iMi«ninMini¥a«w.Mia ^c CK ~[\ ao3 ^9:^-1 IN THE r.lAGISTRATE'S COURT • 2 IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 3 4 BETWEEN 5 6 HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN 7 - and -8
9 MALEE E7-442 10 (Plea of guilty under Section 125(b) CC.) 1 1 12 I 13 14 March 13th. 1971 at Yellowknife, N.W.T. ] 15 16 Pierre Asselin, Esq., appeared on behalf of the Crown. 17 Murray Sigler, appeared on behalf of the Defence. 18 19 20 Reasons for Sentence 21 Chief Magistrate P.B. Parker 22. 23 24 I 25 26 27
^glf—WJIIIIIILI TW R. Vs. Maleo Magistrate's Court, Yellowknife, N.W.T. Chief Magistrate P. B. PARKER 1 • 2 I thank both Counsel for their thoughtful presentations. 3 Well, before dealing with this specific case I would like to 4 make a few general comments. There has been considerable interest ; 5 shown lately in various parts of the Territories in the liU i ; 6 administration of justice generally and sentencing in particular. i 7 It seems to be a feeling "that crime is on the increase and that I g discrepancies in sentencing may have something to do with this. j 9 Our court office here in Yellowknife maintains records of 1Q convictions which have taken place throughout the Northwest •^1 Territories and we make reports to the Bureau of Statistics of 12 all these convictions. The staff has just recently completed I 13 a summary of statistics of convictions for indictable offences 14 for the calendar years 1968, I969. and 1970. Wit'hout going into 15 the details of the different categories I can say that the over j
16 all rate is up from I968 to 1970 at approximately 30?S. The most 17 significant increases are in breaking and entering, which includes 18 well over a third of the total convictions, and there is also a 19 relatively large increase in the assault category, in fact the 20 assaults causing bodily harm were up a hundred per cent in that 21 particular range.
22 It is however, noteworthy that the assault on police officer 23 category remains lower, in fact declined from five to three 24 offences in those particular years. I feel this is an indication I 1 i 25 that the relations between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and 26 the public are continuing at a satisfactory level. 27 Although we don't have complete figures for 1971. it seems that
••iMMMininnmHrniDnffiiriiiinrirrirnr 'y' 1 the trend to a greater number of convictions is continuing. Our • 2 Correctional Institute is full to overflowing and the case load 3 in the Magistrate's Court, and I believe in the Territorial Court 4 also, is increasing. More and larger Correctional Institutions 5 are going to be needed if this trend continues. 6 I believe it is appropriate to ask ourselves why there is 7 this rather dramatic increase in indictable offence convictions, 8 with the consequent incarceration of a rising number of the 9 population. In particular is sentencing a factor in the crime 10 rate? I suppose the theory of sentencing is there should be some 11 contrast between the life of a person at large as compared v/ith 12 life in the Correctional Institution. The theory is that the 13 individual normally prefers to stay out of jail, consequently I 14 through fear of apprehension and conviction he resists the 15 temptation to break into the local store or the local co-op.
