Coalition Oversight-Audit Application into Coalition Finances
- Thread starter Sandy420
- Start date
FruitvaleFreedomFighter
Well-Known Member
If tousaw took over this case tomorrow I guarantee alot of people including myself would feel more comfortable donating larger amounts.
I've never like Wilcox's attitude...
And Chronroy seems like a puppet lol.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Rollitup mobile app
realmeduser
Well-Known Member
I agree, I believe that conroy and the coalition are done doing anything for us irregardless of phelan decision.
redi jedi
Well-Known Member
No doubt...and the odds of a new group of people banding together is pretty slim now too.
MarijeJane
Well-Known Member
The point you are missing is by being convicted and paying the fine, the grower now has a criminal record, can't get a great job, can't travel and enjoy the world, and will be a convicted criminal for the rest of his life. If you don't want a criminal charge or conviction, do not grow.
doingdishes
Well-Known Member
i agree about it being slim but we still want to try.
can't do worse that what has happened already.
if by chance we lose Allard, do you want CONroy to be our Savior? he won't be that's for sure...unless there's a million in the kitty for him. then we'll get his A game
a sick person will not be convicted as things are. They will not get a record and they'll be able to travel as much as they like.
I'm not missing anything really You'e assuming conviction and by what we have seen...there are none!!!
Pardons have their place....even though they're worthless...
please keep telling where Ive gone wrong.
redi jedi
Well-Known Member
realmeduser
Well-Known Member
not only this, but if you live in an area with post-grow home inspections, seeing a judge is only one of your worries. The do not occupy order renders you homeless, electrical and mold and structure and fire inspections render you penniless, your house becomes devalued, and your neighbors all think you were busted running a 'drug lab'. off the top of my head.
torontomeds
Well-Known Member
SMH what ever happened to ProBono? This would of been a cause worth it I would think. When they recently asked for more money the way Conroy said it rubbed me the wrong way. Heck we all want more money.
I wonder how much JC makes in a avg year? Anyways my real beef is not with JC he is a Lawyer what can you expect? but JW is a total big head, I met him a few times and also exchanged a few emails with him prior to him starting the coalition, he came off to me as a bit of an ass, he seemed super full of his self, to be honest that is one of the major set backs of this whole cannabis community is all the attitude and sense of entitlement, everybody wants to be king shit on top of the shit pile, most of the people in this community and industry and in a race to the bottom, quick to sell out to the big money. At this very moment in the history of Cannabis you have a lot of people selling lies and miss info in an attempt to somehow come out on top over people.
At this point all I (We) can do is sit back let it all play out then come in when the time is right and carve out little niche markets and jobs for our selves.
I think most of the people making the big push now selling lies and miss info time will be up soon, already we are seeing people coming out in droves with all kinds of BS talk but the truth will prevail so sit back get some popcorn.Guys like JW, Bubbleman, SkunkMan, Arjan, etc etc will be exposed sooner then later for the fakes and in some cases thieves they are.
Did any of you happen to see the video like 2 years ago on Johnny B's (Bubblemans buddy) youtube page? They were preparing a shipment of plants to send to tweed, a shipment of fake and mislabeled genetics that ended up being sold as meds to people by Tweed. This is why they need to hire DnA now, because they are starting to realize that their strains are not the real deal, it is for this very reason I got banned from the IC, I was talking about elite strains and the legitimacy of them in BC, the guys who are running this scam do not want someone like me exposing them because they are all trying to get paid from LP's so if they get exposed for having sold them fake strains and miss info that could be detrimental to their profits, so I got banned. Lets keep it real we all know LPs are in here looking at all the chatter so one would think they are looking at what I had to say as well.
Sorry kind of went off topic but not really, it is all relevant because it points out the elephant in the room, the fact that we have a long way to go before we can get any sort of real respect has a culture.(lets face it Cannabis users med and rec is a culture/lifestyle, we are the people that chose to use Cannabis as a med or other wise regardless of the law.)
The Hippy
Well-Known Member
The Hippy
Well-Known Member
Well then they better learn that The Hippies BOYCOTT campaign is working perfectly and is gonna fuck them into the ground...they can thank me later.
Nadine Bews
Well-Known Member
1. Toronto meds...your well phrased and grammatically correct post is like a breath of fresh air...please be advised that I have sent the attached formal request for an audit into the Coalition's questionable fund raising and management methods to Conroy,Wilcox, Tousaw and the BC Law Society and and if they do not respond within the mentioned time frame I shall file the documents concurrently in Alberta, Ontario and BC provincial courts requesting that legal action be taken in support of our application for audit of Coalition funds.
