Pubdate: Sat, 13 May 2017
Source: Intelligencer, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017, The Belleville Intelligencer
Contact: http://www.intelligencer.ca/letters
Website: http://www.intelligencer.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2332
Author: Jason Miller
Page: A2

JUDGE DISMISSES KAMERMANS' APPEAL

A Coe Hill physician stripped of his medical licence has lost his
appeal to have a string of criminal charges levied against him dropped
due to what the defence claimed was unreasonable delays to reach trial.

Dan Stein, Rob Kamermans' Toronto lawyer, said Justice Robert Scott
ruled in favour of the prosecution which submitted that it was not to
be blamed for the inordinate amount of time the case is taking to
reach trial.

"Our application has been dismissed," Stein told The Intelligencer.
"We are waiting for the reasoning. Justice Scott wanted to give us an
answer because we have a week of motions setup. Now that the
application was dismissed we're faced with a week of pre-trial motions
starting on Monday (May 15)."

Defence and Crown counsel will now have to comb through a number of
issues in advance of the proposed September trial, where Kamermans
will try to stave off conviction on a number of offences including
substance trafficking, fraud, forgery, proceeds of crime and money
laundering linked to medical marijuana.

"Before we go to trial we have to address some specific issues," Stein
said. "We've had some concerns about search warrants that were
executed on Dr. Kamermans' office and other areas. We want a judge to
look closely at those warrants and we say they should not have been
issued. The way they were issued was overly broad."

The warrants aren't the only concern for the defence heading into next
week's hearings at the Quinte Courthouse.

"We have another motion that has to do with what we say is a vague law
that's being used to support one of the charges against Dr.
Kamermans," he said. "A vague law raises some serious concerns because
everyone should know with precision what is illegal and what's not, so
we have some conerns about that. That's related to three of the
forgery charges dealing with out-of-province medical marijuana
applications."

The charges stretch across several provinces including New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia and Quebec.

Kamermans is also accused of defrauding OHIP.

"There is a trial scheduled to start on Sept. 11 and there is chance
that the outcome of the motions will affect how many charges are
before the court," Stein said.

Arguments to have the charges tossed were heard April 18, ahead of the
three week trial for Kamermans, whose licence to practise in this
province was revoked last July, and his wife, Mary, a nurse who was
also charged in relation to the distribution of medical marijuana
prescriptions.

The case has encountered several delays over the five years it will
take to get to trial, including Crown appeals and the accused changing
counsel.

During his failed efforts, Stein submitted said there was a delay of
61 months.

"We acknowledge that a little over a year-and-a-half of the
five-and-a-half years was caused by the need to retain counsel. We
don't argue that part of the delay was our fault, but we do argue that
there was about 41 months that should be explained by the Crown,"
Stein said in April.

Justice Scott didn't agree with Stein's opinion that his client's
rights were violated and the charges should be stayed.

The Supreme Court has set 30 months as the top of the range for
delays, unless the matter is complex.

Kamermans' certificate to practise medicine was revoked in July by the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

They also ordered Kamermans to pay $28,098 within six months of the
date that the order was finalized.

Kamermans refuted the punishment.

"On Aug. 24, 2016, Dr. Kamermans appealed the Discipline Committee's
decision to the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of
Justice," the disciplinary committee stated.

"The hearing that will consider allegations related to Dr. Kamermans'
medical marijuana practice was adjourned pending the outcome of the
criminal proceeding," Kathryn Clarke, a senior communications
co-ordinator for the college said. "In the meantime, his licence to
practise medicine has been revoked."
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