441-00414 (Justice)

WHEREAS:

• In 2006, Ralph Leon, Jr. and twelve other individuals were charged after a fifteen-month investigation into alleged eagle poaching;

• This legal action languished in the courts for nine years and included: a mistrial, a fraud conviction against a senior conservation officer in charge of the investigation, calls from local Sto:lo leaders to drop the case, and accusations of highly unethical and disrespectful behaviour on the part of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS);

• 3,422 days after charges were laid, Ralph Leon, Jr. and another individual were acquitted after Crown Counsel directed a stay in proceedings;

• Those wrongfully charged have gathered sufficient evidence showcasing: (a) conspiracy to prosecute innocent people; (b) defamatory media releases vilifying Indigenous peoples and culture; (c) fabrication of evidence and concealment of evidence, including perjury; (d) commission of fraud against the federal and provincial government; (e) counselling and aiding Indigenous people to commit offences; (f) trespassing onto Indigenous Reserve Lands; (g) conferring a corrupt benefit on a foreign official; and (h) violating the privacy of Indigenous people on and off Reserve Lands; and

• Continued denial of what happened to these Indigenous Canadians taints Canadian history and leads to mistrust in our institutions and justice system.

THEREFORE:

We, the undersigned citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Justice to conduct a public inquiry into the injustices committed by the B.C. Conservation Officer Service and the B.C. Prosecution Service against Chief Ralph Leon, Jr. and the twelve other Indigenous individuals because of their race and culture, with the express purpose of reconciling these injustices through reversal of all convictions, return of property seized, and appropriate compensation.