the NDP
On Monday in the legislature, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas asked the attorney general why he has allowed aboriginals to be excluded from jury rolls in Northern Ontario.
The question came on the heels of another dismissal of a pool of jurors in Thunder Bay due to lack of aboriginal presence.
Gélinas noted that in 2008, the attorney general refused to launch an inquiry into the very same issue.
“Is this now a case for your government to call an inquiry and overturn the discriminatory practices that have excluded aboriginals from jury rolls in Northern Ontario?” Gélinas asked.
Gélinas referred to the Nishnawbe Aski Nation appeal granted by Ontario’s Court of Appeal, which calls into question the legitimacy of the justice system in Northern Ontario when jury rolls exclude aboriginals.
“The latest verdict from Ontario’s highest courts clearly shows deficiencies in both your ministries,” Gélinas said.
