Nearly 6 out of 10 Canadians agreed that reforms are needed to ensure juries “reflect the whole community better,” according to a survey from the Angus Reid Institute on the Gerald Stanley trial.
The survey also suggests Canadians are divided when it comes to the trial’s outcome. Thirty per cent of respondents said the jury’s decision was good and fair, while 32 per cent said it was flawed and wrong, and 38 per cent said they are unsure.
Stanley was found not guilty after being charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, a resident of the Red Pheasant First Nation, in August 2016. The decision sparked a widespread outcry, including an assertion from the prime minister that Canada “can and must do better”, a statement that the poll also asked respondents about.
Angus Reid surveyed 2,501 Canadian adults online from Feb. 15 to 19, 2018, and while margin of errors can’t be calculated for online surveys, it said a probability sample of this size with this sample plan would carry a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey shows divisions in opinions on the verdict along geographic, gender, age and racial lines.
Residents in Western Canada are more likely to see the verdict as good and fair than residents of Eastern Canada, with 63 per cent of Saskatchewan residents and 44 per cent of Manitoba residents holding a favourable opinion.
Women are more likely than men to see it as flawed and wrong, at 50 per cent compared to 35 per cent. And 41 per cent of those who self-identify as visible minorities saw the verdict as flawed and wrong, compared with 30 per cent among those who don’t.
As for the prime minister’s comments post-verdict, the survey suggests nearly half of Canadians, 46 per cent, said it was inappropriate for him to weigh in on the jury’s decision.
The question about jury reforms was set up with a reminder that the Stanley jury ended up with no members who were Indigenous in appearance “even though the community has a large Indigenous population.” It also asked respondents to choose between a statement saying reforms should be made and one upholding the status quo. Most respondents, 59 per cent, agreed that rules for selecting juries should be reformed, compared with 41 per cent who were satisfied with the current process.
