City drops Fredericton blogger’s bylaw charge!!!!

Here is the text to the Irving story..not bad... ;) City drops Fredericton blogger’s bylaw charge One of controversial Fredericton blogger Charles LeBlanc’s court battles is at an end, with the city’s withdrawal Wednesday of a bylaw infraction against him.

LeBlanc, 56, of 1-145 Westmorland St., had been accused of violating a city bylaw by riding his bicycle on a sidewalk July 30, and the matter was back in provincial court Wednesday at the city’s request.

City solicit Chantal Gauthier said the city had decided to withdraw the charge “due to circumstances beyond the city’s control.”

She didn’t elaborate on what those circumstances were.

Judge Mary Jane Richards granted the motion and told LeBlanc, who didn’t address the court, that he was free to go.

Outside the Justice Building on Wednesday, the blogger and anti-poverty activist told reporters while he was pleased the matter was at an end, he also wished he’d gotten his day in court.

LeBlanc said with the help of “a special friend” whom he declined to identify, he planned to mount a constitutional challenge to the city bylaw, arguing it violated Charter rights and wasn’t properly enacted under provincial legislation.

He also contended he was unfairly targeted by the city police, given his tumultuous history with police officers in Fredericton.

The main catalyst for the antagonistic relationship, LeBlanc said, was his decision to record a violent arrest in downtown Fredericton a few years ago.

That video was ultimately used as evidence in the trial of a Fredericton police officer who was charged with assault as a result, and that officer was acquitted.

LeBlanc also told reporters bylaws about cycling in Fredericton are discriminatory against the poor, as they tend to rely on bicycles as a mode of transport.

Alycia Bartlett, spokeswoman for the City of Fredericton’s public safety department, referred questions about the case and LeBlanc’s allegations to Gauthier in the city’s legal department.

The Daily Gleaner tried to contact Gauthier for comment, but city communications manager Wayne Knorr responded.

“For personal reasons, some witnesses were not going to be available for the trial date on April 11 and were not expected to be available anytime in the near term,” he wrote in an email Thursday. “As a result the case was withdrawn.”

When asked about LeBlanc’s allegations against the city police force, Knorr responded, “As for Mr. LeBlanc’s accusations, that would be his personal opinion.”

Also troubling about the bylaw case, LeBlanc said, was the fact it arose from a third-party complaint and that he was ticketed almost two months after the incident and that the police never asked him about his side of the story.

“They do not investigate,” LeBlanc said of the Fredericton Police Force. “They go by third-party complaint.”

The bylaw ticket was for a $50 fine, he said.

LeBlanc contended the police don’t enforce the cycling bylaws uniformly, giving some a pass for infractions while others, such as himself, get targeted.

“Enforce the law against everybody, not just me,” he said.

The blogger said he’s not above the law and would have no problem if the police pursued him for a real offence.

LeBlanc has a trial on a summary assault charge coming up in May, and he feels that’s another instance of the city police treating him unfairly and pursuing a bogus complaint.

“If you think this was bad, wait ‘til you see the assault charge coming out in May,” he told reporters. LeBlanc has maintained the Fredericton Police Force holds a grudge against him and that’s one of the reasons he’s been charged with a summary count of assault, alleging an incident involving Andrew Spencer on July 3, 2014.