Man charged with burning Black Loyalist Heritage site refuses to enter plea

Gaylord Avery Perry stood in front of the Provincial Court Judge, Robert Prince, declaring angrily he did not receive full disclosure and had not been able to access videos pertaining to the case.

“That’s a problem because this has to deal with a serious offense,” said Perry.

According to Crown Attorney, Jim Fyfe, he could not release the videos of witnesses statements to an accused who is unrepresented.

“I wrote him a letter when I sent him the disclosure package,” said Fyfe, “I told him we had the video statements and he could contact me to view them or if he would be able to obtain a lawyer to request them.”

The Judge would not release the tapes to Perry without the proper representation.

“Why,” interrupted Perry, “it doesn’t make sense, why.”

Perry, who had so far represented himself throughout his past appearances in the matter, asked the Judge if his plea could be held over until the first of fall.

The Judge refused saying it was far too long and allowed Perry until Aug. 1 to enter his plea, urging him to get a lawyer.

“I’ll be armed with a lawyer on that day,” said Perry.

The fire that was intentionally started over a year ago burned down the heritage building that sat in the centre of Canada’s oldest black community, Birchtown.

“It was hard,” remembers Jackie Race Project Manager for the Black Loyalist Heritage Society, “we were all there when it was actually burning. I will never forget it. There was a whole group of us and I just looked around and could see the flames reflecting in their eyes.”

She said when she first realized what was happening she broke down and attempted to run into the burning building to save treasured historical pieces from the flames.

“The fireman carried out what they could save, just like little babies, while it was burning,” Race recalls.

“What we lost is a lot bigger than that,” she says, “people got really badly hurt (emotionally). People felt sick…that building was built with money people had fundraised through countless bake sales.”

Although the case has not been deemed as being a racial crime Race strongly believes it should be.

“It should have been charged as a hate crime,” she says.