Language not an obstacle to justice

The NWT's top Crown prosecutor, Pierre Rousseau, has come up with an unsettling, even dangerous, answer to a problem that has already resulted in at least one mistrial -- poor translation.

The verdict in last year's trial of an Igloolik man on a sexual assault charge was thrown out last month by the territorial Court of Appeal. The judges concluded the translation to the jury -- some of whom understood only Inuktitut -- was less than accurate.

Reasonable doubt, it would appear, is not the same as "without magic."

The Crown argues that some ideas of the justice system cannot be translated with a satisfactory degree of precision into Inuktitut. But to try an accused in a foreign language means they are not guaranteed a fair trial.

Everyone in the court must be able to understand the proceedings of a trial -- the accused, the witnesses and the jury.

What the justice system needs is an adminstration committed to devoting whatever resources are necessary to train all court interpreters to the point where they are capable of translating even the most difficult legal terms into Inuktitut and other aboriginal languages.

Indeed, as we reported last week, some interpreters are having trouble with their instruction on court work. The problem found in last month's ruling surely has more to do with the training interpreters receive than the nature of the language.

The members of the Court of Appeal do not believe translating the language of the law is impossible. Neither do we. It can be done and should be done. It may be expensive, but the means are certainly within our grasp.

The alternative of English-only courts is unacceptable.

Since June's federal election, we haven't heard much from Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew. As secretary of state for children and youth, she doesn't get a chance to deliver much to the North these days without the assistance of a minister.

But recently, she came up with $152,000 to pay for 12 coaches to work with the North's cross-country ski coaching program for this season. She deserves a big pat on the back from skiers across the NWT.

Skiing is one of the most popular winter sports in the North, for obvious reasons, and to be left without coaches would be missed opportunity we'd regret for years. Let's hope the short-term coaching contracts are extended beyond this season.