Pubdate: Wed, 21 Jun 2017
Source: Intelligencer, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017, The Belleville Intelligencer
Contact: http://www.intelligencer.ca/letters
Website: http://www.intelligencer.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2332
Author: Jason Miller
Page: A1

KAMERMANS QUESTIONS LEGITIMACY OF WARRANTS

A month after a failed bid to have his case dismissed, Dr. Rob
Kamermans has launched a challenge aimed at discrediting search
warrants executed on several locations including his Coe Hill
practise, which led to criminal charges for which he is to be placed
on trial in September.

"Those warrants should never have been issued, were overly broad and
failed to include provisions dealing with the reasonableness of the
search, and therefore with the evidence gathered, should be excluded,"
Dan Stein, Kamermans' Toronto lawyer, told The Intelligencer during
the hearings here last week.

Following nine days of court proceedings, Justice Brian Abrams is
expected to levy a ruling sometime this summer as to the legitimacy of
the search warrants executed on Kamermans' home and practise.

"He has two motions completed for him to decide," Stein said Tuesday.
"He has to render decisions on a number of search warrants and
production orders that we challenge."

Another point of contention for Stein are three of the charges related
to forging medical marijuana documents, which he has contested.

"There is a motion about whether or not the law supporting three of
the charges is too vague to reasonably support the criminal charge,"
he said. "That's three of the charges related to forgery for
out-of-province medical declarations signed by Dr. Kamermans."

There is a third motion item to be addressed in August, dealing with
whether or not statements extracted from Kamermans should be admitted.
Kamermans is trying to stave off convictions on a number of offences
including substance trafficking, fraud, forgery, proceeds of crime and
money laundering linked to medical marijuana.

The charges run across several provinces including New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia and Quebec.

Kamermans is also accused of defrauding OHIP.

"There is a (jury) trial scheduled to start on Sept. 11 and there is a
chance that the outcome of the motions will affect how many charges
are before the court," Stein said.

Last month, a Belleville judge ruled in favour of the prosecution
which submitted it was not to be blamed for the inordinate amount of
time the case is taking to reach trial. The Supreme Court has set 30
months as the top of the range for delays, unless the matter is complex.

Kamermans' certificate to practise medicine was revoked last summer by
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

It also ordered Kamermans to pay $28,098 within six months of the date
the order was finalized.

Kamermans refuted the punishment.

Stein said this case is unravelling at a time when the federal
government is aiming to decriminalize usage of the very drug for which
Kamermans is accused of mismanaging.

"When you say his case is the first of its kind, I would also say it's
probably going to be the last of its kind, because the rules related
to prescribing or authorizing medical marijuana have loosened
incredibly since Dr. Kamermans was a pioneer in extending his medical
assistance, so people could get the help they needed," Stein said. "A
lot of doctors were reticent and he was very compassionate.

"It's ironic that next year you might not need medicinal authorization
to get it."
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MAP posted-by: Matt