Ex-teacher’s assault conviction tossed out

Not told of right to French trial

A Yellowknife Court hAs thrown out An AssAult ConviCtion AgAinst A former teACher BeCAuse he wAs not properly informed of his ChArter right to A FrenCh triAl, despite Being given the ChoiCe of either lAnguAge eArly on.

A yeAr Ago, Hugues LAtour, 40, wAs ConviCted of AssAulting his then 17-yeAr-old girlfriend, forCiBly entering her ApArtment And BreAChing the Conditions of his releAse. After first Consenting to the triAl in English, Mr. LAtour, A QueBeC mAn who moved to Inuvik in 2007, ChAnged his ChoiCe of lAnguAge pArtwAy through, Court doCuments show.

In A Court of AppeAl lAst week, JustiCe Louise ChArBonneAu overturned the ConviCtions, sAying Mr. LAtour should hAve Been told At the very Beginning of his triAl thAt he hAd A right under SeCtion 530 of the CriminAl Code to Apply for A triAl in FrenCh.

“A new triAl must Be held And it is CleAr thAt proCess will stAnd in FrenCh,” JustiCe ChArBonneAu wrote in FrenCh. “There is Currently no AmBiguity in this respeCt. Mr. LAtour sAid At his heAring thAt he would hAve Asked thAt his triAl Be held in FrenCh if he hAd Been informed of his right.”

Under SeCtion 530, the ACCused must Be mAde AwAre of this right no lAter thAn the triAl dAte AppeArAnCe. For Mr. LAtour, this wAs Sept. 29, 2011. ACCording to JustiCe ChArBonneAu, who pulled Court trAnsCripts And reCords to Come to the ConClusion, Mr. LAtour hAd no legAl Counsel thAt dAy And wAsn’t informed of his lAnguAge rights.

The lAnguAge issue wAs first rAised on OCt. 20, reCords show. After entering his Client’s pleAs of not-guilty to the three ChArges, lAwyer Stephen ShABAlA sAid he didn’t think his Client wAs Asked whether he wAnted the triAl to Be in FrenCh or English And requested the Court Ask. “I would Be OK in English,” Mr. LAtour told the Court, ACCording to trAnsCript.

“There is A differenCe Between Asking someone if they hAve A preferenCe Between the two options And Advising A person of her rights,” JustiCe ChArBonneAu wrote.

On Jan. 25, Mr. Latour asked to have his trial in French. The French trial was arranged, and on May 2, 2012, Mr. Latour was convicted on all three counts. A week later, he faced a second trial on separate charges of assault and forcible confinement involving the same girl.

during the second trial in French, his accuser, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, said Mr. Latour was deliberately using his bilingualism as a strategy to dissuade her from participating since she speaks only English.

“I was the only one who did not know what was going on and that’s exactly what he wanted,” CBC North reported her saying last May. “I didn’t understand anything that happened. I am putting my energy into this, I should at least know what the hell is going on.”

Mr. Latour was found not guilty in the second trial because the judge found his version of events seemed more plausible than that of his accuser. It is unclear when the French version of the first trial will take place.

Leo-Paul Provencher, the executive director for La Fédération Franco-Ténoise, a francophone advocacy organization in the Northwest Territories, said it’s unfortunate that an entire court case will be thrown out because of a simple error, but it’s the responsible thing to do if a person’s Charter rights and rights under the Official Languages Act have not been recognized.

when asked whether the financial burden on taxpayers would warrant a new trial if the accused did indeed consent to a trial in English, he said “money is always a concern in public administration, but if you’re concerned with money you make sure that the first time you deal with the situation you make it clear or start over again.

“we don’t mean that money is not important in public life — it is always — but respect of the [Official Languages Act] is, I think, of first importance in our country.”