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When justice is deaf | Canada | News | Toronto Sun
Accused of sexually desecrating human remains in a Nunavut graveyard, Bobby Suwarak elicited both community outrage and a complex challenge for the judicial system.
Suwarak, 40, who grew up in the remote hamlet of Baker Lake, has been deaf since he was five. He never learned American Sign Language, communicating instead with an Inuit form of the non-verbal language.
After charges were laid against him last fall for indecently tampering with the graves of women, the court took steps to find the right interpreter to ensure Suwarak fully understood the proceedings — enshrined as a fundamental right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He pleaded guilty to one count with the other stayed, and will be sentenced Tuesday in the Nunavut Court of Justice.
Defence lawyer Mandy Sammurtok calls the case "very unique."
"Right now we are using the court-appointed interpreter who he feels very comfortable with," she told QMI Agency. "We've gone through a couple of interpreters until we found the one we felt comfortable with."
The proceeding could be precedent-setting, but the offence is also highly unusual in a culture that holds burial sites sacred. Because of the rocky nature of the Baker Lake region, bodies are buried beneath mounds of stones instead of in coffins.
Fear gripped the hamlet of 1,800 residents last summer after the female graves were found disturbed.
Some worried women considered being cremated or buried outside their community. Others covered their relatives' graves with concrete to protect them.
The maximum sentence for indecently interfering with human remains is five years in prison, and prosecutor John Solski told QMI the Crown will seek a penitentiary sentence. He is satisfied proceedings have been fair and fully understood by the accused in the rare case.
"I can indicate that there are very few reported cases of this type in Canadian jurisprudence," he said.
McGill University psychologist James MacDougall, who became involved with Suwarak during past dealings with the legal system, was commissioned by Justice Canada to better understand the nature of Inuit Sign Language.
"Every distinct group has their own sign language, and of course the Inuit do too," he said. "It hasn't been very well recognized because since the colonial period if a child has been deaf they were sent South. And to the extent they learned sign language, they learned American Sign Language."
While the Suwarak case is unique, MacDougall expects similar challenges in the court system to present themselves, such as deaf immigrants from countries like China and Africa communicating through forms other than American Sign Language.
"There are all kinds of challenges here with the changing demographics of the population that we're facing - there's no question," he said.
DEAF INMATES ISOLATED, EXPERTS SAY
Deaf inmates in Canada are often isolated with limited access to prison rehabilitation programs, experts say.
Jim Roots, executive director of the Canadian Association of the Deaf, said courts and corrections try to accommodate special needs of deaf offenders, but a lack of dedicated resources means they are frequently shut out. The system is short on qualified interpreters who can convey complex legal terminology into concepts deaf people can understand, he said.
"That applies all through the system, including access to treatment and also to everyday prison life," he said. "They are isolated amid a dangerous populace with whom they cannot communicate."
Correctional Service of Canada does not have readily available figures on how many deaf and hearing-impaired prisoners are currently incarcerated. But spokeswoman Suzanne Leclerc said CSC is committed to ensuring needs of all disabled offenders are "appropriately accommodated" according to legislative requirements and obligations.
Operational and program adjustments can be made to ensure offenders have access and benefit from all essential services, she said.
But James MacDougall, a psychology professor at McGill University who has worked with deaf offenders, said support is "uneven and unpredictable." Inmates often languish without communication and rehabilitation due to a lack of interpreters.
"It's terrible. If you're isolated and no one can communicate with you, it's an extreme form of sensory deprivation," he said. "The overall impact on the person can truly be horrible."
Accused of sexually desecrating human remains in a Nunavut graveyard, Bobby Suwarak elicited both community outrage and a complex challenge for the judicial system.
Suwarak, 40, who grew up in the remote hamlet of Baker Lake, has been deaf since he was five. He never learned American Sign Language, communicating instead with an Inuit form of the non-verbal language.
After charges were laid against him last fall for indecently tampering with the graves of women, the court took steps to find the right interpreter to ensure Suwarak fully understood the proceedings — enshrined as a fundamental right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He pleaded guilty to one count with the other stayed, and will be sentenced Tuesday in the Nunavut Court of Justice.
Defence lawyer Mandy Sammurtok calls the case "very unique."
"Right now we are using the court-appointed interpreter who he feels very comfortable with," she told QMI Agency. "We've gone through a couple of interpreters until we found the one we felt comfortable with."
The proceeding could be precedent-setting, but the offence is also highly unusual in a culture that holds burial sites sacred. Because of the rocky nature of the Baker Lake region, bodies are buried beneath mounds of stones instead of in coffins.
Fear gripped the hamlet of 1,800 residents last summer after the female graves were found disturbed.
Some worried women considered being cremated or buried outside their community. Others covered their relatives' graves with concrete to protect them.
The maximum sentence for indecently interfering with human remains is five years in prison, and prosecutor John Solski told QMI the Crown will seek a penitentiary sentence. He is satisfied proceedings have been fair and fully understood by the accused in the rare case.
"I can indicate that there are very few reported cases of this type in Canadian jurisprudence," he said.
McGill University psychologist James MacDougall, who became involved with Suwarak during past dealings with the legal system, was commissioned by Justice Canada to better understand the nature of Inuit Sign Language.
"Every distinct group has their own sign language, and of course the Inuit do too," he said. "It hasn't been very well recognized because since the colonial period if a child has been deaf they were sent South. And to the extent they learned sign language, they learned American Sign Language."
While the Suwarak case is unique, MacDougall expects similar challenges in the court system to present themselves, such as deaf immigrants from countries like China and Africa communicating through forms other than American Sign Language.
"There are all kinds of challenges here with the changing demographics of the population that we're facing - there's no question," he said.
DEAF INMATES ISOLATED, EXPERTS SAY
Deaf inmates in Canada are often isolated with limited access to prison rehabilitation programs, experts say.
Jim Roots, executive director of the Canadian Association of the Deaf, said courts and corrections try to accommodate special needs of deaf offenders, but a lack of dedicated resources means they are frequently shut out. The system is short on qualified interpreters who can convey complex legal terminology into concepts deaf people can understand, he said.
"That applies all through the system, including access to treatment and also to everyday prison life," he said. "They are isolated amid a dangerous populace with whom they cannot communicate."
Correctional Service of Canada does not have readily available figures on how many deaf and hearing-impaired prisoners are currently incarcerated. But spokeswoman Suzanne Leclerc said CSC is committed to ensuring needs of all disabled offenders are "appropriately accommodated" according to legislative requirements and obligations.
Operational and program adjustments can be made to ensure offenders have access and benefit from all essential services, she said.
But James MacDougall, a psychology professor at McGill University who has worked with deaf offenders, said support is "uneven and unpredictable." Inmates often languish without communication and rehabilitation due to a lack of interpreters.
"It's terrible. If you're isolated and no one can communicate with you, it's an extreme form of sensory deprivation," he said. "The overall impact on the person can truly be horrible."
