The life of a Canadian man now sits in the hands of the governor of Montana and it is incumbent on Stephen Harper’s government to abide by the ruling of the courts and seek clemency for his crime. Anything less would be akin to abandoning our nation’s fundamental principles of justice.
The Conservatives’ ongoing attempts to be “tough on crime” should not compromise our country’s regard for human rights and opposition to the death penalty. Ronald Smith, a Canadian on death row for killing two men, has one foot in the execution chamber after an appeals court upheld his sentence in a split decision, but the verdict also makes a strong recommendation to Gov. Brian Schweitzer to commute the sentence, an action the court conceded is beyond its mandate. It is time for the Canadian government to step in to ensure Smith’s life is spared.
Of course Harper and his government will do so grudgingly, mindful only of a Federal Court ruling ordering them to seek clemency on Smith’s behalf. The Conservatives at times seem defiant of Canada’s own standing in the world as an opponent of the death penalty, both internationally and inside our own borders. Beyond abolishing the death penalty, Canada is also a signatory to numerous international protocols demanding an end to such practices, including the 2008 reaffirmation of a United Nations resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Besides getting rid of capital punishment locally, Canada has an established precedent of refusing to extradite individuals facing execution in their home nation. Seeking clemency on Smith’s behalf should have been a natural extension flowing from that practice, but Harper tried to abandon it and Smith in 2007 when the government ended all lobbying efforts on Smith’s behalf. The separation of the judiciary from government is a blessing not just for Smith, but for all Canadians — had the courts not intervened, Smith wouldn’t have a chance.
That Smith’s crime is reprehensible is beyond dispute. At issue is what will happen to him next. The split decision in the appeals’ court ruling, as well as carefully crafted wording essentially calling on Schweitzer to commute the sentence to life in prison has been hailed by analysts as a first-of-its-kind ruling. The court noted Smith’s reform — pursuing strong family relationships, education and his deep regret for his crime as reasons Schweitzer should simply commute Smith’s sentence. It is now incumbent on the Conservative government to step up its efforts and lobby for Smith’s life. It is not an attempt to circumvent American law — the government is not going to send JTF-2 in to break him out of jail — but an expression of our country’s values. Those principles follow each one of us wherever we go in the world and it is important every Canadian knows that, in times of difficulty, the government will not turn a blind eye. Anyone who commits a crime at home or abroad should be held to account and punished; that punishment, however, should mirror our nation’s most fundamental principles when it comes to the rule of law.
Capital punishment is not a middle-of-the-road issue — one either supports or opposes it. Canada has a historical, international reputation of standing up against the death penalty and it is time we practise what we preach. If Smith makes it to the execution chamber in Montana, it will be a blight on not only the record of our government, but on our country.
