Neil Friesen
AIKINS LAW
Re: Your Charges under the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act I attended what I am beginning to believe is the last Case Management Conference ("CMC") on your behalf on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at 1:00 p.m.. At the CMG I was unable to confirm with the Court my continued representation of you in this matter. I did indicate to the Court that we had met and discussed the defence of the case and the issue of my retainer should the matter go forward to preliminary inquiry and trial. In the course of the CMC the Crown did confirm that upon a guilty plea by each of you, the position on sentencing would be a 2 year conditional sentence (house arrest) and a fine of $3.3 million for each of you. At the CMC I indicated that I did not believe there was an appetite on your part to plead guilty and pay the fine of $3.3 million each. Nevertheless, I informed the Court that I would convey the Crown's position to you for your consideration. I was unable to properly discuss the mechanics of the preliminary inquiry and what agreements might be made in order to cause for a more efficient use of time at the hearing, because the issue of my retainer remains unresolved.