Cedrika Provencher: Quebec judge opts against blanket ban in lawsuit hearing

Jonathan Bettez is shown at court in Montreal on Monday, Jan.22, 2024.The lawyer for Bettez, a Quebec man who provincial police say remains a suspect in the disappearance and death of a young girl 16 years ago, says he is eager to testify in lawsuit against the authorities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sidhartha Banerjee

A Quebec Superior Court judge has ruled against a blanket ban being sought by the attorney general to shield evidence in the ongoing investigation into a nine-year-old girl's killing.

The ruling Tuesday is part of a $10-million lawsuit brought by Jonathan Bettez, who claims he was unfairly targeted by investigators in the 2007 disappearance of Cedrika Provencher.

The young girl's skeletal remains were discovered in Trois-Rivieres, Que., in December 2015 but no one has been charged in her killing and lawyers for the attorney general said this week they don't want to harm the police investigation by disclosing sensitive information in the civil case.

Provincial police witnesses testified on Monday that Bettez remains a suspect, but his lawyer said he is innocent and looks forward to testifying at an eventual civil trial.

The hearing this week is to determine what police documents Bettez can access as his lawyer prepares the case, but government lawyers wanted it held behind closed doors.

Justice Gregory Moore ruled today the hearing will be held in public and the court will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to protect sensitive information with a publication ban or by temporarily moving behind closed doors.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2024.