2. Toronto Meds...I am now preparing a motion under Section 467.111 of the Canadian Criminal Code (criminal organization recruitment) and I shall be including some of the aforementioned information for which would be preferable to have in formal affidavit format, therefore, please contact me at: lawtalk@live.ca if you wish to put your information in proper filing format...even if you do not file you can keep the document as a template for a fantastic Edward Snowden-like book...
Nadine Bews
Well-Known Member
Public Accountant & Forensic Auditor
“Semper Fidelis” Legal Chronologist & Historiographer
Email: lawtalk@live.ca
Phone 403-248-1188
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OR MALICE
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
December 9, 2015
John Wm. Conroy QC
John Conroy & Company
2459 Pauline Street
Abbotsford, BC
Via email: jconroy@johnconroy.com
dlukiv@johnconroy.com
Dear Mr. Conroy;
NOTICE
of
MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal –trust account audit request.
My name is Nadine Bews and I am the founding chair and secretary-in-exile of the MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal (the “Coalition”). As you clearly stated in your most recent release there have been numerous concerns expressed with respect to Wilcox's 'management style' of Coalition affairs and finances. The purpose of this letter is to serve as notice that a demand is being made for an audit to be conducted on the Coalition’s trust fund held at your office and other accounts held by Wilcox and his associates.
. I have an abundance of evidence that Wilcox has failed. since the Coalition’s founding on January 15, 2013, to operate the Coalition consistent with the generally accepted principles and procedures governing accounting and business conduct in Canada and that Wilcox has improperly solicited, misallocated, misappropriated and redirected funds from the Coalition’s original purpose and used for Wilcox’s own personal purposes and for other purposes not cited in the Coalition’s original intention and purpose for organizing.
In December 2014, Wilcox incorporated the Coalition without consultation and has now abandoned the original purpose of the Coalition in favour of other pursuits and has been soliciting and contributing funds for the defense of others such as the Owen Smith extraction action and the defense of MACROS, an Alberta private enterprise operating as a medicinal cannabis dispensary.
In June 2013, I attended the Vancouver 2013 Health Expo hosted by Coalition treasurer Sandra Colasanti in order to staff the Coalition’s booth. At this time, I delivered no less than $5,000 worth of cannabis lifestyle products to Wilcox to be sold at the Expo and thereafter for fund raising purposes. The terms of agreement were that the Coalition was to receive only 30% of the proceeds on disposal and the rest returned to me, however, Wilcox failed to uphold this agreement and retained all of the inventory and proceeds causing a breach of contract and theft of property and funds, for which legal action is pending.
Wilcox launched a lock box campaign at this time which solicited cash donations from the public for payment of your legal fees in violation of the BC Law Society's Code of Professional Conduct which requires that a receipt be issued for such cash contributions to your legal trust fund.
In January 2014, I understand that there occurred a mass exodus of Coalition Steering Committee members due to concerns of Wilcox’s corporate and financial misconduct including the Coalition’s executive director Scott McCluskey, the representative from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Steve Finlay and Medical Cannabis Resources Institute representative Terry Roycroft.
You have been known to support and attend Coalition fund raising activities and you have posted an irreversible pledge form on your website at www.johnconroy.com soliciting a portion of the patient’s privacy breach award for payment of your legal fees.
You act as trustee of the Coalition’s trust account and, as solicitor for the Coalition, you are a direct benefactor of the Coalition's trust fund and, dependent upon your legal performance, the patients are indirect benefactors of the trust fund giving rise to concerns in light of the disastrous Allard Action which has left out no less than 50% of the MMAR patients with no right for appeal.
On July 1, 2015, Benchers approved changes to several BC Law Society Rules on trust accounting. The definition of “trust funds” in Rule 1 has been changed to include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust if the funds received by a lawyer, as a joint personal representative, are trust funds. Trust funds now include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust, if the appointment derived from a ‘solicitor-client relationship’. A “Conroy-Wilcox” joint-personal representative solicitor-client relationship with a non-lawyer is directly derived from the appointment of you as trustee of Coalition trust funds.
