Three wise monkeys?

Good Day Folks:

Received the following documentation recently. By way of background for those not familiar with the case, during mid-September, 2003 we received an anonymous telephone call MMF President David Chartrand at that year's pre-Annual General Assembly provincial Board of Directors meeting was attempting to get a Motion passed to sue www.CyberSmokeSignals.com for alleged defamation. Failing that, it was eventually agreed a lawyer would begin monitoring the site looking for litigious material. We believe that person to have been Federation solicitor Murray Trachtenberg who bills the Federation at a rate of at least $250/hour.

Upon being apprised of the situation, I immediately suggested to Mr. Belhumeur the site retain an attorney to oversee the material posted. He recommended Lionel R. Chartrand who at the time was working for Manitoba Legal Aid. Currently he's a Crown Prosecutor in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Mr. L. Chartrand contacted me and subsequently agreed to serve pro bono as CSS.com's General Legal Counsel and an announcement to that effect was posted.

During late January, 2004 Lionel Chartrand suggested the idea of an election funding petition offering to draft it given his legal background. He subsequently made copies available to Vanessa Everton who had agreed to be the project's co-ordinator and I. In a November 9, 2006 letter eerily similar to Mr. Belhumeur's (below) she was dropped as a Co-Defendant. At no material time did Mr. Lionel Chartrand caution us his material could contain defamatory material. Accordingly, on January 28, 2009 it was displayed and the following day Mr. Belhumeur was advised by e-mail

On February 9, 2004 Messrs Chartrand and Belhumeur received Defamation Warning Letters as did Ms Everton from Counselor Trachtenberg - I did not although my name was referenced. In late May of 2005 Mr. Belhumeur, Vanessa Everton and I were served with Statements of Claim. For reason(s) never explained Lionel Chartrand was not named as a Co-Defendant and, in fact, had entered into a $2,500 monthly retainer agreement (late December 2004 - early 2005) to provide legal advice (aboriginal hunting rights) to the MMF.

Fast forward to the present. On September 8, 2008 the first Pre-Trial Conference was held (subsequent ones have taken place October 30, 2008, January 14, February 6 and February 20, 2009). In addition there have been two Case Management Meetings - April 6 and May 22, 2009 with a third scheduled for July 30 of this year.

At the initial Pre-Trial Conference, MMF lawyer Murray Trachtenberg requested and was granted a publication ban only as it relates to Pre-Trial Conferences. It was later extended to Case Management Meetings. It states in part:

..... I (Madam Justice Karen Simonsen, Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench) ordered that, until further order of the court, all material filed for and discussions at the pre-trial conference, as well as this memorandum, be subject to a publication ban - that is, they not be published or transmitted in any way, including the internet .....

The Order then goes on to cite several authorities (Queen's Bench Rules) to justify the decision.

Although we are without any formal legal training, we have carefully read the publication ban on several occasions and are of the opinion displaying Mr. Trachtenberg's correspondence of May 26, 2009 does not violate the judicial order. Besides, at the April 6 and May 22, 2009 Case Management Meetings no mention was made whatsoever by Messrs Trachtenberg or Belhumeur of the latter's March 17, 2009 letter.

The Manitoba Metis Federation is financed by Canadian taxpayers, therefore, so is its lawsuit.

www.CyberSmokeSignals.com has been defunct for several months.

Sincerely,

Clare L. Pieuk

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Posner & Trachtenberg

An Association of Independent lawyers

_________________________________

710-491 Portage Avenue

Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E4

Canada

Murray N. Trachtenberg, B.A., LL.B.

Phone: 204-940-9602

Fax: 204-944-8878

E-mail: mtrachtenberg@ptlaw.mb.ca

Website: www.ptlaw.mb.ca

Legal Assistant Pat Bergen

Phone: 204-940-9603

Email: pbergen@ptlaw.mb.ca

___________________________________________________

May 26, 2009 File No: 2003-20

Via Email/Mail

Mr. Clare L. Pieuk

2-371 Des Meurons Street

Winnipeg Manitoba R2H 2N6

Dear Mr. Pieuk
Re: Manitoba Metis Federation Inc. et al v. Terry Belhumeur et al

Queen's Bench File No. CI 05-01-41955

Enclosed please find copies of the following:

1. Plaintiffs' production No. 122 which is a letter from Mr. Belhumeur to MMF dated March 17, 2009;

2. Revised page 9 to plaintiffs' affidavit of documents.

Yours Truly,

(Signature)

MURRAY N. TRACHTENBERG

MNT/pb

cc: Terry Belhumeur (via email) (with encl)

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March 17, 2009

Manitoba Metis Federation

150 Henry Avenue

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0J7

Attention: David Chartrand, President

Dear President Chartrand:

Re: Manitoba Metis Federation Inc. et al v. Terry Belhumeur et al

Queen's Bench File No. CI 05-01-41955

I write to you and the Board of Directors of MMF with regard to thislawsuit. At all times since it's inception I have had ownership and control of the website cybersmokesignals.com. Although I did not produce or post the funding Petition, I did have the power to erase it as soon as I seen it. I should have deleted the petition and erased the password to prevent Mr. Pieuk from causing you and the Board of the MMF any more harm. Furthermore, I should have immediately returned all materials I received regardless of the manner in which I received them to their rightful owner which was and is the MMF.

I wish to state that I have no knowledge of any facts nor have I any evidence which would support the allegations contained in the Election Funding Petition. Without limiting the generality of the previous sentence, I specifically have no knowledge of or evidence of the following:

(a) the Board illegally authorized campaign spending by you or unlawfully spending public monies;

(b) of large sums of money intended for appropriate purposes being spent by you on campaigning;

(c) of MMF needlessly spending vast amounts of money for inappropriate travel and accommodation for you and some Board members; and

(d) of unnecessary Board travel being authorized for public relations purposes To support you as a candidate.

I retract all allegations contained in the Election Funding Petition. I also have had no contact with Mr. Pieuk in the past couple of years other than our meeting in court nor have I had any input into his website which I feel is hurtful to all Metis People.

I wish to apologize to you and the members of the Board of Directors and the Metis people for any embarrassment, hurt and inconvenience the publication of the Election Funding Petition has caused you.

Yours truly,

(Signature)

Terry Belhumeur

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Page 9

115. Pleadings;

116. Routine correspondence with defendants;

117. Routine correspondence between counsel;

118. Box of documents containing bundles of documents produced by Mr. Pieuk in May, 2006;

119. Register.com Whois Results search for cybersmokesignals.com;

120. Register.com Whois Results for cybersmokesignalsinternational.com;

122. Letter from Terry Belhumeur to Manitoba Metis Federation dated March 17, 2009;