Patrick Brazeau court date set on Senate fraud, breach of trust charges
CBC News | Posted: September 15, 2014 3:49 PM | Last Updated: September 15, 2014
Conservative-appointed senator's preliminary inquiry to start next June
Patrick Brazeau will be in court starting June 1, 2015, for a preliminary inquiry into charges of fraud and breach of trust stemming from his Senate expenses.
The suspended senator, who was named to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009, wasn't in court Monday but was represented by his lawyer Christian Deslauriers.
- Senate expenses: Patrick Brazeau, Mac Harb charged by RCMP
- The rise and fall of Patrick Brazeau
- Mike Duffy trial timing seen as problem for Harper, Conservatives
- Mike Duffy faces 31 charges including bribery, fraud, breach of trust
The court blocked off 12 days for the preliminary inquiry, which lets the judge test the allegations and evidence before proceeding to a trial.
Deslauriers said Brazeau is enrolled in a university program, but wouldn't say which program or university.
Last spring, Deslauriers said there's a presumption of innocence unless and until the Crown proves its case. He noted a report by Deloitte into living expenses filed by Brazeau and three other senators found "grey zones" and failings in the Senate's rules for claiming such expenses.
Determined fight
Deslauriers said Brazeau's intention is to fight to the end.
"He's determined to proceed, that's for sure," Deslauriers said last March.
Brazeau and two other senators are accused of having claimed expenses to which they weren't entitled.
Suspended Conservative senator Mike Duffy has his first court date Tuesday on Senate expense-related charges. He isn't expected to appear, but instead be represented by his lawyer.
Brazeau also faces unrelated charges of possession of cocaine, assault, breaching release conditions and uttering threats, to which he has pleaded not guilty.