Furthermore, I have been advised by the Coalition’s former executive director Scott McCluskey that you had failed in your attempt to solicit a portion of the privacy breach from Kate Saunders at Branch McMaster. In March 2015, I submitted a request to the BC Law Society for a trust account audit and a request that they initiate an investigation into your questionable professional conduct and the Coalition’s questionable financial management practices. I was advised that Wilcox’s questionable management practices were a civil matter and that the extortion allegations are based upon hearsay because Mr. McCluskey failed to submit a sworn statement.
Numerous demands have been made to Wilcox and his administrators by disaffected Coalition Steering Committee members for Wilcox to deliver a proper set of audited financial statements, however, these demands have been met with silence, misleading or inadequate information and hostile threats to cease and desist from making such demands.
Alberta Court Rules dictate that parties make their very best effort to mediate and attempt to resolve disputes outside of a court setting. It is therefore hoped that you shall demonstrate the necessary professionalism and respond immediately in order to properly deal with this very important matter outside of a court setting, however, failure to respond within ten days after receipt of this notice shall result in further action.
Sincerely,
Nadine E. Bews
Public Accountant & Forensic Auditor
Legal Chronologist & Historiographer
MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal, Founding Chair & Secretary-in-exile
cc:
Scott S. McCluskey – Coalition Executive Director-in-exile
Sandra N. Comeau - Coalition Steering Committee Ontario Representative-in-exile
Michael Pearce – Coalition Steering Committee Quebec Representative-in-exile
Jeff Harris – British Columbia Patient Representative
Lynne Knight - BC Law Society,
Jason Wilcox – Coalition Chief Executive Officer
Kirk Tousaw – Smith Action Legal Counsel
Nadine Bews
Well-Known Member
Nadine E. Bews
Public Accountant & Forensic Auditor
“Semper Fidelis” Legal Chronologist & Historiographer
Email: lawtalk@live.ca
Phone 403-248-1188
WITHOUT PREJUDICE OR MALICE
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
December 9, 2015
John Wm. Conroy QC
John Conroy & Company
2459 Pauline Street
Abbotsford, BC
Via email: jconroy@johnconroy.com
dlukiv@johnconroy.com
Dear Mr. Conroy;
NOTICE
of
MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal –trust account audit request.
My name is Nadine Bews and I am the founding chair and secretary-in-exile of the MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal (the “Coalition”). As you clearly stated in your most recent release there have been numerous concerns expressed with respect to Wilcox's 'management style' of Coalition affairs and finances. The purpose of this letter is to serve as notice that a demand is being made for an audit to be conducted on the Coalition’s trust fund held at your office and other accounts held by Wilcox and his associates.
. I have an abundance of evidence that Wilcox has failed. since the Coalition’s founding on January 15, 2013, to operate the Coalition consistent with the generally accepted principles and procedures governing accounting and business conduct in Canada and that Wilcox has improperly solicited, misallocated, misappropriated and redirected funds from the Coalition’s original purpose and used for Wilcox’s own personal purposes and for other purposes not cited in the Coalition’s original intention and purpose for organizing.
In December 2014, Wilcox incorporated the Coalition without consultation and has now abandoned the original purpose of the Coalition in favour of other pursuits and has been soliciting and contributing funds for the defense of others such as the Owen Smith extraction action and the defense of MACROS, an Alberta private enterprise operating as a medicinal cannabis dispensary.
In June 2013, I attended the Vancouver 2013 Health Expo hosted by Coalition treasurer Sandra Colasanti in order to staff the Coalition’s booth. At this time, I delivered no less than $5,000 worth of cannabis lifestyle products to Wilcox to be sold at the Expo and thereafter for fund raising purposes. The terms of agreement were that the Coalition was to receive only 30% of the proceeds on disposal and the rest returned to me, however, Wilcox failed to uphold this agreement and retained all of the inventory and proceeds causing a breach of contract and theft of property and funds, for which legal action is pending.
Wilcox launched a lock box campaign at this time which solicited cash donations from the public for payment of your legal fees in violation of the BC Law Society's Code of Professional Conduct which requires that a receipt be issued for such cash contributions to your legal trust fund.
In January 2014, I understand that there occurred a mass exodus of Coalition Steering Committee members due to concerns of Wilcox’s corporate and financial misconduct including the Coalition’s executive director Scott McCluskey, the representative from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Steve Finlay and Medical Cannabis Resources Institute representative Terry Roycroft.
You have been known to support and attend Coalition fund raising activities and you have posted an irreversible pledge form on your website at www.johnconroy.com soliciting a portion of the patient’s privacy breach award for payment of your legal fees.
