Thunder Bay, Ontario — Day three of the trial of former Thunder Bay Authorities Service lawyer Holly Walbourne has concluded, with the city's deputy authorities chief spending several hours on the witness stand.
Walbourne was chargedby the Ontario Provincial Officers (OPP) with obstructing a public officer or peace officer, breach of trust by a public officer, and three counts of obstructing justice, in April 2024. According to court documents, the charges stem from Walbourne allegedly making "false statements and/or misleading statements" to the Ontario Civilian Officers Commission (OCPC) and its external council, as well as three Toronto Law enforcement Service officers. Wednesday saw a continuation of the testimony of the regional capital Officers Service deputy chief Ryan Hughes,who first took the stand on Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Hughes continued his testimony about an inquiry into former Thunder Bay Authorities Service Board chair Georjann Morriseau. Court heard Tuesday that law enforcement had unveiled an inquiry into alleged leaks of officers information to two the Lakehead bloggers. In June 2020, a Thunder Bay law enforcement officer received a text from one of the bloggers, asking for information. The text, however, was intended for another officer, who had previously been published the phone the text had been sent to.
The Morriseau examination was later taken over by the OPP, and Morriseau was never charged.
Trial for former Thunder Bay Authorities Service lawyer underway at Superior Court of Justice Hughes told court Tuesday that very few people in the service knew about the inquiry. Morriseau was later approached at a Thunder Bay retail store by a man claiming to be an officer, but who was wearing a mask. Morriseau didn't recognize the individual, and he brought up the text message. That led to another examination, this one into who the officer was (the officer's identity was never confirmed). However, Hughes testified that an officer who was a person of interest in that inquiry brought it up during a phone call. That caused Hughes concern, as it meant someone had leaked information about an ongoing examination to a person of interest. During Wednesday's testimony, Hughes indicated the officer did later confirm that Morriseau had informed him that he was a person of interest. the regional capital authorities deputy chief returning to job after allegations found to be 'unsubstantiated' Hughes later initiated a criminal probe into the matter, saying in court that he was never discouraged from doing so by Walbourne. As the review went on, Hughes indicated his relationship with Walbourne deteriorated. The Morriseau examination was later taken over by the OPP, and Morriseau was never charged. A memo from then-police chief Sylvie Hauth -who's also facing charges- was then prepared for the board, and Hughes indicated the memo placed blame for the Morriseau examination on him. Hughes confirmed he "felt like he was thrown under the bus" by the memo, which he told Hauth he believed was written by Walbourne. Hughes also told court that Hauth claimed he had kept her "out of the loop" regarding the probe into Morriseau, but Hughes testified he kept her updated. Hughes was removed from the Morriseau probe when it was transferred to the OPP, with another officer being appointed liaison between the two services. After the Crown ended its questioning, the defence called into question Hughes' interpretation of an email that Walbourne had sent him regarding Morriseau. The email itself focussed on the probe into the encounter Morriseau had at the retail store with the person identifying themselves as a law enforcement officer. Court heard that Morriseau had been contacted by the investigating officer, but had not returned calls. The review, at the time, was not criminal, nor did it even focus on Morriseau, who was a witness. In the email, Walbourne stated that Morriseau was obstructing the probe by not returning calls. The defence declared the email stated Walbourne was going to write a letter to the other members of the board about the issue. But Hughes testified he interpreted the email as Walbourne implying she wanted a criminal examination, and went on to launch one. However, the defence noted that civilian members like Walbourne aren't able to direct law enforcement to launch criminal investigations. Hughes would file a complaint about Hauth and Walbourne to the Ontario Civilian Officers Commission (OCPC), while Walbourne also filed a complaint with the OCPC about Hughes, court heard. Hauth is also facing charges of obstruction of public officer or peace officer, breach of trust by a public officer, and two counts of obstruction of justice. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onCBC Gem..
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📍 Source: Web Search · By: News Staff · 🗓️ August 03, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
