Justice minister defends ‘must do better’ comment in wake of Sask. farm trial
OTTAWA — Jody Wilson-Raybould doubled down Tuesday on her reaction to the Colten Boushie verdict, saying a federal justice minister should be responsive to Canadians who speak out and protest perceived injustices in the legal system.
Boushie’s violent 2016 death and the acquittal of the man who killed him continued to reverberate on Parliament Hill as grieving family members met separately with Wilson-Raybould and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, bent on rooting out what they say is systemic racism in Canada’s courts.
Wilson-Raybould defended her comments on Twitter, which came Friday night after Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley, 56, was acquitted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Boushie, 22, a member of Red Pheasant First Nation.
“As a country, we can and must do better,” Wilson-Raybould tweeted, prompting charges from opposition MPs and legal experts alike that she was straying too far into the independent territory of Canada’s judicial system.
Rather, she suggested Tuesday, she was merely reflecting the broad sentiment among Canadians that an injustice had been done.
“We have elevated this discussion to a place where it needs to be, because we can always improve the justice system,” Wilson-Raybould said.
In meetings with her and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, the family discussed proposed improvements to the justice system, including jury selection, an ombudsperson for victims of crime and the need for compassion and support for victims.
Trudeau described his encounter with the family as a very good, very emotional meeting.
“They are very much focused on making sure we have improvements to our system to make sure that no family has to go through the kinds of things they went through,” Trudeau said.
Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste, held a photo of her son up for the television cameras before expressing her gratitude for the chance to share her story with Trudeau.
Her family’s fight will persist, she vowed.
“We continue praying that something is done, and that we can go home and tell the people that we tried hard and we’re still going to keep trying and we’re going to keep going,” she said, clasping the picture against a Bible.
“This ain’t going to stop until something changes for the better.”