By Canadian Press

Sailor’s court martial on sex charge delayed after defence lawyer withdraws

Sep 26, 2017 | 11:00 AM

HALIFAX — A court martial for a member of the Royal Canadian Navy accused of sexual assault and ill treatment of a subordinate has been delayed because his lawyer withdrew from the case due to “irreconcilable differences.”

Master seaman Daniel Cooper, a naval communicator at Canadian Forces Base Halifax, briefly appeared before military judge Col. Mario Dutil on Tuesday in Halifax.

After a delay of several hours as lawyers met behind closed doors, Cooper’s lawyer, Maj. Alexandre Gelinas-Proulx, told Dutil he was applying to withdraw due to “irreconcilable differences.”

Dutil agreed to the request, and told Cooper to retain another lawyer as quickly as possible.

“This can happen. It’s part of the process,” Dutil told the uniformed officer.

International Spotlight

P.A.'s Howe one of 4 Sask. born players named to Canada's World Junior roster

24m ago

National

Ottawa to remove 30% investment cap for Canadian pension funds

4h ago

Budget woes

Golf and curling centre faces grim season without financial boost

7h ago

“Obviously your trial will not take place this week, and it will not take place next week… We’ll need to get back in court in order to lay out a proper plan for how to proceed.”

As Dutil spoke, Cooper stood up multiple times and responded: “Yes, your honour.”

He was told to return to court on Thursday for a status update on obtaining a new lawyer, and Dutil urged him to have new counsel by then.

Gelinas-Proulx agreed to liaise with the new defence lawyer to allow for a smooth transition.

Prosecutor Maj. Dominic Martin said outside of court that “there is nothing to be taken” from the delay.

“It happens from time to time and when it happens we just deal with it. The process is designed to make sure that the rights of the accused are respected and that it remains fair but also expedient,” said Martin.

“We’re all concerned with making sure things do not drag on unnecessarily.”

The charges against Cooper stem from an alleged incident in November 2015.

Military police said at the time the complainant was also a member of the Forces, and both men were participating in a training exercise on board the navy’s last remaining destroyer, HMCS Athabaskan, off the coast of Spain.

The Canadian Forces have been attempting to clamp down on sexual misconduct in the ranks since l’Actualite and Maclean’s magazines reported in April 2014 that a large number of military sexual assaults were being ignored or played down.

Retired Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps led an independent investigation into the issue and her 2015 report described an “underlying sexual culture” in the military that left victims to fend for themselves.

Aly Thomson, The Canadian Press