Sarah Beckett’s husband dismayed by delays
He says family of 32-year-old mother and Mountie killed in crash is being ‘victimized’ by judicial system
The husband of RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett, Brad Aschenbrenner, says his family is being victimized by constant delays in the justice system.
Beckett, a 32-year-old mother of two, died in the early morning of April 5, 2016, after her RCMP cruiser was struck by a pickup truck at Peatt Road and Goldstream Avenue in Langford.
Kenneth Jacob Fenton, 28, is charged with impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death, flight from police causing death, driving with blood alcohol over .08 and refusing to provide a blood sample.
Fenton was scheduled to appear in Western Communities provincial court Thursday morning. However, the case was adjourned at the request of the Crown for an additional three weeks.
Aschenbrenner released a statement through his lawyer, on the condition that media not contact him, his children or his extended family. In it, he says the family is “dismayed the case against Mr. Fenton was adjourned for the eighth time.”
“As a family, we continue to be victimized by a judicial system that doesn’t adequately consider the interests of those harmed. Despite the passage of over a year, Mr. Fenton has not entered a plea and our family has no closure. We are left to wonder who is standing up for Sarah, who died serving the people of Canada? Who is looking out for police officers who put their lives at risk every day?
“This matter should be resolved not on the basis of what is expedient, but on the basis of what is right.
“We would like to thank everyone who has provided support to our family over the past year. We are particularly grateful to Sarah’s RCMP family for all that they have done.”
Fenton’s lawyer, Dale Marshall, said he can empathize with family and friends of Sarah Beckett.
“I cannot pretend to fully understand their grief. This incident and the process has no doubt been very difficult for many people, as it always is,” Marshall said.
“All parties concerned, including the investigators, have worked diligently to move this file toward a conclusion that is fair and appropriate in the circumstances. Nothing we do will ever relieve the friends and family of the pain of their loss and we can only hope that the process will eventually provide the closure that they seek.”
OTTAWA — The federal government is under pressure to help the wheels of justice spin a little faster, with some provinces asking for the right to do away with preliminary inquiries as a way to tackle the backlogs in the courts.
“We’ve got a challenge that has been given to us by the Supreme Court of Canada,” Ontario Justice Minister Yasir Naqvi said in an interview. “They have said there is complacency within the system, and bold reforms are needed.”
Naqvi and other provincial and territorial justice ministers are gathering today in Gatineau, Que., for an emergency meeting with their federal counterpart, Jody Wilson-Raybould, on tackling delays in the criminal courts.
While it is not a new problem, finding a solution is urgent.
The Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking decision last summer, R. v. Jordan, that set out a new framework for determining whether a criminal trial has been unreasonably delayed, citing a “culture of complacency” for contributing to the problem.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms says someone charged with an offence has the right to have his or her case tried within a reasonable amount of time. In a 5-4 decision, the high court defined that period as 18 months for provincial courts and 30 months for superior courts.
There is room for exceptions, and the ruling came with a transitional measure for cases already in the system, but the dissenting minority argued the new time limits could lead to thousands of prosecutions being tossed out.
In a letter to Montreal newspaper Le Devoir, Wilson-Raybould noted the provinces are responsible for the administration of justice, handing 99 per cent of criminal cases.
“While I am currently reviewing our criminal justice system, I cannot act alone to solve the issue of delays,” she wrote.
Some provinces, including Ontario and Manitoba, will urge the federal government to change the Criminal Code to either curtail or eliminate the use of preliminary inquiries, which take place in certain serious cases to determine whether there is enough evidence for a matter to go to trial.
“I think for the most part, the provinces recognize the status quo isn’t an option and we need those changes to take place,” Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said.
That province wants to bring in a four-year pilot project to replace preliminary inquiries with an outof-court discovery process, or, for less serious cases, do away with them altogether. The idea is a controversial one. The Canadian Bar Association issued a letter to all 13 justice ministers Thursday to make the case against it.
“We believe that any evidence linking court delays to the preliminary inquiry is speculative at best,” René Basque, the CBA president, wrote.
“Even when preliminary inquiries do not result in early resolution of dismissal of a case, as they frequently do, our experience is that they significantly reduce the time needed in superior courts.”
According to Statistics Canada, preliminary inquiries took place in less than three per cent of cases in the adult criminal court system in 2014-15, and 81 per cent of those cases were completed within a 30-month period.
James Pickard, president of the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association, said he is in favour of cutting back on preliminary inquiries, but would like to see more data on how that would save time in the courts.
Pickard said the issue is complicated, but most of it boils down to the need for more resources.
“There is a shortage of judges. There is a shortage of clerks. There is a shortage of prosecutors. Legal aid could use more money,” he said.
Quebec agrees that reforming preliminary inquiries is part of the solution, but is also pressuring the federal government to appoint new judges.
“We need the federal government as a partner,” said Isabelle Marier-St-Onge, a spokeswoman for Quebec Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée.
Eric Gottardi, one of the defence lawyers in R. v. Jordan, said the problem goes far beyond empty seats on the bench.
“If they were all filled tomorrow, it’s not like the delay problem would disappear in the next three months,” he said.