Canadian Justice in Action (Inaction)

"When mental illness contributes to the commission of an offence, general deterrence will be a less important consideration because a mentally ill offender is not a suitable exemplar to dissuade other members of the public from similar conduct."

"Understanding the root cause of his [Stanley Jago] criminality, and finding ways to address it, is in my view, the key to the long-term protection of society."

Court of King's Bench Justice Anna Loparco

"The Crown certainly takes no issue with the fact that Mr. Abbas's personal experiences as a Muslim Canadian would have undoubtedly played a role in him coming before the court today."

Pre-sentence report

 

"Mr. Woods recalls playing with cousins, picking berries and learning how to cut and jar fish."

Provincial Court Judge R.P. Harris

 

"She is haunted with nightmares; that going outside fills her with anxiety."

"That her foundation of trust and empathy has been lost."

Victim impact statement 

Paul Knox, Michael Finlay's longtime friend, said Finlay's journalistic career, particularly his interest in reporting on Africa and his mentorship of new reporters, was shaped by his concern for the underdog. (Submitted by Lena Sadiwskyj)

 

In Canada's DEI, woke, Critical Race Theory pervasive social climate, serious crimes at trial must be viewed through the lens of compassion and woke justice where the crimes themselves and their perpetrators must be handled differently than those of the aggregate society, if the criminals' backgrounds, ethnic/cultural origins, familial situation, state of personal security, mental health, place in society deem them to be psychologically fragile. Psychopathic tendencies must be set aside, as too the severity of their crimes to take second place to consideration of their personal backgrounds.

Should they fall into the categories of ethnic minorities, visible minorities, poverty, mental instability, membership in colonialized groups, low education level, struggling immigrant class, Indigenous or Black heritage, special attention must be given to their poverty of opportunity as opposed to the privileged white demographic who commit unforgivable crimes for whom penalties are considered to be reflective of their societal status, superior lifestyles and fulsome life opportunities earning them the full impact of justice earned for criminal behaviours.

Offenders who fall into the socially deprived classification pay criminal penalties judged to be commensurate not with the crime but with their backgrounds of want and neediness, social and mental. A malefactor whose unstable upbringing allied with dependence on drugs and/or alcohol gives them the status of having been underprivileged, and thus must be viewed through a different lens, one that is forgiving of his bad fortune and in reaction, finds lesser penalties for capital crimes appropriate.

Examples of these special dispensations abound, but a few stand out for their inappropriate society-harmful diminishing of injustice done to victims of criminal violence. Anthony Woods, 27, stabbed 72-year-oldAlex Gortmaker in the chest on an elevator, leaving him to bleed to death. He was inebriated and high on drugs at the time. Four years on, he was given what amounts to a free pass out of prison, spending eight months in jail. The judge cited Woods' ADHD, unstable childhood and alcohol dependence. Above all, that he was Indigenous.

Over a 25 year period, 44-year-old Saeed Abbas racked up a criminal record of 25 convictions; arson to car theft, and 22 breaches of parole. His latest offences included breakins, fraud, and car thefts and stolen wallets. He carried a loaded, illegal gun when caught breaking into a Mercedes-Benz dealership. The Crown recommended a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment. The crimes, believed the judge and the Crown, were to be considered not entirely his fault. Reason: He is of Arab extraction, and his parents are Muslim; no positive expectations drawn from that combination.

 

Stanley Jago (left) has been sentenced to five years in prison, plus probation, for the manslaughter of Thomas Gignac. Postmedia, file

At a homeless shelter in Edmonton, Thomas Gignac disturbed the sleep of another resident on his way back from the bathroom. Stanley Jago, in reaction to his disturbed sleep, brutally attacked Thomas Gignac who suffered a fatal seizure, as a result. At the time he killed Gignac, Jago was on probation. Sentenced to five years in prison, taking pretrial custody into account after the 2022 killing, he will be out of prison in less than a year.

Of Haitian descent, raised by an adoptive family, Jago merited a lighter sentence in view of his severe mental health problems that, according to the sentencing judge, reduced his "moral blameworthiness" for the crimes he committed. While committed to excusing the homicide given a condition of mental health problems, the judge spoke of her awareness that he is likely not to submit to treatment to keep his mental illness from further similar aggression against others.

In 2023, 73-year-old former CBC producer Michael Finlay, walking along Danforth Avenue in Toronto was violently shoved to the ground. The assault, unprovoked and by a stranger, caused a punctured lung, broken ribs and led to medical problems that caused the man's death soon after the assault. The serial offender convicted of the charge of manslaughter was handed a sentence of three years. Robert Cropearedwolf, 43, earned criminal convictions for violent crime from 1995 forward in both Canada and the U.S.

 

Cropearedwolf, 45, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Finlay's death. (Toronto Police Service)

Cropearedwolf is Indigenous. His sentencing reflected his family history, including his mother's substance abuse. In a victim impact statement, a friend of Mr. Finlay's pointed out that: "There are large numbers of Aboriginal people, Black people and people of all sorts of backgrounds who have had very dreadful times and most of them don't hurt people".

Anti-Israel Protests Entitled To Law-Breaking

"The community has been tolerating these hateful protests day after day, where protesters have signs with swastikas, with Hitler."

"[The coffee video is considered by many in the Jewish community as the last straw with police allowing these rallies to continue]."

