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Bruce Pardy: Racial discounts for violent criminals was inevitable in equity-obsessed Canada

The Supreme Court ensured the Charter would never guarantee equality under the law

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In December 2021, Everton Downey stabbed his girlfriend Melissa Blimkie 15 times in a stairwell at a shopping mall in Burnaby. She died. Downey was convicted of second-degree murder. In February, the British Columbia Supreme Court sentenced him to life in prison, the minimum sentence set out in the Criminal Code. The Crown sought no chance for parole for at least 15 years. But Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes decided on 12 years instead, in part because of “mitigating circumstances of his background,” as described in his Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA). The time to parole was reduced because of Downey’s experience of being Black.

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Race-based sentencing has become commonplace in Canada. The sentence doesn’t fit the crime but the identity of the criminal. “Racialized” offenders, especially Indigenous and Black, may have their sentences reduced because of “overt and systemic discrimination.” So the Supreme Court of Canada said last July. The Criminal Code directs judges to consider “the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders” in setting sentences. The Supreme Court has suggested that “inquiring into social context” of other racial groups can provide guidance........

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