Desperate to thwart electoral annihilation, the NDP government has taken an unexpected tack: undermining Canada’s cherished presumption of innocence.
In late 2015, police arrested Raymond Joseph Cormier in the headline-grabbing murder of Tina Fontaine, an aboriginal teen who had been in foster care in Winnipeg.
Charged with second-degree murder, Cormier, through his lawyer, later confirmed to CBC that he would contest the accusation.
The nature of Fontaine’s murder was so horrific that many Manitobans breathed a collective sigh of relief when the person potentially responsible for her death – and let’s underscore the word potentially – had finally been caught.
Seeking to capitalize on those triumphant vibes, the reelection-challenged NDP government wasted no time springing into action.
The government promptly issued a news release in which Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said this:
“The cowardly murder of Tina Fontaine ended the dreams of a young life, was devastating for her family and shocked all of Canada. The Winnipeg Police Service and other police departments deserve immense credit and the thanks of all Manitobans for their diligence in pursuing a challenging case and bringing justice closer for this young child, her family and everyone who cared for her.”
Not content to stop there, Irvin-Ross took the opportunity to peddle her government’s political agenda.
In the release, she said the province would implement “profound changes” to the child and family services (CFS) system to “better protect children.”
The release then recycled a previous announcement, declaring that government-backed legislation “would greatly increase the role of Indigenous communities in supporting families and reduce the number of children being taken into CFS care.”
At no time did Irvin-Ross identify Cormier by name or proclaim his guilt.
But should someone accused of a crime, no matter how heinous, be subjected to a taxpayer-funded and -disseminated news release in which a cabinet minister congratulates his accusers (the police) and declares his arrest has brought “justice closer,” all in the absence of a conviction or even a public declaration of all available evidence?
Is it appropriate for a government facing reelection to use the arrest of a teenage girl’s potential killer to advertise its political objectives?
Emotions around the Fontaine murder understandably run high, but that’s no excuse for a government to try and score cheap political points off a tragedy.
