20 cases delayed by Ontario's jury roll problem

The new year will bring fresh tests of Ontario's jury selection process that has repeatedly been found wanting when it comes to including First Nations people who live on-reserve.

A murder trial in Thunder Bay was stayed for one year when the 2014 jury pool was found to be inadequate. But problems with Ontario's jury rolls first came to light at an inquest in 2008 and have continued to plague Ontario court rooms and coroners' inquests.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule this year in the Kokopenace case which could clarify the expectations for court officials to include First Nations people who live on-reserve, in the pool of potential jurors. The same list is used for criminal trials and coroners' inquests.

Here are 20 cases that are delayed because of lingering questions about the validity of Ontario's jury process:

• 1. Manslaughter trial of Clifford Kokopenace

Clifford Kokopenace was charged in the 2007 death of Taylor Assin during an intoxicated altercation at Grassy Narrows First Nation.

His trial took place in Kenora but no one on the jury that convicted Kokopenace lived on-reserve at Grassy Narrows or any of the other 46 First Nations in the district.

In June 2013, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a new trial for Kokopenace and chastised the province for not doing more to ensure First Nations people are represented on jury rolls.

"The integrity of the process was fundamentally compromised by the inattention paid by the state to a known and worsening problem, year after year," the court ruled.

Ontario is appealing the decision at the Supreme Court. A ruling is expected this spring.

• 2 - 8: Inquest into the deaths of seven First Nations students in Thunder Bay

Ontario's Chief Coroner made an "administrative decision" in July 2014 to delay an inquest into the deaths of seven First Nations youth who died while attending school in Thunder Bay.

The students who died are: Jethro Anderson, 15, Curran Strang, 18, Paul Panacheese, 17, Robyn Harper, 18, Reggie Bushie, 15, Kyle Morriseau, 17, and Jordan Wabasse, 15.

The inquest was first called in 2012. The first of the seven students died in 2000, the last in 2011.

Chief Coroner Dr. Dirk Huyer cited problems with the representation of First Nations people on the 2014 jury roll in the Thunder Bay district as one of the key reasons for the delay.

• 9: Inquest into the death of Jacy Pierre in Thunder Bay District Jail

Jacy Pierre was 27 years old in October 2007 when he died of a drug overdose in the Thunder Bay District Jail.

In Ontario, inquests are mandatory whenever a person dies while an inmate at a correctional institution.

Pierre's family raised concerns about the representativeness of the jury before the inquest began. Those concerns were not addressed and the Pierre family, who had standing at the inquest, walked out in protest.

In 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a new inquest into Pierre's death. It has yet to take place.

• 10-19: Inquests into 10 other deaths in the Kenora and Thunder Bay districts

Ronald Fagan, 21, died while in custody at the Thunder Bay District Jail in 2007.

Christopher Coaster, 29, of Marten Falls First Nation, died in 2008 while in custody at the Thunder Bay District Jail.

Romeo Wesely, 34, died after being arrested by Nishnawbe Aski Police Service officers in Cat Lake in 2010.

Brian Gray, 39, was shot to death in 2010 after a standoff with an OPP emergency response team at Lac Seul First Nation

Cody Thompson-Hardy, 18, of Rocky Bay First Nation, died in 2011, eight days after being transferred from the Thunder Bay District Jail to the regional hospital.

Lena Anderson, 23, died in 2011 while being held in custody by the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service in the back of a police cruiser in Kasabonika Lake First Nation.

Henry Meekis, 56, of Deer Lake First Nation died in 2012 after the ice-road grooming machine he was driving went through the ice on a lake about 700 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.

Gloria Assin, 42, was killed in a traffic collision as OPP officers were transporting her to their Kenora, Ont. detachment in 2012.

Sherman Quisses, 35, died in 2012 after being injured by a sharp object during an argument with another inmate at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre.

The coroner's office says an inquest into the death of Ina Matawapit is also delayed. But a spokesperson says "the Coroners Act does not permit the public dissemination of personal information from an investigation." So the nature of Matawapit's death will not be made public until the inquest.

• 20. Second degree murder and break and enter trial of Shaldon Wabason in Thunder Bay

Shaldon Wabason's jury trial on charges of second degree murder and break and enter was scheduled to begin in April 2014, but his lawyer successfully argued that little had changed with the jury roll problems raised in earlier cases.

For example, statistics cited in the case showed that in preparing the 2014 jury roll fewer than 14 per cent of the questionnaires mailed to prospective jurors on reserves in the district were returned. That compared with return rates for the rest of the province at 66 per cent for 2014.

"To do nothing in the face of such a major problem is unacceptable and certainly not a reasonable approach to take," Justice J. McCartney said of court officials.

McCartney ordered a temporary stay of the proceedings for one year.

A challenge of the 2015 jury roll related to this case is scheduled for June 1.

• Other cases that could be delayed:

Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General is anticipating several jury roll challenges early in 2015. On Jan. 5, lawyers will argue that the jury roll in Gore Bay is unrepresentative. The challenge is applicable to four cases, including one involving charges of sexual interference and sexual assault.

In February, a Kenora court is expected to set a date for a challenge to the jury roll in a criminal case in that district.