You act as trustee of the Coalition’s trust account and, as solicitor for the Coalition, you are a direct benefactor of the Coalition's trust fund and, dependent upon your legal performance, the patients are indirect benefactors of the trust fund giving rise to concerns in light of the disastrous Allard Action which has left out no less than 50% of the MMAR patients with no right for appeal.
On July 1, 2015, Benchers approved changes to several BC Law Society Rules on trust accounting. The definition of “trust funds” in Rule 1 has been changed to include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust if the funds received by a lawyer, as a joint personal representative, are trust funds. Trust funds now include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust, if the appointment derived from a ‘solicitor-client relationship’. A “Conroy-Wilcox” joint-personal representative solicitor-client relationship with a non-lawyer is directly derived from the appointment of you as trustee of Coalition trust funds.
Furthermore, I have been advised by the Coalition’s former executive director Scott McCluskey that you had failed in your attempt to solicit a portion of the privacy breach from Kate Saunders at Branch McMaster. In March 2015, I submitted a request to the BC Law Society for a trust account audit and a request that they initiate an investigation into your questionable professional conduct and the Coalition’s questionable financial management practices. I was advised that Wilcox’s questionable management practices were a civil matter and that the extortion allegations are based upon hearsay because Mr. McCluskey failed to submit a sworn statement.
Numerous demands have been made to Wilcox and his administrators by disaffected Coalition Steering Committee members for Wilcox to deliver a proper set of audited financial statements, however, these demands have been met with silence, misleading or inadequate information and hostile threats to cease and desist from making such demands.
Alberta Court Rules dictate that parties make their very best effort to mediate and attempt to resolve disputes outside of a court setting. It is therefore hoped that you shall demonstrate the necessary professionalism and respond immediately in order to properly deal with this very important matter outside of a court setting, however, failure to respond within ten days after receipt of this notice shall result in further action.
Sincerely,
Nadine E. Bews
Public Accountant & Forensic Auditor
Legal Chronologist & Historiographer
MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal, Founding Chair & Secretary-in-exile
cc:
Scott S. McCluskey – Coalition Executive Director-in-exile
Sandra N. Comeau - Coalition Steering Committee Ontario Representative-in-exile
Michael Pearce – Coalition Steering Committee Quebec Representative-in-exile
Jeff Harris – British Columbia Patient Representative
Lynne Knight - BC Law Society,
Jason Wilcox – Coalition Chief Executive Officer
Kirk Tousaw – Smith Action Legal Counsel
Nadine Bews
Well-Known Member
COURT FILE NO.
COURT ALBERTA PROVINCIAL
APPLICANT NADINE E. BEWS
RESPONDENTS JOHN WM. CONROY QC; JASON F. WILCOX;
MMAR PPL/DPL COALITION AGAINST REPEAL
AKA CANNABIS RIGHTS COALITION ET. AL.
DOCUMENT REQUEST FOR TRUST ACCOUNT AUDIT
ADDRESS FOR Nadine E. Bews, Self-represented
SERVICE & CONTACT 3563 – 33 Street SE
INFORMATION FOR Calgary,Alberta T2B 2C1
PARTY FILING THIS Email: lawtalk@live.ca
DOCUMENT Phone: 403-248-1188
Solicitor for the Respondents
John Wm. Conroy QC
2459 Pauline Street, Abbotsford, BC
Phone: 604-859-3361
NOTICE TO RESPONDENTS
This application is a request for an audit of the trust account in the name of MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal aka Cannabis Rights Coalition (the “Coalition”) held by John Wm. Conroy QC (“Conroy”) at the offices of Conroy and Company at 2459 Pauline Street, Abbotsford, BC and any and all other trust and/or bank accounts and deposits held in the name of Jason F. Wilcox (“Wilcox”) and/or others.
This application is made by parties who are disaffected Coalition founding members and former directors who are acting as directors-in-exile.
This application is being made on behalf of
· volunteers who have contributed immeasurable amounts of time and resources to the Coalition’s fund raising efforts; and
· patients who have donated scarce funds; and
· sponsors who have donated funds, goods and resources to finance an injunction against the Health Canada Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (the “MMPR”).
The applicants are the trust fund beneficiaries and have repeatedly requested information from trustees of the trust in which the beneficiary has an interest, only to be met with incomplete and inconsistent responses, silence, delay, misleading information and further manipulation.
