Former Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum will not be able to avoid his corruption trial.
Applebaum faces 14 counts of fraud, breach of trust and conspiracy dating back to his time as a councillor and mayor of Cote-Des-Neiges-NDG, between 2006 and 2011.
With his trial due to begin in November, Applebaum's lawyers argued in court in August that the prosecution withheld evidence.
On Monday, the judge disagreed and ruled the trial will proceed as scheduled.
The case against Applebaum is built on the testimony of a former employee, who said the politician accepted a bribe in connection with a condo development in his borough.
Applebaum's lawyer, Pierre Teasdale, argued that the Crown has not handed over notes taken during three meetings in April that involved the prosecution, police and this witness.
The prosecution said those notes are privileged documentation, not evidence, and as such do not have to be given to the defence.
The judge agreed Monday that the prosecution should have been more careful in the way it dealt with the note-taking, but rejected the defence's request to drop the charges.
“He considered that no evidence was made before him that the right to a full defence was violated, so he said he did not deserve a stay of proceedings,” said prosecutor Nathalie Kleber.
Applebaum has tried on one other occasion to have the case against him dismissed.
In June, his lawyer asked for a stay of proceedings on the basis that it took the court too long to bring the court to trial.
Applebaum was arrested in the summer of 2013, when he was the interim mayor of Montreal, and Teasdale said a three-year wait was not reasonable.
The judge ruled against Applebaum, and said that a three-year delay was to be expected.
The trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 15.
