SASKATOON -- Lawyers representing Colten Boushie’s mother are intervening in a case before the Supreme Court of Canada.
The case challenges recent changes to Canada’s jury selection process.
Bill C-75, which came into effect in September 2019 eliminates the right of lawyers to dismiss a proposed juror with no explanation.
The bill was introduced following the controversial 2018 acquittal of Gerald Stanley, who was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Indigenous man Colten Boushie.
The jury weighing Stanley's fate had no visibly Indigenous members. The federal government said the changes in Bill C-75 aimed to make juries more representative.
Pardeep Chouhan, an Ontario man convicted of first-degree murder in the 2016 shooting death of his co-worker, is arguing the changes to the jury selection process were unconstitutional and should not have been retroactively applied to his case.
Chouhan wants the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.
Boushie family lawyer Chris Murphy is in Ontario intervening in the case, supporting Bill C-75.
Murphy’s colleague, Eleanore Sunchild, said it’s important they intervene to ensure Indigenous people aren’t unwarrantedly excluded as jurors.
-- With files from The Canadian Press
