An anonymous complaint against Manitoba Provincial Court Chief Judge Margaret Wiebe for taking part in discussions with government on a proposal to end preliminary inquiries has been rejected.Wesley VanDinter/Getty Images
An anonymous complaint against Manitoba Provincial Court Chief Judge Margaret Wiebe for taking part in discussions with government on a proposal to end preliminary inquiries has been rejected.
Chief Judge Wiebe, along with the province's Court of Queen's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal and Court of Appeal Chief Justice Richard Chartier, had worked with the province's Attorney-General, Heather Stefanson, to develop a four-year experimental plan to scrap preliminary inquiries, the hearings that determine whether there is enough evidence to send a case to trial.
The Canadian Judicial Council rejected the complaint against Chief Justice Joyal and Chief Justice Chartier, saying they acted appropriately. The complaint against Chief Justice Wiebe was reviewed by Shane Perlmutter, the Associate Chief Justice of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench.
He ruled there was no basis for the complaint, and that the judge had undertaken a valid and appropriate leadership role.
Sean Fine