minister Andrew-Drossos: Nicolis cannot be held by Maintenance enforcement rules or the court!

Read the second transcript below for the kicker!

IN THE COURT OF QUEEN’S BENCH OF ALBERTA
JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF EDMONTON
BETWEEN:
RESHMIKA MANIKAM
Applicant
and
ANDREAS DROSSOS NICOLIS
Respondent
P R O C E E D I N G
Edmonton, Alberta
June 8, 2010
December 16, 2010
Transcript Management Services, Edmonton
1000, 10123 99th Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J-3H1
Phone: (780) 427-6181 Fax: (780) 422-2826
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Description Page
June 8, 2010 Morning Session 1
Submissions by Ms. Yoon 1
Ruling (Detention) 5
Certificate of Record 8
Certificate of Transcript 9
December 16, 2010 Morning Session 10
Submissions by Ms. Goulden 10
Ruling (Release) 13
Certificate of Record 14
Certificate of Transcript 15
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1 Proceedings taken in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Law Court, Edmonton, Alberta
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3 June 8, 2010 Morning Session
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5 The Honourable Court of Queen’s Bench
6 Mr. Justice Macklin of Alberta
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8 H. B. Yoon Forthe Director of Maintenance Enforcement
9 (NO COUNSEL) For the Respondent
10 A. Pawlikowski-Brouiaka Court Clerk
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13 MS.YOON: Thenext matter would be Andy Nicolis.
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15 THECOURT: Yourname is Andy Nicolis?
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17 MR.NICOLIS: Yes.
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19 THECOURT: Howlong have you been there?
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21 MR. NICOLIS: Where?
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23 THECOURT: Incustody.
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25 MR.NICOLIS: Sinceyesterday 1 p.m.
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27 THECOURT: All right. Ms. Yoon from Maintenance
28 Enforcement is going to tell me what this is about. And you.
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30 Submissions by Ms. Yoon
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32 MS.YOON: So Sir, I have quite a bit of information to
33 convey, so if I could have the Court’s patience. This is the matter of Andy Nicolis. He
34 was picked up yesterday at around 1 p.m. He has a lengthy history. The creditor is
35 Reshmika Nicolis. There are four dependents; Demetrius, Aditia, Melissa and Christen,
36 respectively age 16, 15, 13, and 11. There are two Orders. One would be dated February
37 6th, 1996, the other one November 9th, 1999. The ongoing maintenance for Melissa and
38 Christen would be $200 per month on the 17th of each month, and for Aditia and
39 Demetrius it would be $375 per month on the last day of each month. The current arrears
40 owing amount to $69,985.52. Of that amount, $7177.90 is owed to the creditor, and
41 $61,307.63 is owed to the Crown. There are $1500 in penalties.
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2 The last voluntary payment that Mr. Nicolis made was $575, and this was done on August
3 17th, 2000. This file goes back to -- or enforcement attempts have gone back to 1998.
4 I’m just going to go through -- I’m not going to give the entirety of the history. I’m just
5 going to take out some highlights that I think shows his non-compliance, because what
6 that’s leading up to is, as I will be asking that he be held over for a couple of days for
7 Maintenance Enforcement to be able to conduct a financial examination in the Remand
8 Centre. So I’m just going to --
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10 THECOURT: Well, is the problem that he has not shown up
11 to be examined?
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13 MS.YOON: That is in fact how the Order to Compel was
14 issued and the warrant was issued. So I’m just going to take just bits and pieces here.
15 March 9th, 2005, there is -- Mr. Nicolis states Maintenance Enforcement has to prove that
16 the person we are collecting against is him. His reasoning is that since we used capital
17 letters for name, and his name is not in capital letters, we have the wrong person. On
18 May 20th, 2008, Maintenance Enforcement called Mr. Nicolas. He would not give his
19 address and did not want to discuss the file. On March 19th, 2009 -- Sir, I’m skipping
20 over some things. I’m just giving you the highlights of non-compliance. March 19th,
21 2009, Mr. Nicolis is a no show for a Notice to Attend. Maintenance Enforcement
22 proceeded with an Order to compel. On May 12th, 2009, Maintenance Enforcement
23 prepared an Order to Compel for August 27th, 2009 at 9 a.m. Now, the bailiff was not
24 able to serve Mr. Nicolis. And then on September 23rd, 2009, two men dropped off a
25 letter for Maintenance Enforcement -- or sorry. I’m just going to -- I’m not -- I’m just
26 going to skip over that. February 1st, 2010, Mr. Nicolis was a no show for an Order to
27 Compel set for 9 a.m., and a warrant was issued on May 17th, 2010, and I believe that’s
28 the warrant he was picked up on.
