Christopher Scott trial put on hold while AHS correspondence gathered for court

Whistle Stop Cafe owner Christopher Scott, right, stands with his lawyers Yoav Niv, left, and Chad Williamson, middle, outside the Red Deer provincial courthouse on Aug. 31, 2022, on what was supposed to be the second and final day of Scott’s trial. Instead, the trial was paused so that more documents could be submitted to court.

A central Alberta café owner, accused of defying public health orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, won’t know the outcome of his trial for at least a few more weeks.

Christopher Scott’s trial was put on hold Wednesday to make time for an Alberta Health Services inspector to gather any correspondence he sent regarding Scott and his café, the Whistle Stop.

The judge made the request Tuesday, on the first day of what was expected to be a two-day trial.

The correspondence came up during the defence’s cross examination of health inspector Ian Plischke.

AHS said it will conduct an internal review of the emails and provide them to the court, but the process could take up to four weeks.

A trial continuation date will be decided in early October.

Scott faces a total of 11 charges, nine of which fall under the Public Health Act.

Crown prosecutors allege that from January to April 2021 Scott repeatedly ignored public health and closure orders by allowing people to dine in and hold public gatherings at his café in Mirror.

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/red-deer/christopher-scott-trial-put-on-hold-while-ahs-correspondence-gathered-for-court-1.6051418