Legal Aid complaint about Boushie lawyer dismissed
Law Society of Ontario rejects claim, says Murphy ‘was fulfilling an important role’
SASKATOON The Saskatchewan government agency responsible for representing vulnerable people in court complained to the Law Society of Ontario after Colten Boushie’s family lawyer criticized it during a news conference.
The law society subsequently dismissed the complaint against Chris Murphy, which, according to documents provided to The Starphoenix, alleged he was unfair and uninformed in his criticism of Legal Aid Saskatchewan.
Murphy’s comments about the agency were permissible because lawyers often advocate for groups pushing for change, law society representative David Cass wrote in a June 7 letter to Legal Aid Saskatchewan.
“In making those comments, he was fulfilling an important role, made all the more important by the Indigenous status of his clients in this specific circumstance,” the letter stated.
In an interview, Murphy said he was blindsided by the complaint, which the law society received after he emailed Legal Aid CEO Craig Goebel to ask for a meeting with himself and two other Indigenous leaders from Saskatchewan.
“We are hoping to have a constructive conversation about how we can work together to make things better for Indigenous people who find themselves caught up in Saskatchewan’s justice system,” his email read.
In a subsequent email, Murphy reiterated his request for a meeting and asked for Goebel’s opinion on issues Boushie’s family could raise during a planned trip to the United Nations in New York.
Goebel did not respond to either message, Murphy said.
The family retained Murphy after Boushie, a 19-year-old Cree man from Red Pheasant First Nation, was shot and killed on a farm belonging to Gerald Stanley, who was later acquitted of second-degree murder.
Reached by email, Goebel declined an interview request and referred to comments published this week in a Toronto Star report on the complaint and its dismissal.
According to the Star, Goebel said Legal Aid respects the decision but disagrees with Murphy’s “characterization of criminal legal process in Saskatchewan, in particular the work of Legal Aid Saskatchewan’s devoted legal counsel ... We strive to improve in all facets of our service delivery and readily take into account reasoned, constructive criticism, so we can make service decisions based on facts and data.”
Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa shortly after Stanley’s acquittal, Murphy characterized Saskatchewan’s justice system as a “meat grinder” that catches Indigenous people in a cycle of charges and convictions.
Until Legal Aid “properly represents” its clients, the cycle will continue and “the proportion of people of Indigenous origin who are being systematically betrayed by the justice system in Saskatchewan will not change,” he said.
“In my opinion, the No. 1 way to change the justice system in Saskatchewan is for Legal Aid Saskatchewan to be properly funded,” Murphy said at the news conference, which also included members of Boushie’s family.
Murphy subsequently clarified that he wasn’t criticizing Legal Aid staff.
Legal Aid staff and others in the legal community have expressed similar concerns about what they feel is chronic underfunding of the organization, which handled more than 24,000 files last year.
Staff described punishing workloads that could be alleviated by hiring additional lawyers. Legal Aid is planning to restructure its Saskatoon office, which is expected to farm more files out to private lawyers.
Speaking to a legislative committee last month, Goebel said the number of cases per lawyer is “reasonable.”
Murphy said his aim in asking Goebel for a meeting was to encourage the “underfunded” agency to push for additional resources, and provide suggestions on how to use those resources to help Indigenous people.
“I’m on a mission I believe everyone in this province, especially everybody in the justice system in this province, should be on. If you’re the Legal Aid CEO and you’re not on the same mission … then you should not be the Legal Aid CEO.”