06/09/2017
The Crown's public show of solidarity is understandable--who would not want to show support for a well respected and well liked colleague? And there should be no mistake as to who their intended audience was: the Justice Minster and Solicitor General of Alberta, Kathleen Ganley.
Having talked with many Crown, and some members of the bench, one thing has become perfectly clear to me: Ms. Ganley--whose experience, both in politics and the law, would in any other government have relegated her to a first-term role as a junior minister--is seen as out of touch, out of her depth, and arrogantly disinterested in the departments that she heads. She is facing a job grievance by Provincial Court Clerks over working conditions, has faced open outrage by Crown prosecutors over inadequate staffing levels, and has faced down harsh criticism from the public at large over Legal Aid funding levels that have left society's most vulnerable people--people like Ms. "Cardinal"--at the mercy of the Courts and the Crown.
And, speaking of the Crown, in Edmonton alone the General Prosecutions Office has lost hundreds of hours of experience over the last two years as senior Crown have decided that it is not an environment that they wish to tolerate, and replaced it with, literally, a fraction of that experience.
Yes, what I am seeing is Crown morale absolutely cratering. Ms. Ganley did not help this when she rushed to judgement on the "Cardinal/Blanchard" issue, publicly reaching conclusions before she has even struck the commission she had convened the press to announce.
All of this has consequences, and Ms. "Cardinals" experience is only one of the most easily described.
Now, having said that, and as I have already said, the Crown's public show of solidarity is understandable, but it was sadly misguided--tone deaf, even. Minster Ganley may have been the intended audience, but the actual audience will also include members of the public, including those of us who support addressing issues of discrimination in regards to aboriginal women inside and outside the justice system. And these people may very well (and very reasonably) see simply a monolithic cadre of government officials supporting the decision (whether correct or incorrect) of one (as I said) well-respected Crown to ask the Court to help it salvage its prosecution by jailing a homeless, drug-addicted aboriginal woman who may have been (but was not yet confirmed to be) a victim of a horrendous act of violence, but who certainly was a walking compendium of disadvantage and woe. (And there but for the grace of God go I.) These people may see the Crown asserting not only its ability to take advantage of the unrepresented disadvantaged, but also what the Crown appears to claim to be its right not to be subject to legitimate public criticism. So, like I said, tone deaf--but, then again, the majority of those Crown in attendance were likely relatively junior, and not in possession of the judgement that the Justice Department has been losing by the bushel.
http://www.cbc.ca/1.4152929
Notorious sexual predator Lance Blanchard attempted to have his convictions stayed, arguing his constitutional rights were violated while in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Thursday the judge denied his application.