Objectives and Scope of Audit
The objective of this audit shall be to provide assurance over the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal controls over the management of trust and other funds. More specifically, the audit shall:
· Verify the accuracy and appropriateness of a sample of transactions within the trust and other accounts;
· Assess the adequacy and effectiveness of controls to confirm accuracy , integrity and completeness of the financial system including the data interface between the donor and the recipient of the funds; and
· Evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness, economy and compliance of administrative practices with fundamental accounting and generally accepted business principles and procedures.
The scope of the audit shall not be limited exclusively to the financial management of trust fund belonging to the beneficiaries of the Coalition and held in trust by Conroy but shall also include bank and trust accounts and deposits held by Wilcox and others.
More specifically, this audit shall include detailed testing of the accounting and administrative practices related to the receipt, management and disbursement of funds for the fiscal period commencing with the inception of the Coalition on January 15, 2013 to date ________________, in accordance with specific provisions of the Professional Code of Conduct and other relevant statutes, policies and guidelines.
MEMORANDUM OF FACTS
1. On December 12, 2012, Health Canada published notice in the Canada Gazette that the Medical Marihuana Access Regulations (the “MMAR”) were to be replaced on April 1, 2014 by the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (the “MMPR”). The MMPR replaced personal production licenses (PPL) and designated production licenses (DPL) with public-private partnerships called Licensed Producers (LP).
2. On January 15, 2013, the MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition Against Repeal also known as the Cannabis Rights Coalition (the “Coalition”) was founded via teleconference for the purpose of soliciting funds from the public in order to finance a legal action to stop some or all of the pending MMPR.
3. On November 28, 2013, Conroy filed in Federal Court an application to maintain the status quo and for an injunction on some or all of the MMPR; Federal Court File No. T2030-13 (the “Allard Action”).
4. On July 1, 2015, Benchers approved changes to several BC Law Society Rules on trust accounting. The definition of “trust funds” in Rule 1 has been changed to include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust if the funds received by a lawyer, as a joint personal representative, are trust funds. Trust funds now include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust, if the appointment derived from a ‘solicitor-client relationship’. Prior to the amendment “trust funds” included funds received by a lawyer as a sole personal representative but not funds received by a lawyer as a “joint-personalrepresentative”. This distinction did not appear sensible. It also was arguable that the rules did not apply when a lawyer was appointed a joint personal representative with a ‘non-lawyer’. The Trust Review Department recommended that all trust transactions by a lawyer, as a personal representative, be included in the definition of trust funds’ so that the Law Society will be in a position to carry out its responsibilities to the public.
CLAIMS
5. A Conroy-Wilcox joint-personal representative solicitor-client relationship with a non-lawyer is directly derived from the appointment of Conroy as trustee of Coalition trust funds.
6. The purpose of the trust is for payment of legal fees incurred in challenging the constitutionality of the MMPR.
7. Conroy acts as the solicitor in the Coalition’s legal action and, as principle lawyer for the Coalition’s legal actions, Conroy is the direct benefactor of the trust funds.
8. In addition to acting as the Coalition’s legal counsel, Conroy concurrently acts as trustee of the Coalition’s trust fund creating non-arm’s length transactions and a conflict of interest between Conroy the trustee and Conroy the legal counsel.
9. Dependent upon Conroy’s success in federal court, the Coalition’s MMAR patients are indirect benefactors of the trust funds.
10.Wilcox operates the Coalition under his sole authority and under the direction of Conroy.
11.Wilcox failed to operate the Coalition in a manner consistent with the generally accepted principles and procedures governing accounting and business conduct in Canada.
12.Without volunteer and supporter consultation, Wilcox federally incorporated the Coalition in December 2014 and changed its name to Cannabis Rights Coalition and changed its intents and purposes, also without consultation or approval.
13.Allegations of corporate and criminal misconduct include:
· Intentionally misleading the public; and
· Abuse of authority; and
· Slander and intimidation; and
· Lack of accountability; and
· Lack of transparency; and
· Conflict of interest; and
· Non-arm’s length transactions; and
· Theft of property and funds; and
· Misappropriation of funds; and
· Money laundering; and
· Kidnapping; and
· Extortion; and
· Issuing and posting verbal and online slander, intimidation, duress and death threats; and
· Breach of the Legal Profession Act, the Law Society Rules (the “Rules”) and the Code of Professional Conduct (the “Code”) governing solicitation of cash for the purpose of legal fees payments.
