Sask. citizens most likely to say Stanley verdict fair: poll
Almost two-thirds of Saskatchewan residents who participated in an online survey this month said the not-guilty verdict reached in Gerald Stanley’s second-degree murder trial was “good and fair.”
Canada’s Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey this month of 2,501 adults who had signed up to regularly complete surveys for the non-profit organization.
The results are expected to be accurate within 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
According to the poll, 78 per cent of the survey respondents had at least scanned headlines about Stanley’s trial, which concluded in Battleford on Feb. 9. Stanley was found not guilty in the 2016 shooting death of Colten Boushie, a Cree man from Red Pheasant First Nation.
Of those who had heard about the case, 30 per cent nationally said they believed the jury’s verdict was “good and fair,” compared to 32 per cent who said it was “flawed and wrong.” The rest were undecided.
Survey respondents in Saskatchewan were most likely to say the verdict was fair; 63 per cent said they thought it was fair, compared to 17 per cent who said they thought it was wrong.
Respondents in the eastern part of the country were least likely to say the verdict was fair:
In Quebec, 21 per cent said the ■ verdict was fair and 36 per cent said it was wrong;
In Atlantic Canada, 27 per cent ■ said the verdict was fair and 35 per cent said it was wrong;
In Ontario, 27 per cent said the ■ verdict was fair and 33 per cent said it was wrong.
Angus Reid’s survey included a question about whether it was appropriate for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to comment on Stanley’s trial.
Trudeau has faced criticism for appearing to question the legitimacy of the jury’s decision. After Stanley was found not guilty, Trudeau tweeted to express sympathy for the Boushie family and to say Canada’s justice system can do more for Indigenous people. He then met with Boushie’s family in Ottawa the week after the verdict.
Nearly half of survey respondents — 46 per cent — said it was inappropriate for Trudeau to personally respond to the verdict; 32 per cent said it was appropriate.
The survey also asked whether respondents thought Canada’s jury selection process needs to be reformed. Boushie’s family and supporters have been vocally critical of the jury selection process, which allows lawyers to dismiss potential jurors for no stated reason through peremptory challenges. Stanley’s defence lawyer challenged all visibly Indigenous potential jurors, leaving a jury that appeared to be all white.
More than half of respondents — 59 per cent — said Canada should reform its jury selection rules so juries better reflect the whole community. Forty-one per cent said the current system works and juries generally deliver good verdicts regardless of their composition.
Boushie’s death and Stanley’s acquittal sparked conversations about race relations in Saskatchewan and across the country. In the days following the verdict, rallies were held across Canada. Participants decried the verdict and demanded changes to the justice system to allow fairer treatment of Indigenous people.
Boushie’s family members have said they want an inquiry into how they were treated by the RCMP and justice system, and they want the jury’s decision to be appealed. It’s not yet clear if either will happen.
The deadline for the Crown to file an appeal is March 9.