron Art Gallery The Posh Pig Restaurant page 2 Wednesday, August 26, 1998 ¦ im—THE—» ' Record Grand juries enjoy sweeping powers Role of grand juries a mystery to Canadians Anyone following Independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s investigation probably knows a lot more about Monica Lewinsky then about the grand jury system in the U.S.This shouldn’t be too surprising since we have no similar procedure in Canada.Even many Americans areunfamiliar with the process if only because it is hidden from thepublic eye.Thanks to the U.S.Constitution grand juries are compulsory when it comes to charging citizens with federal crimes that are felonies.This is not the case in each state where their criminal code is distinct and their use of the grand jury is discretionary.To bring charges state prosecutors can choose between convincing either a judge or a grand jury that they have prob- able cause.Conduct closed HEARINGS South of the border, federal and state prosecutors also use grand juries to investigate crimes and community conditions.As an investigative tool a grand jury can be very effective because of its sweeping powers, much like many of our federal and provincial commissions of inquiry when they conduct closed hearings.While a grand jury can investigate and then bring charges, our commissions of inquiry have no authority to determine criminal liability.They can, however, make general recommendations and hand over the evidence to the prosecutor’s office in the event they suspect or discover criminal conduct.HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH Even though in the U.S., grand juries secure evidence and charge criminals, in practice the final outcome really depends, much like in Canada, on the ob- jectives and decisions of the prosecutors.Nevertheless when it comes to public criticism the situation is quite different.In the U.S., prosecutors are often seen as having too much influence on grand juries while in Canada the police are sometimes believed to have too much influence on __________ prosecutors.In the U.S., prospective jurors are summoned by the courts and between 16 to 23 citizens are randomly chosen for each grand jury from voter registration or driver license lists.Their assignment lasts anywhere between 18 months and two years and because of their length many retired citizens are favorite choices.Like ordinary trial jurors who come from all sections of the community, grand jurors are expected to be impartial and to rely on their individual experience and knowledge.Henry Keyserlingk The room, which is off limits to the public, can just as well pass off as a large conference room.No judge is present and in most cases the same is true for police investigators.The rules of evidence don’t apply and hearsay evidence is admissible.OFF LIMITS TO PUBLIC The prosecutor presents the grand jury with a bill of indictment against the targeted individual together with the evidence of the alleged crime.The room, which is off limits to the public, can just as well pass off as a large conference room.No judge is present and in most cases the same is true for police investigators.The rules of evidence don’t apply and hearsay evidence is admissible.Witnesses, who rarely include the targets of the investigation, appear without their attorneys but can leave the room to seek legal advice.They can refuse to answer questions on the grounds that their answers may incriminate them but if they are granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony they can be jailed by a judge if they subsequently refuse to testify.If a witnesses lies during his testimony he can be charged with perjury.If a grand jury concludes that the evidence is sufficient to justify the trial of the suspect it returns the indictment with the words “True Bill" or conversely “No Bill .” ADVISE AND ASSIST While the duty of the prosecutors is to advise and assist the grand jury, in practice their influence can be far-reaching.During the early part of the 20th century grand juries were known to act on their own initiative while ignoring the recommendations of the prosecutors Today, federal grand jurors can no longer return charges in the form of an indictment without a prosecutor’s consent.Grand juries are considered by some members of the legal profession as being almost entirely under the control of the prosecutors and little more than a rubber stamp although, occasionally, they are known to show a lot of initiative during investigations.Some indiscreet prosecutors are reported to have gone as far as claiming that they can indict anybody at any time for almost anything before practically any grand jury.With full-time professional prosecutors who are able to conduct independent and impartial evaluations of the evidence many wonder why grand juries are still necessary in cases where the evidence has already been obtained by the investigators.From police to prosecutor Prosecutors in this province decide who shall be prosecuted and their decisions to proceed by summons or arrest warrant are always confirmed by justices of the peace.Since the late 60s, following the enactment of our provincial Crown Attorney’s Act, the responsibility to initiate the charging process was transferred from the police to the prosecutors.The objective of the law was to avoid criminal prosecutions based on an individual police officer’s discretion or law enforcement policy.Now, every investigation report is first evaluated by a crown attorney who then decides what charges, if any, are justified according to the evidence and whether a summons or warrant should be issued.The appropriate charges are prepared in the Crown Attorney’s office following which the police officers, who are designated as informants, proceed before a justice of the peace and swear under oath as to the truthfulness of the contents.When it comes to the charging process, our crown attorneys and grand juries in the U.S.have an important role in common.They are both expected to act as a protective wall between citizens and police by preventing frivolous and abusive prosecutions.Not for Canadians Grand jurors and crown attorneys have also faced the same type of criticism namely that they haven’t always displayed the type of independence which is inherent to their legal duties.In Quebec, during the 60s and early 70s a succession of Justice ministers pushed to eliminate the traditional practice of political patronage when it came to appointing crown attorneys.Permanency was proclaimed as the only way to protect prosecutors from any outside influence and to assure their independence.Even though grand juries in the U.S.can be very effective in fighting crime, with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our Civil Rights movement and cultures, it is doubtful we will ever adopt the same system.Henry Keyserlingk is a retired crown attorney.He can be e-mailed at henryk@virtuel.qc.ca Today’s Weather * > Thetkwo.J.,/ Mines • -