McLachlin defends criminal justice system

Chief justice says some sex assault cases ‘regrettable’

OTTAWA • As she steps down after nearly two decades as chief justice on the Supreme Court, Beverley McLachlin says judges are working hard to better handle sexual assault cases, and that it would be wrong to let Canada’s justice system be defined by a few “regrettable” episodes.

She also said there needs to be more understanding about the challenges faced by complainants in sexual assault trials.

“We need to talk to each other, the justice system and complainants, in order to bridge the divide that sometimes seems to be there, where people are shouting at each other,” she told a news conference Friday, her last day as chief justice.

“We’ve done a lot on judicial education in this area. Sadly, there’s the odd case which has shown some regrettable problems.

“But you should remember that thousands of sexual assault trials are held in Canada every year, and if there’s one that goes wrong, we should not judge the whole system by that.”

She didn’t specify which examples she was referring to as regrettable, though there have been recent high-profile cases of judges (such as Alberta’s Robin Camp) getting into trouble over remarks made during sexual assault hearings.

McLachlin herself prompted controversy in October when she commented on sexual assault trials in a speech to the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.

As reported by The Globe and Mail, she emphasized the need to protect against wrongful convictions, and that complainants must be treated fairly but should also have realistic expectations of what happens in a trial.

“No one has the right to a particular verdict but only to a fair trial on the evidence,” she said.

The speech prompted pushback from some critics who didn’t appreciate the chief justice weighing in on a politically fraught subject.

But in a wide-ranging news conference on the day she steps down from the Supreme Court after 28 years — including almost 18 years as chief justice — McLachlin stood by those remarks, and said she feels it’s important to speak directly to the public about issues facing Canada’s justice system.

McLachlin took many questions from reporters about her experience on the court, and what she thinks are the greatest challenges for the justice system moving forward.

Here are a few excerpts, edited slightly for length and clarity.

“It was very challenging because it was at the edge, that fine line between constitutional law and political matters. We had to be very careful what we said and what we did.

“And we had a very difficult question to answer, and we had a task of trying to give such guidance as we could that would be positive and helpful to Canada and the people who were involved in making these decisions on Canada’s future.

“It was a wonderful experience working with the other justices of the court on those reasons, on what we would say and how we said it.

“I think it stood up very, very well, both nationally and internationally, if I may say so.”

“I have a hard time with the legacy question, because I’ve always just been motivated to do the best I could do on the problem before me...If I had to pick out something, I would say I’m proud of the work the court has done on the Indigenous files, and in the development of a legal structure into which Indigenous rights can function.

“And I’ve also been very honoured and felt very privileged to have played a small role in the development of Charter rights and freedoms.”