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30 On May 27th, 2010, Mr. Nicolis appeared at the Maintenance Enforcement office.
31 Maintenance Enforcement then advised Mr. Nicolis of an outstanding warrant for his
32 arrest. Mr. Nicolis stated, "I don’t believe this", and laughed. Maintenance Enforcement
33 asked if he would like to arrange for a payment. Mr Nicolis advised "No", and handed an
34 affidavit of a list of points outlining no financial information. Maintenance Enforcement
35 advised Mr. Nicolis that they are there to discuss a payment arrangement with
36 Maintenance Enforcement. He refused and left the office. So those are some of those
37 highlights.
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39 In order for Mr. Nicolis to be released, Maintenance Enforcement would ask that he
40 comply with the following: Provide Maintenance Enforcement with a lump sum payment
41 of $7177.90. This is the amount currently owed to the creditor. So that’s the creditor
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1 part of the arrears. And upon his release, or by June 15th -- and that date is significant;
2 I’ll just get to it. We are asking that he be held in the Remand Centre to allow
3 Maintenance Enforcement to conduct a financial examination on Mr. Nicolis, and our
4 preferred date would be June 10th, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. So we are asking that he be held
5 over until June 10th in order for that financial examination to occur. We are seeking that
6 he provide a completed Statement of Finances, and that he attend at a later date, and I
7 understand that Maintenance Enforcement -- my client is here, and he will be served with
8 the documents that he attend at the Maintenance Enforcement office for a financial
9 examination on June 16th, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.
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11 So that’s in addition. So that’s a further date from --
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13 THECOURT: Thatis in addition to the one on June 10th?
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15 MS.YOON: That’s correct. And also, the director of
16 Maintenance Enforcement requests that Mr. Nicolis be ordered to provide the following
17 documents to the director of Maintenance Enforcement on or before June 15th, 2010. So
18 one, his personal income tax returns for the last five years; two, his corporate income tax
19 returns for the last five years for any company in which you own shares or business
20 interests; three, that he lists any debts that are owing to him; four, list of any and all debts
21 that are owed by his company; number five, bank statements, pay stubs and credit card
22 statements for the last year.
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24 So ideally we are looking for him to be held over to June 10th, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. In the
25 alternative, if the Court is not inclined to hold him over, we are seeking an order that he
26 pay that lump sum payment upon his release, or at least by June 15th when he is
27 supposed to be attending an examination the next day.
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29 THECOURT: All right. Thank you. Mr. Nicolis, you heard
30 what Ms. Yoon has said?
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32 MR.NICOLIS: Yes.
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34 THECOURT: Whatdo you want to do?
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36 MR.NICOLIS: Well, I’ve responded to everything she said all
37 the way through. The way I understand it, I’m here to get a court date. So if you give
38 me a court date, I’ll gladly show up, no questions asked, with all the documentation she
39 needs once again, like I have always provided.
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41 THECOURT: Shewants a lump sum payment of $7100 or so.
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2 MR. NICOLIS: Well, without a license, without a job, being an
3 alleged dead beat dad for the last nine years, I don’t know how that’s gonna happen. I
4 really don’t have that kind of money to pull out of anywhere. I wish I did.
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6 THE COURT: You are not working now?
