A Kenora justice of the peace accused of making racist remarks in court
about Indigenous people will avoid facing a discipline hearing by retiring.
As the Star first reported last year, Justice of the Peace Robert
McNally was the subject of complaints to the Justices of the Peace Review
Council over an exchange he had in bail court with lawyer Shannon McDunnough,
who is Mi’kmaq.
According to a court transcript, Justice of the Peace Robert McNally joked
about an Indigenous lawyer’s ancestors having “scalped” someone. (Facebook)
According to a court transcript, McNally joked about the fact nobody knew
who British comedian Benny Hill was, and when McDunnough replied that she
did know who he was, McNally responded: “Your ancestors probably scalped him
or something.”
McNally, who has not been hearing cases since October 2017 but continues
to be paid, was set to face a
public discipline hearing in Toronto beginning Jan. 22, 2019, before a
three-member panel composed of a provincial court judge, a justice of the
peace and a community member.
But the hearing panel was informed last week that McNally would be
retiring effective Jan. 3.
“When the retirement takes effect, this proceeding will come to an end
because the review council and the hearing panel will cease to have
jurisdiction over His Worship McNally, who will no longer be a justice of
the peace,” says a Nov. 1 ruling from the hearing panel.
“The hearing
panel directs the registrar to cancel the scheduled hearing dates upon
receipt of confirmation that His Worship’s retirement has taken effect.”
Should McNally decide not to retire on Jan. 3, his discipline hearing
will proceed as scheduled, the panel said.
The Star tried to contact McNally’s lawyer Sunday, but did not receive a
response.
Justices of the peace, who earn about $132,000 a year, are appointed by
the provincial government. Dressed in black robes and green sashes, they
conduct bail hearings, sign off on search warrants and preside over trials
in provincial offences court, which deals with non-criminal matters. McNally
was appointed by the NDP government in 1993.
The review council said it had received three complaints about McNally,
dealing with both the comment to McDunnough and other remarks and conduct.
One was from the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, which called the comment to
McDunnough “culturally insensitive, racist, and entirely inappropriate” in
its complaint submitted last year.
“Racially or culturally inappropriate comments have no place in the
courtroom from any of the justice participants,” association president
Michael Lacy told the Star Sunday.
“The council would have been in a position to send a clear message that such
conduct will not be tolerated. Understanding that the council has no
jurisdiction to deal with the matter if he resigns, it is a very
unsatisfactory end to a very concerning matter. But at least he will not be
presiding going forward.”
McNally also responded to an unidentified male
in a different bail court proceeding in August 2017 with: “I’m keeping my
mouth shut on that one. That’s some kind of a Indigenous thing?” according
to a transcript.
“You made comments that appeared to reflect preconceived notions about
First Nations persons and that could be perceived as racist, ridiculing or
mocking toward First Nations persons in a manner that suggests cultural
insensitivity,” said the notice of hearing from the review council, laying
out the allegations of judicial misconduct against McNally, which have not
been proven.
The vast majority of individuals in Kenora bail court are Indigenous,
according to a joint complaint from Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services,
McDunnough’s employer, and Grand Council Treaty No. 3, which represents 28
First Nation communities in northwestern Ontario and Manitoba.
“The nature of the comment (to McDunnough) is such that the only
appropriate remedy is his removal from judicial office,” said the joint
complaint.
In its notice of hearing, the review council also accused McNally of
acting in a manner that was “rude, dismissive, confrontational,
condescending, impatient and sarcastic” in a number of other cases,
including allegedly making “inappropriate and gratuitous comments” to a
female lawyer, “including a comment that appeared to demonstrate sexism.”
Source
Commentary by the Ottawa Mens Centre
The "appointment of Justices of the Peace in Ontario is a often a very
dirty corrupt business where
the least suitable most dangerous people, get appointed as JP's.
They often are strictly limited in what functions they can perform. For
example without a legal background they are practically useless hearing any
criminal matter.
They rub shoulders every day with police who tell them what warrants they
want issued, and
make a host of local political decisions to assist the Crown and Police
who are generally invariably viewed as "good guys" who would never do
anything wrong.
Ottawa in particular is a cess pool of nasty personalities headed by a
psychopath Justice Squires.
When JP's hold hearings, they rarely make unpopular political decisions.
One of their roles is to "hear" private prosecutions which are generally
political decisions
to protect criminals especially police officers and lawyers or even
judges who engage in criminal conduct that often falls under "obstruction of
justice" and "fabrication of evidence.
Never ever expect justice in Ontario and if you have the misfortune of
having to attend a Justice of the Peace, just remember that they make
politically correct decisions and not legal decisions.