"We're grateful to live in a free society where people can express their views and demonstrate, even if their views are  ugly -- but there is a limit."

"When a community is no longer able to access infrastructure because a hate group is targeting them, we've hit that limit." 

"We can put [the coffee delivery] aside, but now we need to focus on solutions."

Jaime Kizne-Roberts, vice-president, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

A screen grab from the video shows a Toronto police officer and a protester who then refers to the police as "our little messengers." Photo by X

"Our commitment to keeping our city's Jewish community safe is unwavering."

"We are doing everything we can in the locations that have been targeted for demonstration to uphold and enforce the law."

Toronto Police chief Myron Demkiw

 

"This shows the importance of supervision on the scene, making sure there's a consistency of enforcement across everybody."

"I don't think for one minute, as some have suggested, that this is the police showing sympathy for one side or another -- but this young copper on Saturday, I'm sure thought they were doing the right thing."

"My fear is that if this is allowed to continue, somebody is going to get hurt."

Retired Toronto police detective Mark Mendelson

Mayor Chow momentarily addressed the group of protesters reminding them of the call she made for a ceasefire and the return of hostages on Nov 10. (Courtesy: Mayor Olivia Chow, X, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, X)

 

The video of Toronto police officers delivering coffee to anti-Israel protesters who were illegally  occupying a major North Toronto thoroughfare has served to  intensify residents' aggrievement over the very threats and intimidation levelled at the Jewish community in ongoing protests by pro-Hamas supporters that the police decry and maintain they are doing their best to make certain no escalation occurs. When, in fact, the protesters are indeed breaking municipal laws, yet are not being held to account for their acts of entitled defiance. 

The online video that showed Toronto officers in the act of delivering a cardboard urn of Tim Hortons coffee to the protesters occupying the Avenue Road bridge over Highway 401 has enraged community members of Canada's densest Jewish neighbourhood in Canada's largest, most populous city. The ongoing bridge occupation led to the police closing down access to the bridge, and nearby residents are forced to take time-consuming detours to reach their homes in the Jewish community. If these ongoing 'protests' don't qualify for intimidation and threat, what then are they?

Demonstrators storm malls, obstructed holiday shopping, staged disruptions of New Year's Eve fireworks events and public skating in traditional seasonal events. Using loudhorns to amplify their messages, carrying signage accusing Israel of 'genocide' and shouting "From the river to the sea" with its message of obliterating the Jewish state, these loud, disruptive, obnoxious and threatening events where participants harass counter-demonstrators have turned Canadian cities into a microcosm of the Middle East.

Liberal Member of Parliament Marco Mendicino, minister of public safety who oversaw the breakup of the 2022 Freedom Trucking Convoy blockading central downtown Ottawa in close proximity to the Parliament Buildings recently stated: "Laws exist to prevent this [the 401 overpass blockade]. They need to be enforced!" His bemusement was echoed by Liberal MP Anthony Housefather who stated: "This appears to me to be a refusal by the City of Toronto police to enforce existing laws".

And the laws are clear enough:

• Blocking Roadways: Under federal, provincial and municipal laws it is illegal for anyone to obstruct public roadways; blocking or obstructing a highway is explicitly barred in the Criminal Code as an example of 'intimidation'. The Ontario Highway Traffic Act has measures to enforce the 'orderly movement' of traffic.
  
• Trespassing: "Lawful demonstrations do not include protesting inside privately owned spaces, which includes malls", the Toronto Police Services warned in the face of co-ordinated "cancel Christmas" demonstrations used by anti-Israel groups to stage protests in malls and shopping areas.
• Uttering Threats: The Criminal Code definition of 'uttering threats' applies to anyone who 'knowingly' transmits a threat either of bodily harm or of damage to private property.
• Inciting Hate: Free speech is restricted in Canada when it veers into 'incitement of hate'. The Criminal Code prescribes up to two years in prison for anyone who incites hatred against any "identifiable group".

The day following the airing of the coffee disbursement by police to the hate-on-Jews protesters, another anti-Israel protest burst into an annual New-Year's ice-skating party hosted by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow at Nathan Phillips Square (honouring the first Jewish mayor of Toronto) in front of City Hall. Protesters, many masked with face-covering keffiyehs, interrupted the mayor's speech, harassed skaters, used megaphones shouting pro-Palestinian slogans, and shut down the fete.

Jewish-owned businesses have been targeted by protests both through intimidation rallies and criminal vandalism. Toronto City councillors Mike Colle and James Pasternak called on the federal government to investigate a fire set on a Jewish-owned grocery store, its windows smashed, and "Free Palestine" spray-painted across a doorway.

Toronto firefighters at the scene of a fire at North York business early Wednesday. (CBC)

 

"Our officers are managing a dynamic situation. Their top priority is maintaining order in a tense environment on the Avenue Road bridge."

"In performing a helpful act ... our officer's motivation was to help keep tensions low and should not be interpreted as showing support for any cause or group."

"Our officers continue to work to de-escalate these demonstrations and maintain calm and the public's safety."

Toronto Police Constable Shannon Eames

"Our officers are well-trained to monitor these events and to limit possible disruptions to our city, its businesses and its residents."

"We respect people's Charter rights -- in saying that lawful demonstrations --- certainly does not include intimidation, harassment, or hateful behaviour."

Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue