Singh: NDP considering pledge to do away with so-called peremptory challenges
OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he is considering whether his party should push to abolish the use of so-called peremptory challenges in the jury selection process.
The practice, which allows Crown and defence lawyers to exclude jurors without offering reasons, is at the centre of the controversy raging over the acquittal of Gerald Stanley.
Stanley, a Saskatchewan farmer, was acquitted last week of second-degree murder in the 2016 shooting death of Colten Boushie, 22, a member of the Red Pheasant First Nation.
Singh says peremptory challenges can result in a jury that doesn’t accurately reflect the entire community, and that it’s time to talk about whether they should be allowed at all.