Adam Johnson
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 8, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - One-time North Slave Metis leader North Douglas had his day in court last week, where he was fined and given probation for mischief and uttering threats.

"I'd like to apologize to the court for this," Douglas said during his sentencing. "I'm sorry."

The charges stemmed from an August 2006 incident in Behchoko. Douglas, 47, chased a 14-year-old boy to his grandmother's home, threatening to "kill him and strangle his family," according to Chief Justice Brian Bruser.

When he encountered the boy's grandmother, Douglas said, "If I catch any of these kids, this is what I'm going to (expletive) do," and punched a hole in the wall in her front entranceway.

Crown council Shelley Tkatch called Douglas's actions an "explosive response," asking for one-to-two months of imprisonment.

"His record and the circumstances show that Mr. Douglas has issues controlling his temper," Tkatch said.

"He cannot react in this way."

Douglas has previous convictions for assault dating back to the mid-1990s. The most recent was in 2002.

In his defence, counsel Pat Cashman explained that Douglas was under extreme stress from divorce proceedings and an unrelated civil suit, and was the "victim of an unfortunate series of vandalisms" at his home in Behchoko.

"They tried to burn down my house," Douglas said after the trial. "That's why I was so upset."

Cashman said Douglas believed the victim was responsible for the damage, something he later learned was not true.

"He is regretful for coming to that conclusion," Cashman said.

He also pointed out that Douglas had apologized to both parties, and taken it upon himself to repair the damage to the hallway.

"He has expressed remorse, and I accept that the remorse is genuine," said Bruser as he passed down the sentence.

While Douglas never entered a guilty plea, Bruser said the accused openly admitted to the crime - something Bruser said he took into consideration.

"He was using the trial to enable the court to understand what was going on in his life," Bruser said.

However, he said Douglas still "(needed) a proper message from the court."

"It was a more sinister, more serious kind of threat than we normally see."

He gave Douglas one year of probation and a $1,000 fine - $200 for the mischief charge and $800 for uttering threats.

Before sentencing, further assault charges were stayed by the Crown when a witness failed to appear for the trial, effectively halting proceedings.

In 2003, Douglas was elected president of the North Slave Metis Alliance. North lost to his brother, Sholto Douglas in a subsequent 2004 election.