Time for a change in the justice system

Once more I have witnessed the dog-and-pony show, otherwise known as the Nunavut Court of Justice, perform its ritualistic swish through Cambridge Bay.

Yes, we have problems here, just as much as in the rest of Canada, but that should not be used as an excuse for what the government of Nunavut informs us is the fair and discriminate dispensing of justice!

Consider the following: Two or three days are allocated to the dispensation of justice in Cambridge Bay, totalling, by my count, some 42 cases, excluding youth court appearances. Some charges are extremely serious and should be treated as such.

It behooves us to ensure that justice is done in each case, but what is happening in the real world is deal-making, much as in a hockey draft.

The citizens of Cambridge Bay are being cheated here.

The RCMP are being cheated and cheapened here. They put in long hours, suffer from great verbal abuse, and at the end of the day, they witness their long hours of work being sabotaged by the deal-making.

They are too professional to admit this, but one can sense their frustration.

Finally, there is the situation of the accused. Remember, being accused is much different than being convicted. They are shuffled through the system and at the end of the day they are as confused as the rest of us.

Every person accused of a crime is entitled to a fair trial in front of a judge or a jury of their peers. I know people who have pleaded guilty to a charge knowing they were not guilty, just to escape the system. It is time for a change.

It is time to have a full-time judge serving the Kitikmeot. No more fly-in/fly-out judges from Iqaluit or Yellowknife. Nunavummiut deserve the same treatment as other Canadians.

Tom Brown
Ikaluktutiak