16 The feeling I get, not only from my experiences in criminal 17 court but also in family court and juvenile court, is that there 18 are relatively large numbers of young men in the Territories who 19 feel frustrated and see no prospect of enjoying a worth while-20 existence. They have nothing to do and see white collar personnel 21 such as myself apparently able to make a decent living without 22 doing any useful work. I am thinking mainly of young individual 23 Eskimo, Indian, and Metis boys who hang around the settlements. 24 They find themselves as second class citizens in their ovm 25 country. Having nothing better to do these young men turn to I 26 drink for a bit of excitement and to relieve the boredom. In 27 these circumstances the typical young man feels he has no place •mm
unnannmftiwniiiBfirraiiwwBw •i 30 in society. He feels he has very little to lose by going to the • 2 Correctional Institution, or other confinement: consequently the 3 deterrent effect of any sentence may not be very great. 4 In the typical situation the young man may overindulge in 5 alcohol, get drunk, and either break into a store or start a 6 fight and somebody gets hurt or killed. Alcohol gets blamed for 7 many sad events, but it is mainly the frustration due to social 8 and economic factors which is the cause. 9 What should be done? Although there is a lot of talk about 10 jobs it is not clear that enough jobs will be found or that these 11 young men may be able to obtain these future jobs. Something 12 more is needed to ease the transition of these young men. Some i I 13 people mention the idea of having work camps, or parties engaged 14 in pollution control. My own suggestion is that ithe existing 15 cadet and ranger programs should be expanded and broadened into 1
16 a semi-military program on a broad scale. This should last a 17 couple of years training for each individual and should include 18 a strong sports program and strenuous patrols throughout the 19 Territories. 20 In talking about the North we have a tendency to stress the 21 problems and difficulties. It seems to rae we have some very.. 22 distinct advantages here which I would list as follows* 23 1. In terms of population compared to under developed 24 areas in India and Africa our problems are minimal. We I 25 can and should be able to deal with each person on an 26 individual basis. \ 27 2. The indigenous peoples here are mainly a hardy 'y-ziz \\ ^ > -J* •
, i^ - > ••• •' , ,.-^e^*
iBaiTiMiiBnimniffliinnii ftiim-HBSsaia 31 1 independent type. They are of wiry physique, capable « 2 of feats of endurance and survival under severe conditions. 3 3' There is a tremendous reserve of good will in 4 Southern Canada towards the North, particularly the 5 native people of the North. 6 4. We have^ a rugged and healthy area to live-in. 7 I suggest the way to a reduction in crime is not to be found 8 in increasing the penalties, so much as by providing alternate 9 avenues for the utilization of energy and the release of tension 10 for these young men. We have plenty of fresh air in this country 11 ready for use. I feel sure our young people would respond to 12 such a semi-military training program as they have to programs such 13 as cubs, scouts, cadets. Northern Games, the Arctic Winter Games, I 14 the Centennial Canoe Race, and International Cross Country skiing. 15 If properly handled such a program, would bring physical benefits 16 and would restore self respect also to the individual. This in 17 turn would make it much easier for a young man to adjust and find 18 his place in society. I suggest this type of training would meet 19 the needs of a substantial segment of our population who may be 20 unable to benefit fully at this stage from the education and 21 development programs currently being undertaken. 22 Turning to this case, Malee is either 33 or 35- I choose 23 to accept his statement that he is 33- He has a long record. I 24 remember sentencing this man at Frobisher Bay in I967 for an 25 offence of discharging a firearm with intent to prevent arrest. I 26 I felt he was a menace at that time and sentenced him to the 27 penitentiary. I remember it was stated in his pre-sentence
•itKiMM«WMiWTiiiMiwnBmraiiniimiiiiiigiiH¥ar.m 1 report at that time that he had come from Lake Harbour and only » 2 got into trouble v/hen he came to Frobisher Bay. The question v/e 3 might ask ourselves is how much is due to his innate sinful 4 intentions and hov/ much to the changes in his environment and 5 social situation in which v/e as southerners -- we as southern 6 invaders of the north country must accept a share of the 7 responsibility. At any rate the cost has been in the thousands 6 of dollars as well as the waste of human resources in this one 9 individual's history. 10 I notice that Malee seems to speak and understand English, 11 which was not the case when he appeared before me in 196?. Perhaps 12 he learned English in the penitentiary since there are very few 13 Eskimos there. I 14 Malee has a record of crimes of violence. However, in this 15 instance there was no violence in the escape. There was
16 apparently a minimum of resistance when this man was re-17 apprehended. Malee simply walked out of the camp and was 18 apprehended within a few minutes. 19 In this instance I don't feel a heavy penalty is called for. 20 There is the question that has been discussed as to whether or not 21 this man should remain here in the Institution, or whether he 22 should go to the penitentiary, and I am inclined to think on the 23 balance that he should remain here, because as has been said, it 24 is closer to his environment. -25 He has spent a good deal of time in the penitentiary, perhaps I 26 too long, who knows. However, at this stage he has broken out and 27 some penalty must be imposed. 'tzz
namaaimuigifinnrinw in.*. wi"*wnM 1 Would you stand up then, Malee? Six months*imprisonment • 2 in this case, to be served in the Yellowknife Correctional 3 Institution. I believe the provision is that the balance of 4 the existing sentence must be served at the end and you v/ill serve 5 the rest of your sentence after finishing the six months. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 I 14 16 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 £3 £4 26 I £6 27 z^z' mi