Tina Fontaine's alleged killer still has no lawyer

The man accused of killing Tina Fontaineis having difficulty securing a lawyer to represent him forhis second-degree murder charge and complaint against the Winnipeg Police Service.

Raymond Cormier, who is facing second degree murder charges, told theLaw Enforcement Review Agency (LERA) Wednesday,that disagreements between himself and Legal Aid are behind the delays into his complaint.

Cormier, 54, who spoke via video-link from theBrandon Correctional Centre where he is currently awaiting trial, said Legal Aid administrators want to lump both his cases into one, whilehe wants them to be treated independently.

• Tina Fontaine's alleged killer says police fabricated evidence
• Raymond Cormier appears in court, still without a lawyer

Since his arrest in December 2015, Raymond Cormier has parted ways with three lawyers. Last month's LERA hearing was adjourned byJudge Ryan Rolston to buyhim time to find a lawyer and gain access to disclosure documents for hisLERA case.

"I would rather have an attorney, because navigating all of this for me with a Grade 4 education is a little difficult,"Cormier said to Judge Rolston.

However, it became clear in the review hearing that Cormierwas actually requesting disclosure documents relating to his second-degree murder charges, rather than his LERA complaint in which he is alleging police fabricated evidence. This past summer, LERA commission Max Churleydismissed the complaint on the basisthat it fell outside of the agency's scope.

"I need the disclosure from my second-degree murder charge to prove to the court what I'm saying," saidCormier.

A representative for LERA told the court that extrinsic evidenceis generally not admissible.

"The only evidence that can be admitted on judicial review is the record that the underlying decision maker had in front of him at the time of the decision," saidDevinJohnson who agreed to contact Legal Aid directly to sort out the delays.

The review hearing was adjourned to January 25, 2017. The trial pertaining to the murder charges is set to begin in May 2017.