WINNIPEG – Dave Sawatzky is going to have a busy fall.
Not only will the Gladstone, Man., farmer be taking off his corn crop and trucking grain, he’ll also be spending several weeks in a Winnipeg courtroom.
Last week provincial court judge Bruce Miller set aside five weeks from Nov. 14 to Dec. 15 for Sawatzky to stand trial on charges of illegally hauling grain across the U.S. border.
Sawatzky faces two charges under the Canada Customs Act, one involving wheat and one involving barley.
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He also faces charges of failing to appear in court and breaching bail conditions.
The judge also ordered Sawatzky to appear for a May 3 hearing to determine whether he will be presenting any challenges to the crown’s case based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the constitution.
Constitutional challenge?
Sawatzky, who appeared without a lawyer, had earlier told the court he was not yet in a position to confirm or deny that he would raise a charter challenge.
That prompted crown prosecutor Clyde Bond to tell the judge he was concerned that Sawatzky might bring up a constitutional challenge without giving proper notice in an attempt to “ambush” the crown’s case.
Outside the courtroom Sawatzky said he has no intention of springing an ambush on the crown and simply has not yet decided whether to raise charter issues in his defence.
During the court proceedings, Sawatzky refused to agree to participate in a pre-trial hearing, a standard procedure in which the two sides get together with a judge to go over evidence in an attempt to speed up the process. Sawatzky said he would not introduce any evidence prior to the trial since he is not guilty.
The crown has already provided Sawatzky with some 12,000 pages of evidence it intends to present.
Bond had asked the court for four weeks to present his case. Sawatzky said he would need two to three weeks, adding he has a list of 61 potential witnesses.
Similar charges laid
Two other Manitoba farmers facing similar charges appeared in court in Brandon last week. Andy McMechan and Bill Cairns are scheduled to appear again May 10.
