Liberals’ retweet strategy isn’t actually helping

This week offered the federal government two opportunities to show real leadership and wisdom on matters impacting Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples. And twice, the Trudeau Liberals disappointed.

First, came the reaction of the prime minister and his cabinet ministers to the acquittal of Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley who shot Colten Boushie, a young man from the Cree Red Pheasant First Nation. The details of the case are not simple, but in short, Boushie and several friends, who had been drinking and were driving around with a rifle, were spotted by Stanley on his property. They were not just trespassing but allegedly causing trouble, including trying to steal a vehicle. Stanley armed himself with an old pistol and, during the course of a confrontation, the gun discharged in the direction of Boushie, killing him. The circumstances were certainly enough to warrant an investigation, and the Crown proceeded with charges of second-degree murder. Last week, a jury acquitted Stanley after he claimed, improbably but not impossibly, that the pistol’s discharge was unintended, a tragic accident caused by balky ammunition.

The jury that acquitted Stanley was, as has now been widely reported, extremely white. Indigenous people were part of the jury selection pool, as required by the law, but in part because the Criminal Code allows lawyers from each side to somewhat engineer the jury with a limited right to veto potential jurors, no Aboriginals evidently made it on. In an already racially charged case, the acquittal immediately led to accusations of jury racism and demands to fix the system. That’s a reasonable reaction, and it’s a matter that deserves at least some debate. But what is not reasonable is the comments that emerged from cabinet ministers, who ought to know better, in the hours after the verdict, effectively taking sides in a criminal case that had just been decided by the courts.

The prime minister tweeted immediately after the verdict that he had been speaking about the trial with Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. He was “sending love” to the Boushie family, and could not “imagine the grief and sorrow” the verdict was causing them. Fair enough. But then the justice minister, a former Crown prosecutor herself, not so subtly denigrated Canada’s justice system when she tweeted: “My thoughts are with the family of Colton Boushie tonight. I truly feel your pain and I hear all of your voices. As a country we can and must do better — I am committed to working everyday to ensure justice for all Canadians.” Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott had much the same reaction, making it clear she thought Stanley would have been convicted but for Canada’s unfair, racist justice system: “Devastating news tonight for the family & friends of #ColtenBoushie. My thoughts & prayers are with you in your time of grief & pain. We all have more to do to improve justice & fairness for Indigenous Canadians.”

We see nothing wrong with the prime minister speaking with a bereaved family and expressing sympathy for their legitimate pain. But his cabinet ministers went much further. They went too far. A legally constituted jury oversaw a fair trial and rendered a verdict in a process that can be, at the Crown’s discretion, appealed. No one is obliged to like the outcome, but all Canadians — especially members of the government’s executive branch — should respect the independence of the judicial process. Ministers of the Crown owe all Canadians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, a better standard than justice by social media.

The Trudeau government as a whole, however, can’t seem to stop thinking its primary role is blurting out compassionate-sounding bromides while failing to follow up with policy ideas that actually help people. First Nations people above all have noticed the act is wearing thin (even WilsonRaybould’s father, a longtime Indigenous rights leader, has become a critic). Like on Wednesday, after a meeting with the Boushie family, when the prime minister announced to Parliament that his government would be pursuing “a new recognition and implementation of Indigenous rights framework that will include new ways to recognize and implement Indigenous rights.”

“This will include,” he continued, “new recognition and implementation of rights legislation. Going forward recognition of rights will guide all government interactions with Indigenous peoples.”

The speech had been long coming. Given the public outpouring of support by his cabinet for Boushie’s family, it took on extra importance. And ... there wasn’t much there. Once you set aside the aspirational bits and progressive platitudes, all that was left was a promise that he would be “engaging the provinces and territories and non-Indigenous Canadians” and that said engagements would eventually produce legislation.

What will the bills propose? When will the engagements start? How long will they last? What’s the goal? How will success be measured? Stay tuned, apparently.

It’s not good enough. The prime minister can give a decent speech, we grant that (he gets a lot of practice). It’s turning words into actions and tweets into change where this government has repeatedly come up short.

Just this week, a new report measured the Liberals’ performance on their vow to end long-term boil-water advisories on reserves. It came up with a failing grade. There are basic, pressing issues that matter much more than “frameworks” and retweets.

The Liberals will no doubt tell us they’ll do better this time. That they’ll clean up the water, decolonize our laws and deliver justice for the Boushies and every other First Nations person. They will sound like they mean it. But does anyone really believe it anymore?