Manitoba Tories urge appeal of James’s two-year sentence

WINNIPEG • Manitoba’s provincial Progressive Conservatives are pushing the province to appeal Graham James’s two-year sentence for child sexual assault.

PC justice critic Kelvin Goertzen reminded Attorney General Andrew Swan on Thursday that the Crown had only 15 more days to challenge the sentence, which he called appalling.

“The sentence did not fit the crime and was a questionable interpretation of Canadian law,” Goertzen said.

“It needs to be appealed and I want to remind Mr. Swan that the clock is ticking and that Canadi- ans are watching and waiting.”

However, a spokeswoman for Swan said the attorney general is not involved in the decision to appeal specific criminal cases.

Jodee Mason said Goertzen is showing “a fundamental lack of understanding of the appropriate role of the attorney general” to suggest Swan would interfere politically in a criminal matter.

The two-year sentence means James is eligible for day parole in September, and for full parole after serving one-third of his sentence, which means he could be released in November.