Ontario holds secret trials

And the province seems to be proud of it!

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Under the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, records of youths involved in the process are to be kept secret, with limited exceptions, in order to protect the identity of young offenders. Well, when a matter is adjourned from one day to another a “record” of the new date must be kept. And, after a trial is held, a “record” of the final disposition of that matter must also be maintained. This is just common sense. Recently, Canada’s latest have-not province has decided in its wisdom that records that keep track of future court appearances and dispositions under the Act must be kept secret as well. This, of course is all being done to protect the little dears who wreak mayhem on our streets. Not only is this another slap in the face to hard working, law abiding taxpayers of Ontario, but it is another example of the political correctness that runs amok at Queen’s Park. The Youth Criminal Justice Act has been in force since 2002 and there are no reported instances of court staff or media outlets being charged with breaching the sections of the Act that prohibit the release of certain information when the individual is released or published information regarding future court appearances or verdicts. The National Post reported that Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Attorney General has said that the province has now interpreted the release and publication of this information as being a “record” that cannot be disclosed.           Despite the many provisions in the Act that are designed to protect the identity of youths before the court, their trials are still open to the public. But the withholding of information as to when a matter or trial of a certain youth is to take place effectively prevents the public from attending youth court trials and other matters since it is impossible to find out when and where they take place. That being the case, Ontario has joined the ranks of Stalinist and other dictatorial regimes in holding secret trials. Trials cannot be public if the public has no way to find out when and where they are being held or what the end result of a trial is.           Many people question the general provisions of the Act that work to ensure that the identity of youthful offenders is protected. The need to protect young people from having their names splashed throughout the media after an arrest has its origins during a completely different time when most of the matters that came before youth courts consisted of what could be described as “kid stuff”; youthful indiscretions that gave no indication that the young person was necessarily headed for a life of crime. Public naming of a young person as a criminal could have dire, permanent consequences.  While much of these types of offences still take place, the world has changed. Whether youth crime is increasing or decreasing, the fact remains that with the tendency to use guns and knives instead of fists and with the prominent role that drugs play in today’s society, more and more of the matters that come before youth courts can only be described as serious crimes. When a vicious crime occurs and arrest is made and then the public is prevented from finding out whether there has been a conviction or not, or even from knowing if and when a trial has occurred it goes against the openness of our criminal justice system. We live in a province that puts social engineering and political correctness above the rights of its citizens.           And it doesn’t help that with the NDP in the midst of a leadership race and the opposition Conservatives are led by a leader who is distracted by the necessity of finding a seat in the legislature there is no effective opposition at Queen’s Park. If John Tory thinks holding secret trials is a bad idea, he hasn’t bothered to mention it. The only meaningful opposition to Premier Dalton McGuinty comes from the people as it did from students who got him to back down on his silly proposals to make it illegal for young drivers to carry underage passengers unless they are relatives. Ontarians should be outraged that their government is proud at holding trials in secret because of their new found interpretation of what constitutes a “record” under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.           Media outlets will undoubtedly challenge the government’s new policy of refusing to allow the public to know when and where youth trials are taking place in court. And hopefully, the court will have more respect for democracy and freedom than does the provincial government. And more respect for the residents of Ontario; the court couldn’t possibly have any less.

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