By Canadian Press

Emails at centre of court martial for Lt.-Gen. Whelan are under publication ban

Sep 28, 2023 | 11:37 AM

OTTAWA — The military judge presiding over the court martial for Lt.-Gen. Steve Whelan has decided the emails at the centre of the case will not be made public during the trial unless they are allowed as evidence.

The defence had asked for a publication ban to protect Whelan from embarrassment and reputational damage, and it plans to argue the emails between him and the complainant are irrelevant to the case.

The prosecution and a lawyer hired by the Globe and Mail argued that embarrassment is not enough to override the open court principle.

Cmdr. Martin Pelletier says his decision does not have to do with potential embarrassment, but rather the risk that it might seem the prosecution is abusing the court process to make the emails public.

Whelan has pleaded not guilty to one charge of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline for improperly changing a performance review, while a second charge relating to sexual misconduct has been dropped.

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The judge will decide whether the emails are relevant to the remaining charge, and if they are, they will be made public during the court martial.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2023.

The Canadian Press