A.B. v. C.D., 2018 NUCJ 33

Nunavunmi Maligaliuqtiit NUNAVUT COURT OF JUSTICE Cour de justice du Nunavut Citation: A.B. v.

C.D., 2018 NUCJ 33 Date: 20181109 Docket: 08-18-592 Registry: Iqaluit Plaintiff: A.B. -and- Defendant: C.D. ________________________________________________________________________ Before: Justice of the Peace Joseph Murdoch-Flowers Counsel (Plaintiff): Self-represented Counsel (Defendant): Not present Location Heard: Iqaluit, Nunavut Date Heard: August 20, 2018; September 10 and 24, 2018; October 22 and 23, 2018 Matters: Denial of Peace Bond Application because Defendant was not adequately served with summons by Iqaluit detachment of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT (NOTE: This document may have been edited for publication)

DISCLAIMER PAGE Anonymized Judgment Disclaimer : This judgment has been anonymized to comply with legislative requirements or at the discretion of the authoring Justice of the Peace to protect vulnerable parties. Letters have been assigned at random. I. REASONS FOR JUDGMENT [ 1 ] On August 20, 2018, a woman named “A.B.” applied for a peace bond against a man named “C.D.” A.B. filled out a form at the Nunavut Justice Centre, and a court clerk issued a summons for C.D. to appear on September 10, 2018. [ 2 ] On September 10, 2018, A.B. was present, but C.D. was not. No affidavit of service was on file.

C.D. was not required by law to be present. A.B. was upset that she came to court and nothing of any substance happened. I adjourned her application to September 24, 2018, to allow for C.D. to be summonsed. [ 3 ] On September 24, 2018, A.B. was not present, nor was C.D. No affidavit of service was on file. C.D. was not required by law to be present. I adjourned the application to October 22, 2018, to allow Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP] adequate time to serve C.D. I directed the clerk of the court to inform A.B. of the new date. She did so. [ 4 ] On October 22, 2018, A.B. was not present, nor was C.D.

No affidavit of service was on file. C.D. was not required by law to be present. I adjourned the application to October 23, 2018, to hear from RCMP, whose task it is to serve citizens with summonses. [ 5 ] On October 23, 2018, an RCMP officer gave evidence. His notes indicated that RCMP had created a task to serve C.D. with the summons to appear on the peace bond application. RCMP notes indicated that an officer attempted to serve C.D. on September 9, 2018, the day before the day scheduled for the peace bond application. [ 6 ] RCMP notes also indicated that the next attempted service was September 25, 2018.

RCMP notes also indicated that the officer who attempted to serve C.D. learned that C.D. worked on a two-week rotation outside of Iqaluit, and was not available when the officer attempted to serve him on September 25. RCMP notes did not indicate any further attempt to serve C.D. between September 25 and October 22, 2018. [ 7 ] It is of the utmost importance that citizens who approach the court have confidence that all players in the Court will be responsive to their needs. The administration of justice requires the valuable contributions from all those involved in court proceedings.

It is a risk to confidence in the administration of justice when a citizen approaches the court for a peace bond and, due to the absence of the respondent, nothing of any substance happens. [ 8 ] The RCMP, in their 2014 report, Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overview, identified some steps it would take to prevent violence against Aboriginal women. The RCMP said:

Based in part on the data collected, the RCMP will identify communities with the highest risk of violence against women.

Within these communities, intervention, diversion and family violence prevention initiatives will be focused towards at-risk individuals to maximize support and referrals to appropriate community treatment programs, such as the community-led, police-assisted program, Aboriginal Shield. [ 9 ] On June 25, 2018, at the hearings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki delivered the following remarks: Thank you so much for having me here today.

I'd like to acknowledge the land we are gathered on is Treaty 4 and the traditional territory of the Cree and Saulteaux, Assiniboine and Métis people. The Inquiry and these Hearings have provided families with an opportunity to tell their truths. I am listening, and I will continue to do so throughout my tenure as Commissioner. This week, the National Inquiry is hearing from police for the first time. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Thank you so much for having the courage to speak up about the injustices you experienced and the times you felt disrespected, ignored and neglected by the RCMP. On behalf of myself and my organization, I am truly sorry for the loss of your loved ones and for the pain this has caused you, your families, and your communities. I'm sorry that for too many of you, the RCMP was not the police service you needed it to be during this terrible time in your life. It's very clear to me that the RCMP could have done better. I promise to you, we will do better.

You are entitled to nothing less than our best work in your communities. I believe it's never too late to do the right thing, and I want this apology to be one more step in the RCMP's commitment to Reconciliation. Although we're not the only solution to the issue of violence against Indigenous women, girls and the Two-Spirit- LGBTQ community, we know we have a large role to play when it comes to preventing that violence, and bringing perpetrators to justice. [emphasis in original] II.

DISPOSITION [ 10 ] Against this backdrop, I dismiss the application, as the respondent was never summonsed to answer to the peace bond application. In addition, I consider that the applicant did not show up after her initial court date. Dated at the City of Iqaluit this 9th day of November, 2018 ___________________​_____ J.P. Joseph Murdoch-Flowers Nunavut Court of Justice