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8 MR. NICOLIS: I haven’t been working since 2003, Your
9 Honour. Being an unemployed Class 1 driver because I don’t have a driver’s license
10 means I couldn’t get a job at McDonald’s. I’m not even qualified to wash dishes, Your
11 Honour.
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13 MS.YOON: MyLord, the issue at Maintenance Enforcement
14 is we don’t have any financial disclosure, nor do we have any payment arrangements, and
15 yet we get information, it may be from the creditor, that he does work as a truck driver,
16 and that may be under the table, but of course we just don’t have any financial
17 information --
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19 MR.NICOLIS: Withor without a --
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21 MS.YOON: --whatsoever from Mr. Nicolis, and that’s been
22 the problem from the start.
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24 MR. NICOLIS: Excuse me. I’m working as a Class 1 driver
25 with or without a valid operator’s license, allegedly?
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27 THECOURT: Well,are you working at all?
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29 MR.NICOLIS: No, I’m not. How could I get a job as a Class
30 1 driver --
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32 THECOURT: Allright.
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34 MR.NICOLIS: --without a Class 1 license?
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36 THECOURT: Can’tget blood out of a stone, and I can’t keep
37 him in custody if he can’t pay, otherwise he would be there forever.
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39 MS.YOON: Sir,I think --
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41 THECOURT: Ican keep him long enough for you to examine
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1 him.
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3 MS. YOON: I think that would be -- I think that would be
4 the preference. And --
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6 THE COURT: What is today, June the 8th?
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8 MS. YOON: It is June the 8th today, and we’re asking for
9 June 10th.
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11 MR.NICOLIS: Your Honour, if you give me a court date for
12 June the 15th, I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign. I will be there. I promise.
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14 THECOURT: Well, I am not going to give you a court date,
15 but here is what we are going to do. Can you examine him tomorrow?
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17 MS.YOON: Yes, Sir, that is an option here that my client
18 has provided me as a second preferred date, would be June 9th, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.
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20 Ruling (Detention)
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22 THECOURT: All right. I am going to keep you in custody
23 until tomorrow. You are going to be examined June 9th at 10:30 a.m. at the Remand
24 Centre, and you will also be required -- you can be released after your examination, but
25 you will be required to attend at Maintenance Enforcement for a further exam on June
26 15th.
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28 MS.YOON: June16th, Sir, at 1:30 p.m.
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30 THECOURT: Sorry. June 16th at 1:30.
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32 MS.YOON: Andhe will be served with those papers.
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34 THECOURT: Doyou understand?
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36 MR.NICOLIS: Iunderstand.
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38 THECOURT: Thatis an order.
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40 MR.NICOLIS: Iunderstand.
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1 THE COURT: You will be at Maintenance Enforcement 1:30
2 June 16th for further exam. You will provide them with your tax returns for the last five
3 years, if you have any. You will provide them with your corporate tax returns for five
4 years if you have any. A list of your debts, both for yourself and for any company that
5 you own, if you have any, and credit card information. All of that will be provided to
6 Maintenance Enforcement on June the 16th when you attend at 1:30. Understood?
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8 MR. NICOLIS: Understood.
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10 THECOURT: Andyou will submit to an examination at that
11 point as well under oath. All right?
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13 MR.NICOLIS: Allright.
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15 THECOURT: Okay.
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17 MS.YOON: And just to clarify, that’s any debts that you
18 have or any debts that are owing to you.
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20 Sir, I believe my office prepares the order. And I would just ask that Rule 323.1 be
21 invoked, and that’s service would be by ordinary mail to the last known address on the
22 MEP files.
23
24 THECOURT: Well, have you confirmed an address yet?
25 What address are you living at?
26
27 MR.NICOLIS: Mail goes -- I get mail from 5715 - 133A
28 Avenue, Number 15C.
29
30 THECOURT: Didyou get that?
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32 MS.YOON: Thatwill be the address that the Order will be
33 mailed out to.
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35 THECOURT: Allright. Rule 323 will be invoked then.
36
37 MS.YOON: Thankyou, Sir.
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39 THECOURT: Andyou can send the Order to me for signing.
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41 MS.YOON: Thankyou, Sir.
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2 THE COURT: All right. Thank you. You will be examined
3 tomorrow then at 10:30, following which you can be released.
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5 MR. NICOLIS: Thank you.
