It’s heartening to see that some charges have finally been laid in connection with the riot in Vancouver following the Stanley Cup final. While some have been anxious for police to lay charges, it’s good to see they are taking care to ensure processes are followed and the investigation is thorough.
However, we can’t help but wonder how long these charges will take to get through the court system and whether any of those charged will see their case dropped because of an unduly long delay in getting the case to court. Premier Christy Clark has already stated she wants a show trial for those charged, so one can likely expect that these cases will move quickly.
But what will be the cost? We are already seeing cases being dropped here in Prince George because the judiciary has deemed they took too long to get to trial.
Without any financial commitment from Victoria to ease the backlog in the court system, how many more serious crimes will go un-prosecuted across B.C. because of a political zeal to focus on the Vancouver riot? Or, conversely, how many of those the premier wants desperately to make an example of will go free because our justice system can’t guarantee a speedy trial for those accused?
