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Nelson: Yes, Canada can do better than Trudeau

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Isn’t it time our prime minister put aside his favourite glib sound bite about how Canada can and must do better?

After all, he’s been in charge for over two years, so he’s had ample time to deliver concrete results, instead of playing this moral compass card, seeking some clear path for the diseased ship of state Justin Trudeau constantly derides this country to be.

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Of course, that would entail tough choices and hard work, so it is understandable, if not forgivable, that he and his ministers prefer the heart on the sleeve, tears in the eyes morality approach, consisting of endless lectures inflicted upon us.

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The latest version of the “Canada must and can do better” refrain comes in the aftermath of the trial involving 56-year-old Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley, who was acquitted of second degree murder by a jury after shooting and killing Colten Boushie from close range after the 22-year-old Indigenous man drove onto his property in a stolen car, along with a handful of buddies.

Undoubtedly the verdict’s controversial, but not having sat through the entire trial, heard all the witnesses and examined the evidence, it would be folly to slam it as bigoted or incompetent. If Stanley hadn’t been charged at all, there’d be an argument our justice system is inherently racist, but obviously that wasn’t the case.

Sober second thought lasts a tad longer than tapping out the hundred or so characters on a Twitter message. But again, that was beyond the prime minister, who immediately tweeted: “I can’t imagine the grief and sorrow the Boushie family is feeling tonight. Sending love to them from the US.”

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Well, at least he wasn’t sending well wishes from the Aga Khan’s private island, so there’s that blessing.

Likewise, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould joined the outpouring with the obligatory “as a country, we can and must do better” tweet.

So we’ll see changes to the system, will we? Don’t hold your breath. We’ve heard that before from these loose-lipped prima donnas without ever seeing a sliver of concrete action.

Ask veterans, ask families waiting in vain to sponsor Syrian refugees, ask those awaiting proportional representation, ask Thalidomide victims, pipeline companies, and ask Indigenous groups who’ve seen the Truth and Reconciliation Commission bogged down by infighting.

This latest outrage has coalesced around the ability of lawyers to use the peremptory clause in jury selection. In the Stanley case, that involved the defence objecting, without needing to show cause, to potential jurors of an Indigenous background.

If the roles were reversed, then an aboriginal man on trial would have expected his lawyer to do the same – it’s one of the hallmarks of justice that you are tried by your peers and, given the full weight of state power lined up against any person in the dock, it’s another safeguard of individual liberty.

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Still, if Wilson-Raybould thinks this peremptory measure is unfair, then ditch it. The British did exactly that 30 years ago and our legal system is based on theirs.

She’s heard such complaints for years but, as usual, action has been lacking.

And while we’re looking at the jury system, then let’s make it less of an economic affront to all those who serve. They get paid a pittance, so it’s little wonder people try to avoid such an onerous responsibility. That’s a simple enough change.

And if Indigenous people are underrepresented in the first place, then examine how so often they’re left off the very rolls from which names are chosen. Those are out of date and often ignore people on reserves. Once again, substantive changes that could have been made years ago.

These are simple measures, but instead, we get political theatre and grandiose promises that eventually are forgotten as Trudeau and chums look for the latest drama to wax lyrical about. Yes, Canada, we can do better, but not with this group in charge.

Chris Nelson is a Calgary writer.

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