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8 PROCEEDINGS CONCLUDED
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1 Certificate of Record
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3 I, Audrey Pawlikowski-Brouiaka, certify that this recording is the record made of the
4 evidence in the proceedings in Court of Queen’s Bench, held in Courtroom 316 at
5 Edmonton, Alberta, on the 8th day of June, 2010, and that
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7 Iwas the court official in charge of the sound-recording machine during the proceedings.
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1 Certificate of Transcript
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3 I, Carl Ross, certify that
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5 (a) I transcribed the record, which was recorded by a sound-recording machine, to the best
6 of my skill and ability and the foregoing pages are a complete and accurate transcript of
7 the contents of the record, and
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9 (b) the Certificate of Record for these proceedings was included orally on the record and
10 is transcribed in this transcript.
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13 DigitallyCertified: 2010-12-20 14:19:40
14 CarlRoss, Transcriber
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40 Digital Fingerprint: 41917db347f58a5071c880db69f6b793485600a8e20a4a684bf6ecb6bd7a119e
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1 Proceedings taken in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Law Court, Edmonton, Alberta
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3 December 16, 2010 Morning Session
4 Master Breitkreuz Master in Chambers
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6 R. J. Goulden Forthe Director of Maintenance Enforcement
7 (NO COUNSEL) For the Respondent
8 C. Muis CourtClerk
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11 Submissions by Ms. Goulden
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13 MS.GOULDEN: Good morning, Sir. Ronda Goulden, counsel
14 for the director of Maintenance Enforcement this morning. I thought I would begin in the
15 matter of Mr. Nicolas in explaining how it is that we get here this morning. There was a
16 default hearing set for October 7th, and at that time Mr. Nicolis did not attend. A warrant
17 was issued for his arrest. He was picked up on that warrant and brought before the court
18 on Tuesday morning, at which point in time we asked for the ability to have a hearing,
19 and the judge held him over to today for this hearing.
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21 Previously, just for your information, there -- and these documents would be on the file --
22 he was ordered to attend Maintenance Enforcement on February 1st, and he did not attend
23 at that date, and a warrant was issued for his arrest then. He was picked up on that
24 warrant in June of 2010. He was examined under oath regarding his finances at the
25 Remand Center on June 9th, and then asked to attend at Maintenance Enforcement on
26 June 16th to follow-up on some of the details. And so there were two examinations that
27 were done in June of this year.
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29 From my client’s perspective, from the Maintenance Enforcement Program’s perspective
30 there was no information regarding his financial situation that was provided.
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32 On the morning of October 7th, Mr. Nicolis did file a document. I believe it’s on the
33 court file. That was on the morning that he was supposed to appear in the afternoon for
34 the default hearing, and he did not show in the afternoon. But that document, I believe,
35 has his points regarding what he believes to have been his financial disclosure.
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37 The maintenance history, there are two Orders on this file. There are four children. The
38 first Order is from 1996. It’s dealing with the two oldest children. The maintenance is
39 $100 per month per child, so for a total of $200 per month for the two oldest children.
40 Later, in 1999 there is a court Order in the Provincial Court regarding the two youngest
41 children, and the amount of maintenance there is $187.50 per month per child for a total
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1 of 375. So Mr. Nicolis has been ordered to pay $575 total. Everything that I’ve said so
2 far reflects just what would be a summary of the court file, what’s already on your
3 documents.
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5 Regarding his payment history -- and I can call evidence regarding this -- his Statement of
6 Account shows us that the last payment that was received on this file was in 2006, four
7 years ago -- four and a half years ago actually, and that was an involuntary payment. It
8 was garnisheed through the federal garnishee -- there was a payment of $67. Before
9 that -- there were a number of payments received through the federal government. Before
10 that there was a wage garnishee in 2000, so almost ten years ago, where Maintenance
11 Enforcement Program received $575. So nothing has been received on this file in the last
12 four and a half years.
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14 The conversations that we’ve had with Mr. Nicolis are basically summarized in his
15 affidavit that he filed on October 7th, and we are here today seeking either some actual
16 financial information that would show us how we could get some money, because
17 obviously we would prefer to have money, or we are asking that Mr. Nicolis be put in
18 gaol for 90 days for failure to pay and failure to comply.
