A painful misunderstanding of a lawyer’s role

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/09/2024 (385 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Let’s talk about a very, very bad decision.

A decision that so misunderstands the justice system in Canada that it’s hard to comprehend that the government that made it is responsible for administering justice in this province.

Monday, the Manitoba NDP and Premier Wab Kinew kicked Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw out of caucus, forcing him to sit as an independent.

NDP Caucus chairman Mike Moyes put Wasyliw’s turfing this way in a news release: “The decision came after our caucus learned that MLA Wasyliw’s business partner is acting as Peter Nygard’s criminal defence lawyer … MLA Wasyliw’s failure to demonstrate good judgment does not align with our caucus principles of mutual respect and trust. As such, MLA Wasyliw can no longer continue his role in our caucus.”

Now, whatever Wasyliw’s business partner may or may not choose to do may be embarrassing for the NDP, especially if it involves representing someone convicted of several sexual assault charges, and facing more in this province.

And it may well be that Wasyliw and the NDP caucus are no longer a good fit.

But tossing him from caucus because of what his business partner is doing?

A defence lawyer who represents someone accused of a crime is, well, doing their job. And that job is integral to the justice system: under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, everyone charged with a crime has a right to counsel, and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

And that includes Nygard.

What the NDP has done is to confuse the actions someone is charged doing with proof of that crime, and, worse, with the conduct and character of their lawyer. It also suggests that, if you’re charged with certain offences, you don’t deserve the counsel of your choice.

Being a defence lawyer is no easy task, especially when you’re defending a notorious individual, which there is no argument that Nygard is. Imagine how much opprobrium the average defence lawyer already gets when they explain that they’ve represented drunk drivers, serial domestic abusers and people charged with sexual assault, let alone serial killers.

And now the provincial government wants to argue that, based on the crime you’re charged with or your personal unsavouriness, lawyers who represent you should expect to see their own reputations and careers damaged by the choice to defend you?

A governing party should not be trying to dictate who is, and who isn’t, worthy of legal representation.

It is putting the party’s fingers on the scales of justice in a way the NDP has no right to be doing.

How serious is this error in judgment?

Well, it’s not impossible to argue that, since the province’s minister of justice is part of the caucus that has determined Nygard is so heinous that it’s an error of judgment for a reputable defence lawyer to even represent him, the government has made it difficult for Nygard to get a fair trial in this province.

And that’s not the only problem for Justice Minister Matt Wiebe.

His mandate letter from Premier Wab Kinew spells it out succinctly: “As the minister of justice and attorney general, your top priority is to ensure all Manitobans are safe and have fair and just treatment before the law.”

Fair and just treatment does not include attacks on an accused — or on their defence counsel — by government before their trial.

It’s not just Wasyliw who finds himself in a difficult position.

It’s the administration of justice, and perhaps the minister of justice, as well.