Kudos to the chief and a raspberry to the judge

Now here is a community leader who has his head screwed on the right way and can smell patronization when it wafts through a court room. Poor, confused, liberal-minded white judges should take note of how natives wish to be treated.

Apr 26, 2008 04:30 AM
MONTREAL–The grand chief of a Mohawk reserve near Montreal wants a Quebec court judge to be reprimanded for saying a man's native heritage entitled him to special treatment in court.

Judge Juanita Westmoreland-Traore granted Davin Johnny bail on charges he took part in the riot that followed the Canadiens' series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins on Monday.

In granting bail Thursday, the judge said Johnny's native origins had to be taken into consideration.

Westmoreland-Traore said native Canadians "who sometimes show a high rate of unemployment and dependence on alcohol" are at a disadvantage in society.

Mike Delisle, the grand chief of the Kahnawake reserve, complained Johnny, 32, was given special treatment because of his native background and called it "insulting and embarrassing."

"We're not looking for any type of handout or any less justice to be laid down to First Nations people," he said yesterday. "This person should have been taken to the full measures of the law, like everyone else."

The judge set a number of conditions on Johnny, including restrictions on his movement.

The Canadian Press