August 28, 2007

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Steven Truscott was acquitted today of a charge of murder by Ontario's highest court. It is a decision that will not be appealed by the Crown. It is over.

What happened and how could it have happened?

Some answers lie in today's Court of Appeal judgement.

Decades after Mr. Truscott's trial, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has transformed our justice system, but today's judgment is hardly legal housekeeping of the past.

The court has found in this case, in light of fresh evidence, that a miscarriage of justice has occurred.

And for that miscarriage of justice, on behalf of the government, I am truly sorry.

I wish to acknowledge former federal justice minister Irwin Cotler for directing this reference and for the very able counsel on appeal.

I wish also, in particular, to thank Ontario Crown attorney Rosella Cornaviera and her team, who discharged their duties with supreme professionalism and sensitivity.

I note that the court complimented all counsel.

But of course today's result is foremost an opportunity for closure in the eyes of the law.

So, too, do we all pause to remember Lynn Harper and to grieve the loss of this 12-year-old girl and to think of her family at this time.

Sadly, the truth is the hardest thing for the Harper family as well, now and perhaps always.

Regarding compensation, I have asked the Honourable Sydney Robins, one of our greatest jurists, for advice on compensation with respect to Steven Truscott.

The government of Ontario will fully cooperate with former Justice Robins and with all counsel.

This chapter of Canadian history is never to be forgotten.

It's a story more fully told and for that the Ontario Court of Appeal has done justice to this matter.

Ann-Marie MacDonald in her novel on this very subject said that "when stories are not told, we risk losing our way...we forget the consolation of the common thread. We lose our memory. This can make a person ill. It can make a world ill," she said.

She's right.

This miscarriage of justice, this story not told, and now in the eyes of the law finally told, has ailed our nation, and it is now over.

The story gets told today in this historic judgment and yet we all feel great loss; the loss of 12-year-old girl, loss for the Harper family, and for this miscarriage of justice that took place a lifetime ago.

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