Wilson-Raybould’s Crown prosecutor roots is a reason she speaks her truth to power GlobeDebate
David Butt is a Toronto-based criminal lawyer and former prosecutor.
But don’t let these tepid appearances fool you. Because what is driving them couldn’t be more important. Inside Canadian Crown prosecutors’ offices is something we should all know about and value: a deeply entrenched ethic of independence, and an equally deeply entrenched ethic of making decisions on how to prosecute criminal cases based solely on the evidence and the law. It is not flashy, it is not necessarily politically saleable, but it is grounded in deep respect for the rule of law.
Every dictator worth his salt uses the instruments of criminal justice – police, prosecutors and judges – to pursue his own self-aggrandizing ends by imprisoning political opponents. So conversely, the health of any contemporary principled democracy worthy of the name will be largely defined by the extent to which those agencies of criminal justice function independently of interference from political office holders.
It is perhaps frightening to think that something so essential as the vibrancy of democratic life in such a large and stable country depends so heavily on something as inscrutable and intangible as the cultural values inside a bunch of obscure government offices. But such is the fragility of democracy. And the better we understand that fragility, and are vigilant around it, the safer we will be.
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