Dana Metcalfe to represent herself on charge of harassing premier
Metcalfe and co-accused Shane Sweeney due back in court Feb. 13
Dana Metcalfe and co-accused Shane Sweeney returned to St. John's provincial court Wednesday over a protest staged at Premier Andrew Furey's home — and this time Metcalfe said she's had to take on the role of representing herself.
Metcalfe and Sweeney are each facing charges of criminal harassment and causing a disturbance over a "surprise convoy" protest on July 9 outside Furey's Portugal Cove-St. Philip's home.
Sandra Fry, who represents Sweeney, told Judge James Walsh she had received an offer from the Crown and she needed time to review it with her client to "see if we can come to a resolution."
In order to avoid allegations of conflict of interest, as the case involves the premier, a Crown attorney from Nova Scotia, Rob Kennedy, is handling the case. Kennedy appeared via teleconference Wednesday.
Both Fry and Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Office spokesperson Melissa Noonan declined to comment.
Metcalfe, who had previously been represented by Averill Baker, told Walsh she was now representing herself.
"I haven't been successful finding counsel here because of the high profility of the case," said Metcalfe, adding that she was seeking assistance from a constitutional lawyer.
Metcalfe and Sweeney are due back in court Feb. 13.
"Finding a counsel in this province, because of the nature of what this involves, especially when it addresses the premier, has been quite challenging," Metcalfe told reporters outside the courtroom.
"So I am getting support from constitutional lawyers across the country because this involves my ability to have free speech and … to be able to have a voice."
She added that she believes the case involved human rights and what she called the "bill of rights," likely referring to the Canadian Charter of Rights.
When asked about a post she made in late November on X, formerly known as Twitter, where she alleged she couldn't retain a lawyer because they had been "bought," Metcalfe responded, "Well, when you have a situation where the courts have retained counsel for multiple different reasons, it's a conflict of interest. So it's not bought, it's called being retained."
Metcalfe made the online comments in a response to an Elon Musk post offering resources to anyone who lost their job because of comments made about their employer.
Metcalfe then walked away without answering other questions from reporters.
In the post on X, Metcalfe told Musk she wanted to "charge [Furey] with an abuse of power and have him removed."
During a Nov. 2 court appearance, Metcalfe said she had been informed by her then lawyer, Averill Baker, that Baker no longer intended to practise law. As a result, Metcalfe said, she's looking for a new lawyer.
Baker's law society membership was suspended effective Oct. 25 because she failed to complete 15 hours of professional development, which is mandatory for all practising members of the law society.
Summer 'surprise convoy' at Furey's home
Metcalfe and Sweeney's charges stem from an incident outside the premier's home this past summer.
Videos posted to Sweeney's Facebook account show a protest filled with honking vehicles and smoke flares outside Furey's home.
The protesters claimed they were there to speak out against the "sexualization and indoctrination" of schoolchildren.
Talking to his camera, Sweeney said they were at Furey's home because "he doesn't listen to us when we're at Confederation Building. He sends his paid counter-protesters to city hall. So here we are."
The protesters claimed they were there to speak out against the "sexualization and indoctrination" of schoolchildren.
Metcalfe, who was seen in the video at the protest, also posted Sweeney's video to Facebook and X.
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