Snowbirds pilot headed for trial amid sexual assault accusations
Accused of sexual assault, former Canadian Forces Snowbirds pilot Maj. Steven Hurlbut appears headed for trial.
Wednesday morning trial dates were supposed to be put on the record in the Barrie courthouse when a representative for Hurlbut's lawyer, Karl Toews, expressed concerns about the defence counsel's availability before the proposed late August trial dates.
The defence also noted it was not willing to waive Section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects an accused person's liberty, security and the right to a fair trial in a reasonable timeframe.
Criminal cases in the Ontario Court of Justice are expected to be completed within 15 months under the recently introduced Jordan-compliant trial scheduling direction.
The 48-year-old Hurlbut from Alberta, who's been a pilot for more than 30 years, was charged with sexual assault against another member of the military last June around the time the Snowbirds took flight for their annual Barrie Airshow.
The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service charged Hurlbut about a week after the military said its investigation began into alleged sexual misconduct. The charge, however, is now being handled in civilian criminal court in Barrie and not within the military system.
A publication ban protects the complainant's identity.
Before the charges, Hurlbut had been a member of the Snowbirds for two years, served as a lecturer at Royal Military College, and was a fighter pilot on 36 combat missions in Syria and Iraq starting in 2014.
Hurlbut, also known on the aerial acrobatics team as Stu, was flying lead solo in the number nine jet when the Department of National Defence said, after the Barrie Airshow, Hurlbut had been removed from the team and reassigned. At the same time, the Snowbirds performed with eight aircraft.
On Thursday, the Department of National Defence confirmed to CTV News Hurlbut is no longer a member of the Snowbirds and is currently employed with 4 Operations Support Squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta.
The matter returns in a virtual courtroom next week to address the defence's concerns.
The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Flammable kids' sleepwear, salmonella-contaminated chips: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued recalls for various items this week, including kids' bassinets, chips, and stoves. Here's what to watch out for.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
U.S. ambassador 'not aware' of any plans for Trudeau-Trump meeting
Canada's Ambassador to the United States says she's 'not aware' of any plans for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with former U.S. president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump before the November American election.
Sentencing trial set to begin for Florida man who executed 5 women at a bank in 2019
Zephen Xaver walked into a central Florida bank in 2019, fatally shot five women and then called police to tell them what he did. Now 12 jurors will decide whether the 27-year-old former prison guard trainee is sentenced to death or life without parole.
'How do you get hypothermia in a prison?' Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates
The Virginia State Police investigator seemed puzzled about what the inmate was describing: "unbearable" conditions at a prison so cold that toilet water would freeze over and inmates were repeatedly treated for hypothermia.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.