'We have significant concerns': Lawyers of Manitoba doctor accused of sexual assault question integrity of police investigation

Arcel Bissonnette, a doctor formerly working at the Sainte-Anne Hospital and the Sainte-Anne Medical Centre who is facing 22 counts of sexual assault , walks from the Manitoba's Court of King's on Jan. 16, 2023. (Source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)

The lawyers of a Manitoba doctor facing 22 counts of sexual assault say they have 'significant concerns' with the integrity of the police investigation after discovering a year of notes from the lead investigator are missing.

Arcel Bissonnette, a doctor formerly working at the Ste-Anne Hospital and the Ste-Anne Medical Centre, was in Manitoba's Court of King's Bench Monday. His trial comes more than two years after an investigation by Sainte-Anne Police led to an initial six counts of sexual assault against him in November 2020.

Then in October 2021, Sainte-Anne Police announced more complainants had come forward resulting in 16 additional charges of sexual assault against Bissonnette.

The charges against him have not been proven in court, and he is considered innocent until proven guilty.

Jacqueline Lawford, who was a constable with the Sainte-Anne Police Service starting in 2016, gave testimony in court Monday about her involvement in the investigation. Lawford said she was the lead investigator on the case against Bissonnette starting in 2017.

As lead investigator, Lawford told the court she would keep an investigative log, detailed notes and a report about the case, and would physically attach photocopies of her notes to the file.

Lawford said after accepting a job with the Manitoba First Nations Police she went to the Sainte-Anne Police Service to pack up her belongings.

"I deleted my email account, and I put anything that would be of further interest – we all had our own filing drawer there – just put it in there for whoever was going to look after that," Lawford told the court, saying that included her notebooks.

"Do you know where your notebooks are?" Crown attorney Paul Girdlestone asked.

"I don't," Lawford responded, saying the last time she saw them was when she put everything in the filing drawer.

Lawford was shown the notes the Crown had and was asked if it was the extent of the notes she had made. She told the court she didn't think so.

"Do you have any idea where those notebooks might be?" Girdlestone asked.

"I don't know where those notebooks are," Lawford responded.

Bissonnette's defence counsel asked for an adjournment Monday, saying they have many unanswered questions.

"We have significant concerns in terms of the integrity of this particular investigation," Defence Counsel Lisa LaBossiere told the court.

She said evidence shows Lawford was involved in the investigation from approximately August 2017 until she left the service in April 2019. However, she said only three pages of Lawford's notes were disclosed, dated between September and October 2017.

LaBossiere said defence counsel reached out to the Sainte-Anne Police and were told they have all notes of any officer involved. She said, however, there is a year of Lawford's notes that are missing from the current disclosure.

"Where are the notebooks?" LaBossiere asked during her submissions to the court. "That is key evidence. I don't need to tell the court how important notebooks are. Notebooks are there for officers to record their involvement, to record steps taken, to record all aspects to ensure that their memory is fresh."

She pointed to Sainte-Anne Police policy on note taking which says an officer is required to take notes during each and every tour of duty, and when leaving the service the officer must give all their notebooks to the chief of police.

"At the end of the day, we know that policy certainly could not have been followed," LaBossiere said.

She said the defence counsel is also concerned about what information was lost when Lawford's email account was deleted.

"There is so much going on here that, in our respectful submission, should cause the court significant concern with respect to our client's ability to make full answer and defence," she said, asking for the court to adjourn until those questions can be answered.

"It is all very strange, and I hope the court understands that it is unsettling to us. This is a very significant trial."

Justice Anne Turner adjourned the court Monday, tasking the defence to provide the Crown with a list of what specifically they would like in terms of further disclosure of evidence.

The trial is set to resume on Tuesday.