Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
On May 24th, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released their decision for R v Barton.[1] The decision ordered a new trial for manslaughter. This case has been at the forefront of activism surrounding the continued presence of violence toward Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Many activists have highlighted this case as an example of the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
Background: Trial and Court of Appeal Decisions
Mr. Barton was charged with the first-degree murder of Cindy Gladue, who died at the hands of Mr. Barton in the course of her work as a sex worker. Barton was originally brought to trial on September 6th and 7th, 2016. During the trial, Ms. Gladue’s race and occupation became central to the discussion. Ms. Gladue was referred to as “Native” at least 26 times and called a “prostitute”.[2] Mr. Barton was acquitted at trial.
On appeal, the Alberta Court of Appeal called the language into question. They outlined that without intervention from the trial judge, there was likely a prejudicial effect of the language on the jury’s decision. They outline that the main concerns are in relation to:
1) Systemic prejudicial racism toward Indigenous people in Canada;
2) Myths and stereotypes around sexual assault particularly in the context of sex work;
3) Prejudicial feelings toward sex workers; and
4) The confounding factor of being a woman on each of these concerns.[3]
The Court of Appeal set aside the acquittal and ordered a re-trial of the matter.
Supreme Court of Canada Decision
On October 11th, 2018, the issue went to the SCC where many interveners were present to advocate justice for Cindy Gladue. The majority held that the case be sent for re-trial for manslaughter. Moldaver J., writing for the majority, notably included the following in his conclusion:
Our criminal justice system holds out a promise to all Canadians: everyone is equally entitled to the law’s full protection and to be treated with dignity, humanity, and respect. Ms. Gladue was no exception. She was a mother, a daughter, a friend, and a member of her community. Her life mattered. She was valued. She was important. She was loved. Her status as an Indigenous woman who performed sex work did not change any of that in the slightest. But as these reasons show, the criminal justice system did not deliver on its promise to afford her the law’s full protection, and as a result, it let her down — indeed, it let us all down.[4]
To many, the decision at trial let down all Canadians. Cindy Gladue was not offered the same protection by the legal system that we expect for all Canadians. We expect the legal system to protect our most vulnerable people. We do not expect for victims of crimes to be re-victimized through the process that is intended to provide justice. That did not occur in this case. Through this decision, the SCC signaled that the way the justice system functioned in this case was inappropriate.
Until next time,
ReconciliAction YEG
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[1] R v Barton, 2019 SCC 33 [Barton SCC].
[2] R v Barton, 2017 ABCA 216 at para 124; Note that these terms are no longer considered acceptable. It is preferred that the terms Indigenous and sex worker are used.
[3] Ibid at paras 9-10, 89, 117-119, 122-124, 126-132, 160.
[4] Barton SCC, supra note 1 at para 210.
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