The Crown having yet to decide if it will proceed with a case against him, Woolwich Coun. Scott Hahn will be back in court Sept. 26.
Hahn’s lawyer appeared in Kitchener Provincial Court Wednesday morning, but the proceedings were quickly adjourned after Crown attorney Alexander Andres revealed to Judge Adriana Magoulas that he required more paperwork and was still missing vital information that would determine if prosecution is warranted.
“The Crown is not taking a position right now, and we are not indicating if the Crown will or will not go ahead with the charges,” he said.
The charges were brought by Elmira citizen Alan Marshall, who alleges Hahn “contravened multiple provisions of the Municipal Elections Act” in his expense filing following the 2014 municipal election.
Hahn’s expenses were the subject last year of hearings by the Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC). While the review found the councillor’s expense report had failed to comply with the act, committee members determined Hahn’s contraventions weren’t significant enough to warrant referring the case to the courts for legal action. Instead, the majority of members agreed the councillor hadn’t been hiding anything, but that he had been ignorant of the rules, guilty of nothing more than poor paperwork after the election.
That decision did not satisfy Marshall, who pursued similar action through the courts against Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz, who’s election expense report was also the subject of MECAC hearings.
Marshall was present at Wednesday morning’s court appearance. After the adjournment, he said he hopes Crown prosecutors see the case the way he does.
“I am hoping that after the Crown, Mr. Andres, after he reads the forensic audit paid for by Woolwich Township, I am hoping he is going to say ‘holy ****’. I am hoping that he is going to advise the court that yes, the Crown will be proceeding on these matters. We have expert evidence that there have been significant contraventions of the MEA (elections act),” he said
Hahn will be back on the docket at Kitchener Provincial Court on Sept. 26 at 9 a.m. after the Crown has a chance to review the evidence and take a position.
