Indigenous Canadians' Criminality ... All Is Forgiven

"You were set to begin your full parole on April 14. The warrant for your apprehension and suspension was issued and executed on the same day. The Parole Office received information that you had received new criminal charges relating to assault, assault by choking and uttering threats."

"Your ex-intimate partner reported to police that you had assaulted her that morning. At that point,  you reportedly pushed her before choking her. You threatened to kill her and reportedly hit her repeatedly with a closed fist. Police observed physical marks on the victim. You were still at the home of the victim when police arrived."

"You deny any physical violence occurred. You stated that your ex-partner had provided a false statement to police and that she was intending to give police information relating the same." 

Parole Board of Canada 

An armed robber who hit a jewelry shop on Halifax's Quinpool Road in March 2022 is free again on full parole even though the Correctional Service of Canada recommended against releasing him. Photo by Chris Lambie/National Post

 

Sentenced in February 2024 to more than five years in prison for two Halifax jewelry store robberies in March, the 31-year-old was released on full parole this past April. Then he attacked his ex-girlfriend, assaulting and choking her the very day he received full parole with the freedom to turn his life around.That full parole granted despite the Correctional Service of Canada recommending against his release. 

 

Daniel Christian Anthony Johnson and his girlfriend had conceived of a life together, that she and her six children would move in with him once full parole was granted. During his transition from day parole to full parole, his girlfriend "discovered text messages" with other women. They got into an argument, at a time when the children were all at school. The argument led to a heated exchange and Johnson's girlfriend broke up with him. He later in court denied assaulting her, that instead he had attempted to stop her from harming herself.

 

In response to Johnson's criminal recidivism, the Correctional Service of Canada recommended the full parole be revoked. Instead, the parole board cancelled the man's suspension: "It is the board's opinion that you will not, by reoffending before expiration of your sentence according to law, present an undue risk to society if released", the decision read. The board "does not believe" Johnson returned to his cycle of crime, the decision stated. "You were not engaged with individuals who were involved in criminal activity".

 

The original sentence of five years, one month and 14 days was in response to robbery, theft under $5,000, forcible confinement, careless use of a firearm, assault with a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, unauthorized possession of a restricted weapon in a moving vehicle, and failing to comply with a court order. The latest decision by the Parole Board was based on the fact that Johnson is "a first-time federal offender of Indigenous and African Canadian descent". 

 

"The casual and systemic racism and intergenerational traumas which impact Indigenous and Black people in Canada" was the base assumption utilized in all such cases involving Indigenous and Blacks engaged in serious criminality, with reduced sentences and easier bail conditions, ascribing their behaviour to societal racism and original 'colonialism'.  

 

The Board was assured by Johnson that since being placed back behind bars in the spring he had undertaken a new direction for himself, careful not to socialize with other inmates, engaging in traditional Indigenous customs such as "smudging, making dream catchers, and in touch with an Elder". Enough to melt the stony heart of any arbiter of deserved justice for harms against society. 

 

On the other hand, Johnson was observed to be "diverting" his methadone; rather than swallowing the prescribed medication whose use was to treat opioid-use-disorder, he held on to it, with the intention of sharing, selling or saving it. Prison guards also discovered an unauthorized medication in his cell. He "also admitted to participating in a drone drop", informing the board that he had "participated under threat of violence and did not consume any drugs related to the drone drop". 

 

Task force targeting drones delivering contraband into prisons.

 

"The Board acknowledges that colonization, residential schooling, forced assimilation practices and racism and marginalization have impacted your upbringing and how you interact with the criminal justice system."

"The Board considers that it is clear that this history provides context for your criminality."

"Specifically, you have experienced family fragmentation, substance abuse, and have been the victim of violence."

"The Board believes that your substance abuse, poor coping mechanisms and poor emotions regulation are linked to the trauma you and your family have experienced." 

Parole Board of Canada 

Much Ado About Nothing : Canada's Shakespearean Farce

"I told her: 'I wish our people could grab you, drag you over to the Kamloops residential school, put you into the basement, speak our language to you, rape you, hurt you."

"And maybe you'd understand what our people went through."

Charlene Belleau, elder, Esk'etemc First Nation, British Columbia 

 

"I don't think they're a threat I think there's a lot of comments about how she should be charged and punished in various ways, and I'm opposed to that, because I think people should e able to speak freely about everything, as long as they don't incite violence or engage in threats."

