City councillor Brian Skakun was accused of being deliberately evasive on the date he leaked confidential documents to a local media outlet in a bid to escape prosecution on the basis of a one-year time limit on laying charges under provincial privacy legislation.
During cross-examination this morning, Crown counsel Judith Doulis suggested to Skakun that he's claiming to have given the documents to CBC Prince George sometime before August 14, 2008 because the charge was not layed until one year after that date.
"The reason you're now saying that you delivered the Heller Report before August the 14th is because it will put these proceedings out of time, isn't that correct?," Doulis asked.
"No," Skakun replied.
"Yes it is, that's you're defence du jour, isn't that right?," Doulis responded.
Leading up to the exchaange, Doulis built an argument to suggest Skakun gave the documents to CBC after that date and at about the time news broke that then Prince George RCMP Supt. Dahl Chambers was ordered by the Mounties to apologized to three civilian employees following an investigation into allegations of harassment.
One of those documents, a report by labour lawyer Kitty Heller into the situation, was posted for a brief period on the CBC website on August 25.
Skakun has admitted to giving the documents to CBC but maintains he can't recall when he handed them over.
