Prof. Kent Roach writes "One year after the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, little has changed"

Monday, February 11, 2019

In a commentary in the Globe and Mail on the anniversary of the acquittal of Gerald Stanley for the killing of Colton Boushie, Prof. Kent Roach assesses what little has been done, and what more needs to be done, to ensure "Canadian justice does not continue to be experienced by Indigenous people as injustice." ("One year after the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, little has changed," February 9, 2019).

Prof. Kent Roach writes "Is police independence at risk in Ontario?" in Globe and Mail

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

In a commentary in the Globe and Mail, Prof. Kent Roach writes about the importance of police independence in the context of the Ipperwash inquiry and of Ontario's new government ("Is police independence at risk in Ontario?", December 10, 2018).

"Police independence is a poorly understood and sometimes abused concept. But that does not mean that is not fundamental to democracy and the rule of law."

Asper Centre Constitutional Roundtable with Professor Kent Roach

Professor Kent Roach Image

On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, University of Toronto Faculty of Law Professor Kent Roach will present an Asper Centre Constitutional Roundtable titled “Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice: The Gerald Stanley/Colten Boushie Case.”

The Urgent Need to Reform Jury Selection after the Gerald Stanley and Colten Boushie Case

Kent Roach
Wednesday, February 28, 2018

A Saskatchewan jury’s acquittal of Gerald Stanley in the death of a 22 year old Cree man Colten Boushie has galvanized and polarized public opinion in Canada. Followed less than two weeks later by another jury acquittal in the death of 15 year old Anishinaabe girl Tina Fontaine, these cases raise troubling questions about whether Indigenous people can receive justice in the Canadian criminal justice system.

 

Colonialism and Systemic and Historical Racism

 

Both cases should be seen in light of systemic racism that has and continues to discriminate against Indigenous people both as accused and victims.  More than one in four prisoners in Canada are Indigenous.  Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women and girls, also experience significantly higher rates of crime than non-Indigenous persons.

 

Prof. Kent Roach writes "Colten Boushie’s family should be upset: Our jury selection procedure is not fair"

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

In a commentary in the Globe and Mail, Prof. Kent Roach argues that the ability of both the prosecution and the defence to exercise peremptory challenges of prospective jurors means the current method of jury selection in Canadian trials  is fundamentally unfair and makes it possible for lawyers to discriminate against Indigenous persons and others ("Colten Boushie’s family should be upset: Our jury selection procedure is not fair," January 20, 2018).

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