All charges against Darrell McCaig, former fire chief for the Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) Fire Department, have been dropped.
On Tuesday, Feb. 12, McCaig appeared in the Cold Lake Provincial Courthouse for a trial that would be short-lived.
According to McCaig, the Crown prosecutor reviewed the evidence of the charges he was facing and determined it wasn't worth going head with the trial.
In October, McCaig was charged with three counts of assault, two counts of uttering threats to cause death, uttering threats, pointing a firearm, choking with intent, careless use of a firearm, failing to provide the necessities of life, and possession of a prohibited weapon, after his common-law spouse alleged he had assaulted her on more than one occasion.
Following his appearance in Cold Lake court this month, all charges against McCaig were withdrawn.
"Because we both live in the same town, we agreed to a one-year peace bond, so there's no contact between her or I," he said.
According to McCaig, it all started in September 2018 when his common-law spouse took their children to Ontario without his consent.
A judge ordered the children be brought back to Alberta by Oct. 2. The following day, she filed a complaint with the RCMP.
Due to the conditions in the peace bond, McCaig accesses his children through Child Family Services.
"My whole life was torn upside down. I'm just trying to get everything back in order," he said.
At the time the accusations were made, McCaig was working as the fire chief for the CLFN fire department.
"I'm working at getting my position back, because I was suspended without pay pending the outcome of my trial... I will be able to get my job back."
He said although he may have lost materialistic things throughout the process, the biggest was the potential of losing his children.
He continued, "When a relationship doesn't work, it shouldn't come to a point like this... There are different ways of dealing with things in life."