REMEDIES SOUGHT
· Complete accounting of the trust account held by Conroy at the offices of Conroy & Company in the name of MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal, aka Cannabis Rights Coalition from inception to date; and
· Complete accounting of the Coalition’s internal operating accounts, including the " community " account at the TD Bank, account number: 5231378 Transit: 94480 inst: 00; and
· Complete accounting of the lock box campaign; and
· Complete accounting of the funds raised through concerts and corporate sponsorship and donations; and
· Complete analysis of significant financial transactions including travel and accommodation, meals and entertainment and legal fees paid to all legal counsel that were part of the Allard Action, the Smith Action and the Macros Defence; and
· Complete accounting of all irrevocable pledges from the Branch McMaster privacy breach legal action against Health Canada to the Coalition’s trust account; and
· Complete copy of the incorporating documents for the Cannabis Rights Coalition incorporated in December 2014; and
· Copy of all financial transactions between the MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal to the incorporated Cannabis Rights Coalition; and
· Reimbursement of all costs related to the preparation and execution of this application and all costs related to conducting the financial investigation and the trust fund audit.
· The foregoing is to be delivered to the applicants no later than14 days from the receipt of this application.
APPLICANT
___________________________________ __________________________
Nadine E. Bews Date
COURT ALBERTA PROVINCIAL
APPLICANT NADINE E. BEWS
RESPONDENTS JOHN WM. CONROY QC; JASON F. WILCOX;
MMAR PPL/DPL COALITION AGAINST REPEAL
AKA CANNABIS RIGHTS COALITION ET. AL.
DOCUMENT REQUEST FOR TRUST ACCOUNT AUDIT
ADDRESS FOR Nadine E. Bews, Self-represented
SERVICE & CONTACT 3563 – 33 Street SE
INFORMATION FOR Calgary,Alberta T2B 2C1
PARTY FILING THIS Email: lawtalk@live.ca
DOCUMENT Phone: 403-248-1188
Solicitor for the Respondents
John Wm. Conroy QC
2459 Pauline Street, Abbotsford, BC
Phone: 604-859-3361
NOTICE TO RESPONDENTS
This application is a request for an audit of the trust account in the name of MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal aka Cannabis Rights Coalition (the “Coalition”) held by John Wm. Conroy QC (“Conroy”) at the offices of Conroy and Company at 2459 Pauline Street, Abbotsford, BC and any and all other trust and/or bank accounts and deposits held in the name of Jason F. Wilcox (“Wilcox”) and/or others.
This application is made by parties who are disaffected Coalition founding members and former directors who are acting as directors-in-exile.
This application is being made on behalf of
· volunteers who have contributed immeasurable amounts of time and resources to the Coalition’s fund raising efforts; and
· patients who have donated scarce funds; and
· sponsors who have donated funds, goods and resources to finance an injunction against the Health Canada Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (the “MMPR”).
The applicants are the trust fund beneficiaries and have repeatedly requested information from trustees of the trust in which the beneficiary has an interest, only to be met with incomplete and inconsistent responses, silence, delay, misleading information and further manipulation.
Objectives and Scope of Audit
The objective of this audit shall be to provide assurance over the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal controls over the management of trust and other funds. More specifically, the audit shall:
· Verify the accuracy and appropriateness of a sample of transactions within the trust and other accounts;
· Assess the adequacy and effectiveness of controls to confirm accuracy , integrity and completeness of the financial system including the data interface between the donor and the recipient of the funds; and
· Evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness, economy and compliance of administrative practices with fundamental accounting and generally accepted business principles and procedures.
The scope of the audit shall not be limited exclusively to the financial management of trust fund belonging to the beneficiaries of the Coalition and held in trust by Conroy but shall also include bank and trust accounts and deposits held by Wilcox and others.
More specifically, this audit shall include detailed testing of the accounting and administrative practices related to the receipt, management and disbursement of funds for the fiscal period commencing with the inception of the Coalition on January 15, 2013 to date ________________, in accordance with specific provisions of the Professional Code of Conduct and other relevant statutes, policies and guidelines.
MEMORANDUM OF FACTS
1. On December 12, 2012, Health Canada published notice in the Canada Gazette that the Medical Marihuana Access Regulations (the “MMAR”) were to be replaced on April 1, 2014 by the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (the “MMPR”). The MMPR replaced personal production licenses (PPL) and designated production licenses (DPL) with public-private partnerships called Licensed Producers (LP).
