Canadian Politics Today

An Ontario judge has raised colonialism, racism and the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women as reasons for declaring part of Canada’s impaired driving laws are unconstitutional, arguing it’s unjust to give a criminal record to a 22-year-old Indigenous woman caught with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit.
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He instead gave the woman a conditional discharge and two years of probation — even though Ontario doesn’t allow conditional discharges for impaired driving, and the federal government recently passed a bill to entirely eliminate conditional discharges for impaired driving across the country.

To paint this as though the courts have just let her walk free, the same as anyone else on the street, is completely incorrect.

Agreed, but to say the law is unconstitutional based on our colonial past is bullshyte. There is not a valid excuse to be behind the wheel impaired.

Here's a thought. How many wealthy white people get stopped by the cops for drunk driving and are let off with little more than a warning because the cops don't want to "ruin someone's life for a mistake,"

... as opposed to the number of indigenous people who are more harshly scrutinized by the police due to the perception that they're more dangerous, have no future, and deserve harsher penalties?

Research has already shown that every step of the way, indigenous people are treated more harshly, while wealthy white Canadians are given every benefit of the doubt. If this makes up for that inequity, then I don't see the problem. Because, face it, there's a lot of white people who did the same **** and didn't even see a court room, despite also being stopped by cops.

No idea...   do you?

This sounds like another straw man... 


Anyone who blows 3x the legal limit, putting lives in danger deserves harsh penalties.   


Citation please... for  how many white people get off for drunk driving 3x the legal limit...

Your reasoning makes it seem like they just can't help themselves...  they're just poor downtrodden natives and we shouldn't expect anything better of them.   ick.   I expect anyone blowing 3x the legal limit, crashing their car and putting lives in danger to be dealt with harshly.

Do we all understand what a conditional discharge is because I'm not so sure you do. If she's caught drinking and driving again, they can revisit the sentencing of this case and change it. They can add it in addition to any further sentencing she faces for additional convictions. We also don't know the terms of her probation and what sort of rehabilitation program she will undoubtedly be required to go through. Further still, she may not even be allowed to consume ANY alcohol whatsoever as part of her conditions. Breaking conditions is another conviction, which again allows them to revisit the conditional discharge and sentence her differently. To paint this as though the courts have just let her walk free, the same as anyone else on the street, is completely incorrect.