These first two stories both occurred within several kilometers of where I live. The first one is yet another example of Canada's criminal-friendly justice system, which mostly seems to ignore victims suffering.
House arrest proposed for Abbotsford masseur who
sexually assaulted 12 women
Defence lawyer says Reinhard ‘Bud’ Loewen should serve conditional sentence
Vikki Hopes
Aug 25, 2023 12:54 PM
Hope Standard
Former masseur Reinhard “Bud” Loewen of Abbotsford pleaded guilty to six charges of sexual assault
involving 12 women. (Facebook photo)
An Abbotsford man who sexually assaulted 12 women while providing massage services should serve no prison time, his lawyer argued Friday morning (Aug. 25).
Instead, Reinhard “Bud” Loewen should serve an 18- to 20-month conditional sentence (house arrest), lawyer Martin Finch said in B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford at Loewen’s sentencing hearing.
Finch recommended that Loewen be under full house arrest for the first nine months of his sentence, except for circumstances such as medical appointments and church.
Finch said the rest of Loewen’s sentence should be served under a strict curfew, and he should also complete 160 hours of community service.
His sentence should be followed by three years of probation, Finch stated.
The Crown previously proposed that Loewen receive two years in jail and three years’ probation.
Loewen previously pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual assault involving 12 women after, at one point, facing a total of 24 charges.
The court previously heard that Loewen, who was not certified as a massage therapist, ran his business, Bud’s Massage Therapy, out of a basement of a home in the 35400 block of Munroe Ave.
So, his lawyer thinks it will be just fine for Loewen to be confined to the place where he committed all his crimes. Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous in all your life? Even if he does get jail time, it will be a maximum of 2 years which means less than a year in jail.
I would love to hear what his victims think would be an appropriate sentence.
He gained most of his customers through his Facebook page, where he offered low rates, promotional contests and free massages to pregnant women.
The victims all described similar experiences that included Loewen massaging their stomachs, upper breasts and inner thighs; touching or rubbing their genitals; and moving their underwear or having them go naked.
Finch said on Friday that a sentence served in the community would be more appropriate for Loewen than a prison term.
He said Loewen’s offences were committed in a “very specific context” and he is not a person who is of “extreme risk.”
Unless you put him right back in that very specific context.
Justice Caldwell countered the comments.
“This is a long-standing calculated preying on vulnerable people, and he set up the method in which to do it,” he said.
Finch said a conditional sentence would ensure that Loewen has to abide by specific conditions set out by the courts – such as undergoing treatment – or he risks jail time, whereas someone serving a prison term doesn’t have to comply.
Finch said a sentence served in the community would still have a punitive element to it.
“Being bound to your house for a period of 18 to 20 months is not an attractive prospect for anyone,” he said.
Except where the alternative is being bound in prison, which he deserves.
The parties are due back in court Sept. 6 to set a date for the judge’s decision on sentencing.
Former Mission political candidate faces criminal charges in Chilliwack
Among the counts that Wyatt Scott is dealing with is a charge of
trafficking in persons under 18
Eric Welsh
Chilliwack Progress
A former political candidate in Mission is due in the Chilliwack Law Courts Thursday (Aug. 31), facing a boatload of charges.
The list of non-K file matters includes sexual assault, break and enter, forgery and several firearms counts. All of the charges date between April 15 and July 12 of this year in Chilliwack.
Scott gained notoriety during the 2015 federal election when he released a wacky video that depicted him riding a giant computer-generated Canada goose.
Over 60 seconds, he plummeted to earth with a sword, plunged that sword through the head of a dragon, fist-bumped an alien, and caught a man falling to earth. The video ended with Scott shooting laser beams from his eyes to destroy a robot adorned with a Conservative logo.
Scott’s creation earned international attention, with a Washington Post headline saying, “This Canadian campaign ad is amazing — and by amazing, we mean utterly insane.”
Eight years later, the video has generated 1.5 million views on YouTube. But while the video was popular, Scott was not. He earned 914 votes, just 2.05 per cent of all ballots cast, finishing fifth out of six candidates.
He took another run at office in 2018, seeking Mission’s mayor’s chair. He earned 723 votes (8.24 per cent), finishing third out of four candidates.
Scott doesn’t have a prior criminal record, but in 2018 he went to trial on a sexual assault charge, accused of making unwanted sexual advances to an employee that included rubbing his body against hers and making suggestive comments.
He was acquitted in May 2018, with the judge ruling that it had not been proved that Scott had acted without the complainant’s consent or without believing there was consent.
Canadian justice!