"I think they're deplorable comments, and it reflects the fact that Aboriginal leaders are pandered to constantly and never challenged, so they become more and more unhinged as time goes on."

Frances Widdowson, academic; Economics and Indigenous Policy 

 

"I'm not sure what the member [MLA Tara Armstrong] is referring to, but I do know what she's tried to do in the past, insisting that the bodies of children who died at residential schools should be dug up."

"Something that you would never insist at any other place in t he world where  holocausts or genocides occurred."

"That's not how we do these things. [She is] trying to further divide us over an issue that is very emotional, troubling and challenging."

B.C. Indigenous Relations Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert

The main administrative building of the former school is pictured in 1970. (Department of Citizenship and Immigration- Information Division / Library and Archives Canada)

 

In 2021 at the former Kamloops Residential School, the chief of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir made a riveting public statement that sent shock waves through the country, a statement picked up by international news media, and which prompted then-PM Justice Trudeau to order Canadian flags at half-mast and held them that way for six months, in honour of the 215 Indigenous children Chief Casimir claimed lay in unmarked graves at the school site. Her band had hired a specialist in ground-penetrating radar, the results of which led her to make these remarks to the media: 

"To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths."

"Some were as young as three years old. We sought out a way to confirm that knowing out of deepest respect and love for those lost children and their families, understanding that Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc is the final resting place of these children."  

That shocking declaration galvanized Canada into a state of mourning, of self-blame, of acceptance of the charges that a 'genocide' took place. Government at every level genuflected in shame and remorse, pledged that this horrible sin against humanity and Indigenous children who attended Indian Residential Schools, who had suffered loneliness and misery, neglect and humiliation, condemned if they spoke their native language, were exposed to life-changing, long-lasting trauma that affected following generations.

 

On the rare occasion, some individuals who had attended these schools denied those charges, countered that their exposure to educational opportunities aided them in their later lives to make a life for themselves outside of aboriginal communities, adjusting to the outside world and finding professional occupations that satisfied their personal aspirations. These voices were swiftly condemned and stilled. Then someone observed there was no proof presented. And eventually Chief Casimir altered her story in line with what she had been informed by the professionals using the ground-penetrating radar, that it identified underground 'anomalies', which could be anything, from dead wood to inanimate buried items -- and just possibly bodies.

A plaque is seen outside of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. (Andrew Snucins/The Canadian Press)

 

Funding was made available to look deeper into the situation. Including disinterring whatever lay underground identified as anomalies by the ground-penetrating radar.  In the years since the original 'discovery' no attempts were made to investigate any further. The story of unmarked graves continued and persist to this day, most particularly in British Columbia. Professor Widdowson objected to this unquestioned and unproven claim and paid dearly in her professional life, when her colleagues and her university employment isolated her.

 

While Professor Widdowson offered to civilly debate anyone who was interested over the issue, her offer was rejected. During an event called 'My name is Charlene: Perseverance and poise in an era of truth, reconciliation, anger and rage', hosted by the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion under the medical faculty of UBC, guest Charlene Belleau recounted a comment she had made to Professor Widdowson at a campus event; in disagreement with the professor's position, she had addressed her saying she would like to see  her beaten and raped.

 

When the B.C. Legislature met last Friday, a question was put to the Indigenous Relations minister to comment on Chief Belleau's statement. Refusing to respond, the minister instead accused the questioning member of attempting to foment confusion and division. Yet the B.C. government in 2021 had allocated $12 million to finance First Nations' investigation into the unmarked grave sites. At that time Chief Belleau said it represented an "important first step in supporting the resiliency and healing of B.C. First Nations people". And then: nothing. 

 

The former Kamloops Indian Residential School is seen on Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., on May 27, 2021. The remains of 215 children were purported to have been found buried on the site, the First Nation said. (Andrew Snucins/The Canadian Press)

"The UBC [University of British Columbia] faculty of medicine does not condone any speech that endorses or promotes harassment or violence of any kind."

"An invitation for a community member to participate in an event does not constitute endorsement of their specific remarks or views."

Mieke Koehoorn, vice-dean of academic affairs, Faculty of Medicine, UBC