Kinew stands firm on support for pedophiles getting jailhouse justice

Premier Wab Kinew defended incendiary remarks he made Monday supporting punishments outside the justice system for those who access or possess child pornography.

“You’ve got to find a way to communicate that makes people pay attention,” he told reporters Tuesday.

A day earlier, the premier was asked to respond to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that rejected mandatory one-year minimum sentences for possessing child pornography.

Kinew said not only should those offenders serve jail time, “they should bury you under the prison.”

“You shouldn’t get protective custody. They should put you into (prison) general population, if you know what I mean. Skinners — this is the worst,” he said, using a prison term for pedophiles and sex offenders.

Later, during question period Monday at the legislature, Kinew echoed the comments, saying if it were up to him, he’d “invoke the code on the streets,” release pedophiles into prisons’ general population and “see what happens.”

The Canadian Bar Association issued a statement Tuesday without naming Kinew asking political leaders not to undermine the rule of law.

“When political leaders suggest or condone punishment outside the justice system, they erode the very rule of law that safeguards everyone,” Canadian Bar Association president Bianca Kratt said in a prepared statement.

While debate about sentencing and justice policy is healthy, it must never cross over into calls for consequences beyond what the law provides, she said.

Disagreement with a court’s ruling is legitimate in a democracy, but political leaders have a responsibility to express their disagreement in ways that maintain public confidence in its legal institutions, Kratt said.

“Our democracy rests on a clear distinction between political questions, resolved through democratic processes, and legal questions, resolved by independent courts,” she said.

“When that boundary is blurred, history shows that societies become less fair, less stable and less secure. Respect for the courts is not optional in a democracy — it is what keeps justice alive.”

Kinew made no apologies for his remarks.

“The role of us in the legislative and executive branch is to offer counterbalance to the judicial branch and vice versa,” he said. “So that’s what we’re working on.”

He said he thinks Manitobans agree with his perspective.

“I feel confident that what I’ve been putting on the record this week is in line with what Manitobans believe,” he said.

When asked about the high court’s concern that an 18-year-old who receives an unsolicited explicit image of a 17-year-old would have to serve a one-year mandatory jail sentence, the premier didn’t balk.

“If you’re caught up in these child sexual abuse images, it’s wrong and you need to be punished,” he said.

“We’ve said… we’re tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime, so, yeah, we’re gonna bring the hammer down on people who deserve justice. But, at the same time, we’ll be there to help kids who need a helping hand in the community.”

University of Manitoba political studies professor Christopher Adams said he was surprised by the premier’s “strong” comments about extra-judicial punishments for offenders.

“Maybe this is something that really strikes fiercely into his own understanding of things,” Adams said.

He suggested the premier may be compensating for his past run-ins with the law.

“The opposition has made great hay out of his interactions with the judicial system,” Adams said. “It could be that he feels that he has to be stronger on law and order than he would otherwise be.”

Adams pointed to Kinew campaigning on “law and order positions” such as being tough on crime and the root causes of crime.

His government ushered in the Unexplained Wealth Act, whereby judges can compel people to account in civil court for money and property that forfeiture officials suspect was illegally obtained.

The NDP government has also introduced a universal school nutrition program.

“On the conservative side of things, he’s promised in a few years to balance the budgets,” said Adams, noting Kinew has been able to straddle both sides of the political spectrum, connecting with the business community and organized labour.

“An old-fashioned expression is ‘man of the people,’” Adams said, pointing to the premier’s popularity on social media. “He’s a man comfortable in his skin, and he’s able to appeal to people in different walks of life.”

The premier’s remarks on Monday “lack nuance” but likely won’t hurt his popularity, Adams said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca