Defence calls Coutts murder-conspiracy trial 'un-Canadian,' accuses RCMP of lying

A truck convoy of anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators block the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. A police phone expert is to continue testifying today at the trial for two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A lawyer for one of two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., says the trial is "un-Canadian" and alleges RCMP officers lied under oath.

Marilyn Burns said in her opening statement Thursday that the Crown has not proven its case against Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick.

"You will be shocked and, at the very least, disappointed with how Canada's own RCMP conducted themselves during and after the Coutts protest," Burns told the jury.

The two men were arrested after police seized a cache of weapons, ammunition and body armour from trailers near the blockade in 2022. The blockade tied up traffic for two weeks at the busy Canada-U.S. border crossing in a protest of COVID-19 measures and vaccine mandates.

Three undercover officers have testified Olienick boasted about having a stockpile of weapons and that he said he was willing to die for his cause and would "slit the throats" of police who attacked protesters.

The officers told the trial Olienick also said he believed Mounties were the tools of "devil" Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and deserved to be hanged.

"You have heard straight from the undercover officers that their job is to lie and deceive effectively," Burns said. "You must ask yourself to what extent these undercover officers have lied to you, despite being under oath to tell the truth."

Flirting

During the trial, Burns also accused one of the female officers of flirting with Olienick in order to obtain information.

Burns said her client was taken by the officer and hoped they could be in a relationship.

"While Mr. Olienick was in Coutts, a pretty little woman caught his eye," Burns said.

"He had looked for love in the wrong place."

Burns said Olienick and many other Canadians thought the world was in a bad place during the pandemic and were astounded by police tactics in following the orders of politicians.

"There came to be a belief that they would be required to defend themselves against police and government violence and that Canadian politicians were walking Canadians into either a civil war or a form of totalitarian state," said the lawyer.

"This is truly a political criminal trial. It is un-Canadian."

Olienick and Carbert are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.

The Crown's final witness testified Thursday about testing one of the guns seized in the case, a prohibited semi-automatic rifle that fires .223-calibre ammunition.

Sgt. Richard Kurina with the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team said he tested the Panther Arms rifle using modified ammunition magazines that were also part of the seizure.

The magazines normally hold a maximum of five bullets, he said. Pins had been removed to allow for 30.

He tested the gun first with five rounds, he said, and it successfully fired all five.

"Then I inserted another magazine with 30 rounds of ammunition into it, chambered a round and successfully fired all 30 of those rounds.

"Approximate time was about nine seconds."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2024.