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20 MASTER BREITKREUZ: Well, you know, after reading this affidavit, it
21 seems to me it would be the grossest insult to justice to send him to gaol. Has he ever
22 been sent to the Alberta Hospital for an assessment?
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24 MS.GOULDEN: Ithink -- I agree with you, Sir, that that would
25 potentially be appropriate, but unfortunately -- and I’ve looked. There is no -- there is
26 nothing in the Act that allows you to do that. There is no power that we have to do that.
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28 MASTER BREITKREUZ: But can you look me in the eye and say after
29 reading this, this man should go to gaol?
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31 MS.GOULDEN: I can, Sir, for this reason; that what is written
32 in there is very strong belief system that he has about the administration of justice. It
33 shows actually that he doesn’t believe the justice system applies to him. He actually --
34 we have that under oath during his -- in his -- in the examinations where he says I don’t
35 believe in the legal system. So --
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37 MASTER BREITKREUZ: He says he is insolvent. He has got a
38 paragraph in here -- I will find it. Paragraph 38. "Is and always has been insolvent".
39
40 MS.GOULDEN: But that’s because, Sir, if you -- the rest of the
41 affidavit establishes that what he is actually talking about is an identity issue. He has two
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1 different -- I can’t -- I’d actually like you to talk to him about how he addresses his
2 identity, because the problem is that his statements about the finances that he makes, it’s
3 not clear whether he is making that in his own personal -- his own human status of he’s
4 got this belief that his name is given to him by his parents and the government, and that
5 whatever is done in his name doesn’t apply to him in the body. So he could be receiving
6 income, and we actually do believe -- we have -- we do believe that there is some driving
7 and stuff that -- we don’t even know how he feeds himself from day to day, and I think
8 the Court would be curious about those kinds of questions. How does he survive?
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10 MASTER BREITKREUZ: What kind of questions were asked when
11 somebody asked him questions in -- I don’t know -- June of this year?
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13 MS.GOULDEN: Okay. So I have -- there are two transcripts,
14 and we can provide these to you, because they are sworn, they are under oath. Every time
15 the Maintenance Enforcement worker asked him a question, we have about five pages just
16 talking about the birth certificate and whether or not it is his name. Then --
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18 MASTER BREITKREUZ: Well, that just tells me more clearly than ever
19 this man should be assessed by a psychologist or a psychiatrist, not by me.
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21 MS.GOULDEN: All right. So I agree that there is definitely
22 some opening for some psychiatric testing.
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24 MASTER BREITKREUZ: Yes. How are you going to get him there?
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26 MS.GOULDEN: Wecan’t.
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28 MASTER BREITKREUZ: Well, we can just send him to gaol. We can
29 send this mentally sick person to gaol but we can’t send him for an assessment.
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31 MS.GOULDEN: Well,Sir --
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33 MASTER BREITKREUZ: Because I am telling you I am going to give
34 you about five minutes and he is going to be out of here, released. I am not sending this
35 kind of a person to gaol. That would be a gross injustice.
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37 MS.GOULDEN: So then, Sir, I need to come to you then and
38 say as part of the justice system, what is justice here.
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40 MASTER BREITKREUZ: Justice is sending him for a mental assessment.
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1 MS. GOULDEN: And you can’t do that and I can’t do that.
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3 Ruling (Release)
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5 MASTER BREITKREUZ: Okay. Then he is going to be released. He is
6 not going to be held in custody just because I can’t send him for a mental assessment.
7 This is nonsense. If you can’t do it, then you can abolish the Act. I am going to direct
8 that he be released.
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11 PROCEEDINGS CONCLUDED
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1 Certificate of Record
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3 I, Candace Muis, certify that this recording is the record made of the evidence in the
4 proceedings in the Court of Queen’s Bench, held in Courtroom 212 at Edmonton, Alberta,
5 on the 16th day of December, 2010, and that
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7 Iwas the court official in charge of the sound-recording machine during the proceedings.
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