No human remains found 2 years after claims of ‘mass graves’ in Canada
By Dana Kennedy
August 31, 2023 12:12pm Updated
After two years of horror stories about the alleged mass graves of Indigenous children at residential schools across Canada, a series of recent excavations at suspected sites has turned up no human remains.
Some academics and politicians say it’s further evidence that the stories are unproven.
Minegoziibe Anishinabe, a group of indigenous people also known as Pine Creek First Nation, excavated 14 sites in the basement of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church near the Pine Creek Residential School in Manitoba during four weeks this summer.
The so-called “anomalies” were first detected using ground-penetrating radar, but on Aug. 18, Chief Derek Nepinak of remote Pine Creek Indian Reserve said no remains were found.
He also referred to the effort as the “initial excavation,” leading some who were skeptical of the original claims to think even more are planned.
“I don’t like to use the word hoax because it’s too strong but there are also too many falsehoods circulating about this issue with no evidence,” Jacques Rouillard, a professor emeritus in the Department of History at the Université de Montréal, told The Post Wednesday.
Chief Derek Nepinak of Pine Creek Indian Reserve said no human remains were found during a recent excavation in a church basement near a residential school.
AP
Nonetheless, he welcomes more excavations because of the enormous adverse publicity and stain left on Canada after the first reports of the alleged mass graves.
“This has all been very dark for Canada. We need more excavations so we can know the truth,” Rouillard said. “Too much was said and decided upon before there was any proof.”
Canadian media has given up on the idea of requiring proof before blowing up a story.
In May 2021, the leaders of the British Columbia First Nation Band Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announced the discovery of a mass grave of more than 200 Indigenous children detected via ground-penetrating radar at a residential school in British Columbia. The radar found “anomalies” in the soil but no proof of actual human remains.
James C. McCrae, a former attorney general for Manitoba, resigned his position on a government panel in May after he wrote about his skepticism over some of the claims about dead children buried at residential schools.
CBC
“We had a knowing in our community that we were able to verify. To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths,” Rosanne Casimir, chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, said in a statement on May 27, 2021. (Casimir did not return a call from The Post this week.)
The band called the discovery “Le Estcwicwéy̓” — or “the missing.”
Pine Creek and Kamloops were among a network of residential schools across Canada, run by the government and operated by churches from the 1880s through the end of the 20th century. Experts say an estimated 150,000 children attended the schools.
Woman accusing ex-NDP MP Romeo Saganash of sexual assault goes public
Carmen Roy alleges she was sexually assaulted by Saganash on May 1 in Winnipeg
Dylan Robertson · CBC News · Posted: Aug 31, 2023 8:56 AM PDT | Last Updated: August 31
Carmen Roy, who works for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, alleges she was sexually assaulted on May 1 in Winnipeg. Police say they arrested the former MP on June 27.
In a written statement sent to The Canadian Press, Roy said she is considering a civil suit.
Her lawyer said Roy was at work when the alleged incident happened but she is not able to provide more details.
The lawyer representing Saganash said in a media statement that his client is presumed innocent and requested that his privacy be respected.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Roy, who does not want her identity to be protected by a publication ban, said she has had a "traumatic experience" but thanked those who have supported her.
"I don't want to be silent, and I think it is important to use my voice to help other victims of sexual trauma," Roy wrote in the statement sent Monday through her lawyer, Kathryn Marshall.
"I am exploring my legal options and I look forward to achieving justice and accountability."
Roy opposed publication ban
Manitoba Crown prosecutors said they had intended to seek a publication ban, a common mechanism in sexual assault cases that prevents media from reporting identifying information about complainants.
But prosecutors revised their plan after Roy said she did not want such a ban. On Wednesday, a Winnipeg judge agreed to have the case proceed without one.
Ethan Pollock, the Winnipeg-based lawyer representing Saganash in the case, wrote in a statement that "hatred" has been "disseminated online" about his client. He noted the court process is still underway.
"My client is a 10-year residential school survivor and lives with debilitating trauma resulting from this horrific experience," Pollock wrote Wednesday night. "Mr. Saganash has been a valuable member of the Indigenous and Canadian political community for a considerable period of time."
Saganash and the NDP
Saganash represented the northern Quebec riding of Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou from 2011 to 2019, serving as the Indigenous affairs critic for the NDP.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has not responded to a request for comment on the allegation that a member of its staff was sexually assaulted while on the job.
In July 2022, Saganash was named as one of the residential school survivors working with a national advisory committee on how to address missing children and unmarked burials. The committee was set up by the federal government and the centre.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the centre said Saganash no longer holds that role. The spokesperson did not say why or when he left that position.
Saganash, a Cree lawyer, helped to negotiate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As an MP, he put forward proposed legislation to implement it in Canada.
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