Woman claims racism behind murder trial delay
David Harrison won't go on trial for two-year-old homicide until next year
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Friday, January 30, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The cousin of a woman whose lifeless body was found in a downtown alley more than two years ago claims racism is the reason why the accused in her death won't go to trial until April 4, 2016.
Florence Catholique, who lives in Lutsel K'e, said David Harrison's first-degree murder trial would have begun a lot sooner had the victim been non-aboriginal. Yvonne Desjarlais, 63, who was originally from Lutsel K'e, was found unconscious in the early morning hours of Dec. 30, 2012.
| "I think if the victim had been white, it would've been addressed right away." |
She was later pronounced dead at Stanton Territorial Hospital. Harrison was arrested on July 11, 2013 and charged with first degree murder.
"For us, the family of the victim, resolving this issue and getting justice for Yvonne is very important," Catholique said.
"We're not getting due process. I think that if the victim had been white, it would've been addressed right away."
Catholique said aboriginal people, not just in the NWT but across Canada, are still dealing with a European-style justice system.
"It's the colonial form of justice that leads to such a delay when the victim is aboriginal. It is also why the number of aboriginal people who are incarcerated in Canada is so high compared to the number of non-aboriginal people."
Catholique said she intends to take her concerns about the lengthy wait for justice to the chief in Lutsel K'e, Felix Lockhart, as well as the Dene Nation and the NWT justice department.
"She was one of the kindest people I've ever met," Catholique said of her cousin who was five years older than her. "There was an abusive situation brought on by her drinking but (Yvonne) was just like her mother, always willing to help other people."
Susanne Boucher, general counsel for legal operations at Public Prosecution Services in Yellowknife, said the court date selected was influenced by the availability of Harrison's defence lawyer. Court files show that his lawyer Caroline Wawzonek had said she would be available for his trial anytime after Nov. 16 of this year. Harrison, 30, remains in custody at the North Slave Correctional Centre.
There is a guarantee under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to a speedy trial. But Yellowknife lawyer Peter Harte said the definition of "speedy" varies, depending upon where one lives. "In the south, there are more resources, more lawyers, prosecutors, judges and a larger jury pool," said Harte.
"So the definition of a speedy trial, say in Toronto, is not the same as s speedy trial in the NWT."
He said the complexity of a case can also have a bearing on the length of time it takes to get to trial. The Supreme Court of Canada has acknowledged there will be regional differences when it comes to "speedy trials."
Indeed, in a recent NWT Supreme Court decision, Judge Shannon Smallwood ruled that 32 months to get a Behchoko man to trial on a sexual assault charge was "reasonable in this jurisdiction and did not infringe upon the man's rights under the Charter.
Smallwood dismissed the man's application that claimed his charter rights had been violated by the length of time between his charge
and the trial.
