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Page 6 February 26, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com COMMENT u EDITORIAL OBITER By Gabrielle Giroday Juries under scrutiny T he shooting death of Colten Boushie and subsequent acquit- tal of Gerald Stanley — who was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Boushie's death — has raised out- rage and ire across the country. The angry response has led federal Attorney General Jody Wilson- Raybould to tell media that there could be "changes to the Criminal Code to eliminate peremptory challenges" of prospective jurors but that work had to be done with the provinces on inclusion of indigen- ous people in the jury pool and improving the relationship with com- munities. These calls should seem familiar to Ontarians. In February 2013, an independent review by Justice Frank Iacobucci on First Nations Representation on Ontario Juries con- cluded that change was required. "The need for a collaborative approach to develop a proper jury roll process for First Nations peoples on reserve is viewed as a neces- sary step forward in a respectful relationship," said the report. This week, Law Times reports that defence lawyers say if there is a goal to achieve more diversity among jurors (including greater in- clusion of indigenous jurors), then changes need to be made to how jury rolls are put together and not just a focus on the method of jury selection in court. "Jury panels often are not very ref lective of the community," says defence lawyer Tyler Smith. This is troubling news indeed. The way potential jurors are currently selected in Ontario, based on voters lists from the the Municipal Property As- sessment Corporation, is problematic. The fact that a potential juror would have to disclose they had been found guilty of an offence such as "pretending to practise witchcraft" or "engaging in [a] prize fight" under the federal Criminal Code is also problematic. The Stanley case is an important chance for the federal government, and each province, to look at — and potentially shift — how representative their jury selection process really is. LT ©2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. 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Karen Lorimer Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Brown Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabrielle Giroday Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alex Robinson Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Cancilla CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leah Craven Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phyllis Barone Production Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . .Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist . . . Derek Welford Numbers behind the federal budget BY SUSAN DELACOURT F ederal politics will be awash in numbers when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government re- leases its third budget on Feb. 27. Last year, the budget kicked off a na- scent tax revolt among lawyers, doctors and other professionals when Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced in- tentions to crack down on private cor- porations. This year, after a nearly full retreat on those plans, it's safe to bet that Morneau will be trying to avoid a similar political error. Beyond the usual budget figures on debt and spending, there are other num- bers with compelling stories at this point in the Trudeau government's mandate. Here are some other figures to con- sider as the federal Liberals hand down what will probably be their next-to-last budget before their first term in office is up. 600: Right after the budget is de- livered, it will be 600 days to the next election, scheduled to take place on its fixed date of Oct. 21, 2019. Hard as it is to believe, Trudeau's government is now well into its second half of governing and increasingly training its sights on how to stay in power for an- other term. Trudeau himself will be hoping not to repeat what happened to his father — elected with heady, high hopes for the first mandate in 1968, then reduced to a minority in the 1972 elec- tion. 1,326: Speaking of Trudeau's father, here's another relic of Pierre Trudeau's time in office that Justin Trudeau might not be keen to re- peat. The longest-ever session of Parlia- ment in Canada's history lasted 1,326 days, from April 14, 1980 to Nov. 30, 1983. The elder Trudeau, clearly preoc- cupied with patriation of the Constitu- tion during those years, stretched one Throne Speech and parliamentary sit- ting to more than three years. Normal practice is something closer to one or two years. By the last week of this month, it will be roughly 820 days since the first and so far only Throne Speech of this government. It's probably time for a new Speech from the Throne, from the still-new governor general, Ju- lie Payette. 33: The number of official foreign trips that Trudeau has made since assuming of- fice in late 2015. This doesn't include vacation trips (such as controversial jaunts to the Aga Khan's private island). Nor does it convey how hec- tic or busy they are, with multiple destinations in one trip. Earlier this month, for instance, Trudeau hopped from Chicago to San Francisco to Los Angeles in a whirlwind four-day swing around the United States. Why is this number relevant? It shows Trudeau's ob- vious fondness for getting out of Canada whenever he can — moving around on the international circuit, where he often gets rock-star receptions. Nice for him abroad, but possible trouble at home. Be prepared for Trudeau's opponents to be using all these foreign trips as fur- ther evidence that this prime minister is out of touch with "average, hard-working Canadians." 40: This is the age that Trudeau's two main opponents will be in the next elec- tion. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative leader Andrew Scheer were both born in 1979. That makes both of them a good deal younger than Trudeau, now 46, who came to office promising to inject youth and change into government. It's going to be interesting to see how Trudeau recasts himself as the elder of the three leaders. Then again, here are some other numbers to consider, straight from the world of social media. Trudeau has about four million fol- lowers on Twitter; Singh has about 129,000 and Scheer has less than 60,000. Those figures are a scorecard on popu- larity in the digital age. All of the numbers above are part of political considerations now underway by the current government in Ottawa. They may not appear in the 2018 budget, but they do tell some interesting stories about where things are at as the next election looms closer. LT uSusan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based political author and columnist who has been working on Parliament Hill for nearly 30 years. She is a frequent politi- cal panellist on national television and author of four books. She can be reached at sdelacourt@bell.net. The Hill Susan Delacourt Susan Delacourt

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