by MIKE BEAUDIN
A sentencing hearing for Suzanne Atkinson, who pleaded guilty to charges related to the removal of 31 rare quarantined sheep, has been put off until Feb.11.
Atkinson, a former correspondent for Ontario Farmer, was one of four people charged in the disappearance of the sheep that were under quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
Atkinson appeared today before Judge Robert Beninger of the Ontario Court of Justice in Peterborough. However, Beninger told the court he had a scheduling conflict and moved the hearing to Feb. 11.
Federal prosecutor Damien Frost asked Beninger for a court date prior to Feb. 17 when Atkinson is scheduled in court to testify in the preliminary hearing of Linda Frances (Montana) Jones, who owned the sheep, Michael Schmidt, a raw milk activist and Robert Pinnell.
They all face charges related to obstructing the CFIA, conspiracy to transport an animal under quarantine, and conspiracy to defraud the public service of over $5,000.
Atkinson pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2014, to the transport of a quarantined animal without a licence.
Atkinson had been a regular freelance contributor to Ontario Farmer for 15 years. After she was charged, Atkinson continued to report on stories unrelated to the sheep investigation. Upon pleading guilty, she resigned said Paul Mahon, publisher/editor in chief of Ontario Farmer, in an email.
The four were charged by the CFIA after the Shropshire sheep were removed in April 2012 from the farm owned by Jones near Trent Hills, Ont., which was under federal quarantine.
CFIA inspectors said they quarantined the flock after a sheep Jones had previously sold to an Alberta farmer tested positive for scrapie in 2010.
Scrapie is a fatal disease that the federal government has been trying to eradicate since 2005. In Canada, scrapie is a reportable disease and all cases must be reported to the CFIA.
According to an agreed statement of facts presented in court in December, Atkinson said she was part of a group that planned to take the quarantined sheep from Jones’s farm on March 31, 2013. She also admitted to temporarily housing the sheep that night at her dairy farm. BF
Comments
Editor: Comment about an ongoing jury trial deleted.
The first line maybe should read 'will be called to testify by the Crown'. Truth should be the basis of any testimony, and Ms Atkinson need not be portrayed as testifying 'against' anyone. Thanks.
IF THIS LADY HAD OF CAME CLEAN IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS ACTION AND NOT GOT INVOLED SHE WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD TO RESIGN HER POST !! BUT SHE DID GET INVOLVED FROM THE GET GO ,REPORTED ON WHAT WAS GOING ON TO READERS ! FOLLOWED EVERY MOVEMENT OF THE SHEEP AND CHOOSE TO BREAK THE LAW AND ASSIST ,GETS CAUGHT ,CUTS A DEAL WITH THE CROWN ,THEN TURNS ON THE VERY PEOPLE SHE HELPED !! NOW IF THAT AIN'T A STORY , FOR SOMEONE TO COVER AND REPORT !! IT JUST SHOWS THAT REPORTERS SHOULD STAY REPORTING THE FACTS ,NOT CREATING THEM !! HOPEFULLY SHE SHARES EQUALY IN THE PUNISHMENT !! BILL DENBY / IMPORTER / EXPORTER
In light of all the recent news coverage about Michael Schmidt and Montana Jones, regarding the missing sheep trial, it would seem that the CFIA has made some major errors and wrongfully slaughtered a healthy sheep flock.
I just found out yesterday that the story the National Post ran this past week was ordered to be taken down from their web site and a communication ban was issued.
We have a major problem in this country with non elected governmnet officials over riding the the rights of individuals with The sky is falling rhetoric, that always seems to come up empty.
How do we as farmers protect our rights and freedoms ?
Sean McGivern
The origin of the infected sheep has never been in question.
Jones has claimed the CFIA would not consider alternatives to slaughtering the rare breed of Shropshire Sheep. But the CFIA did offer Jones an option that is used widely by sheep breeders. That option involves breeding ewes with genetically resistant rams to produce lambs that are genetically resistant to the disease.
"Her option was to do nothing but surveillance," the CFIA said, noting that option would have allowed Jones to continue breeding genetically scrabie susceptible animals.
The CFIA found that option unacceptable, "Our job is to control this disease and get rid of it."
Regardless of one's opinion about who is guilty of what crime and/or why, the above posting exemplifies everything that is horrid and detestable about anonymous postings.
The poster offers quotes taken out of context and which were purportedly made by the CFIA, yet no evidentiary link or reference is provided to allow anyone to validate either the quote or the context in which it was made.
For all anyone knows, the above poster is a CFIA plant trying to whitewash the CFIA's involvement, and without any sort of identification, nobody can possibly ever know how much, if anything, of what the above poster claims is true and how much is complete fiction.
In addition, the above poster provides no evidence to support his/her claim about the origin of the infected sheep, once again undermining his/her credibility about this point, as well as everything else claimed in the posting.
Why are there people dumb enough to make these types of anonymous claims and, even worse, why are there people dumb enough to place any credibility at all in these types of un-verifiable claims?
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Another fine example showing signed posts can be a waste of pixels too.
LMAO
Whatever you care to believe,this is not a court of public opinion.There has already been one guilty plea and possibly more.The full details will come out in court at some point and no storyline in the National Post will mean a dang thing.
Animals under quarantine were moved. Inexcusable.
Only legal actions can be used.
You speak for a "farm organization", what a joke.
And of course the age old saying "I'm from the government...I'm here to help" would apply here. Remember, the government is never wrong...just ask them.
Some farm organizations are not afraid of the government.
Most Farm organizations want to work with Government and that is the route of the problem in this case.You have known anti-Government individuals that don't know how to work with Government officials and simply don't care to.They want to do their own thing when and where they want.
Its like lipping off to the Police officer who was just about to give you a minor fine for speeding and up up getting not only a major fine but lose demerit points as well.
I guess that's where the phrase "farming the government" comes from...or is that farming the mailbox...either way I guess that's why the government now has their nose in everything in our lives...and some people are actually happy about that.
Post new comment