New lawyer and trial dates for N.B. man accused of financial crimes

A New Brunswick man will stand trial on 19 alleged financial crimes for the second time later this year. 

Daniel Bard, 60, will be tried over four weeks starting Sept. 15 in Moncton provincial court. He faces charges that include fraud, theft, possession of property obtained by crime and money laundering.

His first trial on the charges began in April but ended with a mistrial in June after his lawyer withdrew from the case over health issues.

Bard was back in Moncton court Tuesday morning with his newly appointed lawyer, Nelson Peters, to schedule the re-trial. Peters told Judge Anne Richard he believes the September start will give him enough time to prepare. 

"I understand that this has been a complex, difficult case," Peters told the judge. 

Peters also said he knows the "timeline is ticking" on carrying out the trial, referring to the Supreme Court of Canada in its 2016 Jordan decision. 

That decision says most trials in provincial court should be largely complete within 18 months of charges being laid, with some exceptions for things such as complex cases. Going beyond the Jordan timeline can result in charges being stayed, ending the prosecution. 

Bard was charged in 2022 and was originally set to stand trial in late 2023. He parted ways with his first lawyer and the trial was rescheduled to spring 2025, which then ended in a mistrial.

The retrial was originally going to begin in October. However, it was moved ahead after Crown prosecutor Chris Ryan referenced the Jordan timeline, saying "counting days may become an issue."

The mistrial means witnesses who already testified will have to testify again. 

Bard's lawyer is being paid for by the province after the judge approved Bard's Rowbotham application to have the government fund a lawyer for a person denied legal aid.

Some of the allegations date to when Bard was a vice-president of investment attraction for 3+ Corp., which was a municipally funded economic development agency for the Moncton region. 

In 2019, CBC reported that Bard was accused by several business owners and individuals of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in administrative and brokerage fees while working for the agency but failing to deliver on promises and then vanishing.