2. On January 15, 2013, the MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition Against Repeal also known as the Cannabis Rights Coalition (the “Coalition”) was founded via teleconference for the purpose of soliciting funds from the public in order to finance a legal action to stop some or all of the pending MMPR.
3. On November 28, 2013, Conroy filed in Federal Court an application to maintain the status quo and for an injunction on some or all of the MMPR; Federal Court File No. T2030-13 (the “Allard Action”).
4. On July 1, 2015, Benchers approved changes to several BC Law Society Rules on trust accounting. The definition of “trust funds” in Rule 1 has been changed to include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust if the funds received by a lawyer, as a joint personal representative, are trust funds. Trust funds now include funds that a lawyer receives in his or her capacity as a sole or joint personal representative of a person or as a trustee under a trust, if the appointment derived from a ‘solicitor-client relationship’. Prior to the amendment “trust funds” included funds received by a lawyer as a sole personal representative but not funds received by a lawyer as a “joint-personalrepresentative”. This distinction did not appear sensible. It also was arguable that the rules did not apply when a lawyer was appointed a joint personal representative with a ‘non-lawyer’. The Trust Review Department recommended that all trust transactions by a lawyer, as a personal representative, be included in the definition of trust funds’ so that the Law Society will be in a position to carry out its responsibilities to the public.
CLAIMS
5. A Conroy-Wilcox joint-personal representative solicitor-client relationship with a non-lawyer is directly derived from the appointment of Conroy as trustee of Coalition trust funds.
6. The purpose of the trust is for payment of legal fees incurred in challenging the constitutionality of the MMPR.
7. Conroy acts as the solicitor in the Coalition’s legal action and, as principle lawyer for the Coalition’s legal actions, Conroy is the direct benefactor of the trust funds.
8. In addition to acting as the Coalition’s legal counsel, Conroy concurrently acts as trustee of the Coalition’s trust fund creating non-arm’s length transactions and a conflict of interest between Conroy the trustee and Conroy the legal counsel.
9. Dependent upon Conroy’s success in federal court, the Coalition’s MMAR patients are indirect benefactors of the trust funds.
10.Wilcox operates the Coalition under his sole authority and under the direction of Conroy.
11.Wilcox failed to operate the Coalition in a manner consistent with the generally accepted principles and procedures governing accounting and business conduct in Canada.
12.Without volunteer and supporter consultation, Wilcox federally incorporated the Coalition in December 2014 and changed its name to Cannabis Rights Coalition and changed its intents and purposes, also without consultation or approval.
13.Allegations of corporate and criminal misconduct include:
· Intentionally misleading the public; and
· Abuse of authority; and
· Slander and intimidation; and
· Lack of accountability; and
· Lack of transparency; and
· Conflict of interest; and
· Non-arm’s length transactions; and
· Theft of property and funds; and
· Misappropriation of funds; and
· Money laundering; and
· Kidnapping; and
· Extortion; and
· Issuing and posting verbal and online slander, intimidation, duress and death threats; and
· Breach of the Legal Profession Act, the Law Society Rules (the “Rules”) and the Code of Professional Conduct (the “Code”) governing solicitation of cash for the purpose of legal fees payments.
REMEDIES SOUGHT
· Complete accounting of the trust account held by Conroy at the offices of Conroy & Company in the name of MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal, aka Cannabis Rights Coalition from inception to date; and
· Complete accounting of the Coalition’s internal operating accounts, including the " community " account at the TD Bank, account number: 5231378 Transit: 94480 inst: 00; and
· Complete accounting of the lock box campaign; and
· Complete accounting of the funds raised through concerts and corporate sponsorship and donations; and
· Complete analysis of significant financial transactions including travel and accommodation, meals and entertainment and legal fees paid to all legal counsel that were part of the Allard Action, the Smith Action and the Macros Defence; and
· Complete accounting of all irrevocable pledges from the Branch McMaster privacy breach legal action against Health Canada to the Coalition’s trust account; and
· Complete copy of the incorporating documents for the Cannabis Rights Coalition incorporated in December 2014; and
· Copy of all financial transactions between the MMAR PPL/DPL Coalition against Repeal to the incorporated Cannabis Rights Coalition; and
· Reimbursement of all costs related to the preparation and execution of this application and all costs related to conducting the financial investigation and the trust fund audit.
· The foregoing is to be delivered to the applicants no later than14 days from the receipt of this application.
APPLICANT
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Nadine E. Bews Date