Police misconduct trials begin: Morriseau testifies against Walbourne
Georjann Morriseau, the former chair of the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, took the stand Monday to testify against former TBPS lawyer Holly Walbourne.
Walbourne faces charges of obstructing a peace officer, breach of trust, and three counts of obstruction of justice. She plead not guilty to all charges on Monday.
She was charged in the same case as former Thunder Bay police chief Sylvie Hauth. The two were set to be tried together, but medical issues forced the trials to be separated and delayed Hauth’s proceedings.
The police chief and her legal counsel are accused of downplaying their involvement in an internal investigation into Morriseau when briefing the provincial police board that later took over the case.
The court adjourned Monday afternoon after Morriseau’s first testimony. It will reconvene Tuesday morning.
This is an ongoing story. Updates will be provided when available.
The criminal case against Morriseau (“The Home Sense incident”)
Morriseau, a former chief of Fort William First Nations, was chair of the police board from December 2019 to December 2020.
During that period, police were investigating allegations that officers had leaked confidential information to the operator of a civilian crime‑reporting Facebook page, The Courthouse Inside Edition. A text message from page owner Brian Webster to a former officer was discovered by another officer using the phone and reported up the chain of command.
In the summer of 2020, Morriseau was shopping at Home Sense when she was approached by a man wearing a COVID mask. She testified Monday that he recognized her but she did not recognize him. He informed her that officers were “gossiping” about Webster’s text. Morriseau relayed this conversation to Deputy Chief Ryan Hughes, but could not identify the man.
Several members of the force interviewed Morriseau about the Home Sense incident, including Holly Walbourne, who travelled to Morriseau’s house to speak with her on the subject. During these interviews, police raised the names of multiple officers in an effort to identify the masked man, but Morriseau denied them all.
In her testimony, Morriseau said the investigators treated her as though they believed she was lying about the HomeSense incident. She testified that during the meeting at her home, Walbourne confirmed investigators suspected she was being untruthful, though Walbourne told her she did not believe she would lie on purpose.
One of the officers suggested was Detective Jason Rybak. In November 2020, Rybak told Ryan Hughes that he was informed his name came up in an internal investigation. Shortly after, he revealed that Morriseau gave him that information.
This launched the criminal investigation into Morriseau for breach of trust.
In December of 2020, police chief Sylvie Hauth decided to forward the investigation to the OPP. In a memo to her board written ten months later, she said it would not be appropriate for a police board to investigate any of its own members.
In August of 2021, the OPP cleared Morriseau of all wrongdoing. They concluded there was no basis to lay criminal charges.
Hauth’s memoranda
In October of 2021, Sylvie Hauth presented a memo to the police board regarding the OPP investigation into the allegations against Morriseau. Morriseau made a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) alleging discrimination based on her race as an Indigenous woman.
The Ontario Civilian Police Commision (OCPC) looked into Hauth’s Memorandum. In June of 2022, they alleged in their Notice of Particulars that “(Hauth’s) report contained a number of false statements which would lead the reasonable reader to conclude that she had no knowledge that DC Hughes had initiated a criminal investigation against Chair Morriseau until December 9, 2020. That memo was distributed to the Board members on October 12, 2021 and it was anticipated they could rely upon it for the truth of its contents.”
Hauth also drafted a second memo a week after the first, in which the OCPC alleged she continued to mislead on the date she was informed of the Rybak interview and that a Production Order against Morriseau was imminent, not a mere possibility.
The full OCPC final summary report can be found here.
The aftermath
The OCPC put in place an administrator to oversee the board in April of 2022. Many of the board members resigned shortly thereafter.
Hauth was suspended that same year after the OCPC brought misconduct charges against her under the Police Services Act, and formally resigned in 2023.
Walbourne resigned as TBPS legal council in 2023.
Morriseau has also left the force and serves as Commissioner of the First Nation Tax Commission.
The present
Day two of Holly Walbourne’s trial for her role in the Morriseau investigation begins tomorrow. None of the allegations against Walbourne have been proven in court. Former city clerk and police service board secretary John Hannam is expected to take the stand and Ryan Hughes is expected to testify this week.
Sylvie Hauth’s trial is scheduled for May 5.
