Law Times - Newsmakers

Dec 2009 Newsmakers

The premier weekly newspaper for the legal profession in Ontario

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newsmakers Michael Bryant's annus horribilis Facing the other side of the courtroom BY HEATHER GARDINER F ormer Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant went from being minister of eco- nomic development to CEO of Invest Toronto Inc. to the accused in the death of a Toronto cyclist all in one year. Born and raised in Victoria, Bryant attended Osgoode Hall Law School and Harvard Law School. Following the completion of his legal education, he clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. He later practised with New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and McCarthy Tétrault LLP. In 2003, he was appointed attorney general, a job he held until 2007. Bryant stepped out of politics in June, vacat- 2009 turned out to be a tumultuous year for Michael Bryant after police charged him over an August car crash. ing his post as MPP for the Toronto riding of St. Paul's, and into the corporate world when Toronto Mayor David Miller named him CEO of Invest Toronto, a new business development agency looking to attract investors. He spoke of his time as attorney general in an interview with Law Times: "I have not one iota of regret about anything that we did. I would stren- uously argue that everything done has turned out as good or better than predicted. And I'm not surprised that there's lingering controversy around the changes because they were in some cases changes that were a long time coming." Included in those controversial changes were: regulating paralegals, revamping Ontario's human rights system, banning pit bulls, and reintroducing a law reform commission. "We have a justice system that's second to none, certainly in terms of credibility and independence, and the same with the legal pro- fession," Bryant told Law Times. An advocate for Ontario's justice system, Bryant said he would "always have some con- nection to the law." But Bryant's growing success came to a halt shortly after his latest career change. On the evening of Aug. 31, Bryant was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death after cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard died. 4 December 2009 Bryant was held in police custody overnight and released the next day without a bail hearing. On Sept. 2, he announced his resignation from Invest Toronto while maintaining his innocence. "Let me be clear: I am innocent of the very serious accusations made against me," he wrote in his resignation letter to Miller. "I do not believe, however, that I can continue in this posi- tion on account of the circumstances of the past two days." There was tremendous buzz about whether the man who played an important role in the province's justice system would be given spe- cial treatment. But police traffic services Sgt. Tim Burrows insisted that would not happen. "We knew from the outset because of who the accused was that this case would be under extreme scrutiny," Burrows told the Toronto Star. "Everybody, from the first person on the scene to the last investigator who has touched this, has known this has got to be the case where — because there is going to be so much public opinion and so much scrutiny — we do every- thing right and above board. . . . Nobody would jeopardize the investigation by making a false accusation or statement that wasn't there." It is yet to be seen how his trial will play out. B.C. prosecutor Richard Peck has been brought in by the Ministry of the Attorney General to avoid a conflict of interest in the case as Bryant was once in charge of all Ontario prosecutors. Peck was lead counsel for Ajaib Singh Bagri, who was accused and later acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing. Bryant will be relying on Toronto lawyer Marie Henein to represent him. Henein is known for defending former NHL agent David Frost, who was acquitted of sexual exploitation charges involving two junior hockey players he had coached. She is also the first vice president of The Advocates' Society. As the case progresses, Bryant is to obey the conditions of his release, which include an order not to operate a motor vehicle and to surrender his passport.

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