Nunavunmi Maligaliuqtiit

NUNAVUT COURT OF JUSTICE

Cour de justice du Nunavut

Citation: A.B. v. C.D., 2018 NUCJ 33

Date: 20181109
Docket: 08-18-592
Registry: Iqaluit

Plaintiff: A.B.
-and-

Defendant: C.D.

________________________________________________________________________

Before: Justice of the Peace Joseph Murdoch-Flowers

Counsel (Plaintiff): Self-represented

Counsel (Defendant): Not present

Location Heard: Iqaluit, Nunavut

Date Heard: August 20, 2018; September 10 and 24, 2018; October 22
and 23, 2018
Matters: Denial of Peace Bond Application because Defendant was
not adequately served with summons by Iqaluit detachment
of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

(NOTE: This document may have been edited for publication)

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DISCLAIMER PAGE

Anonymized Judgment Disclaimer:

This judgment has been anonymized to comply with legislative

requirements or at the discretion of the authoring Justice of the Peace
to protect vulnerable parties. Letters have been assigned at random.
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I. REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

[1] On August 20, 2018, a woman named “A.B.” applied for a peace bond
against a man named “C.D.” A.B. filled out a form at the Nunavut
Justice Centre, and a court clerk issued a summons for C.D. to
appear on September 10, 2018.

[2] On September 10, 2018, A.B. was present, but C.D. was not. No
affidavit of service was on file. C.D. was not required by law to be
present. A.B. was upset that she came to court and nothing of any
substance happened. I adjourned her application to September 24,
2018, to allow for C.D. to be summonsed.

[3] On September 24, 2018, A.B. was not present, nor was C.D. No
affidavit of service was on file. C.D. was not required by law to be
present. I adjourned the application to October 22, 2018, to allow
Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP] adequate time to serve C.D.
I directed the clerk of the court to inform A.B. of the new date. She did
so.

[4] On October 22, 2018, A.B. was not present, nor was C.D. No affidavit
of service was on file. C.D. was not required by law to be present. I
adjourned the application to October 23, 2018, to hear from RCMP,
whose task it is to serve citizens with summonses.

[5] On October 23, 2018, an RCMP officer gave evidence. His notes
indicated that RCMP had created a task to serve C.D. with the
summons to appear on the peace bond application. RCMP notes
indicated that an officer attempted to serve C.D. on September 9,
2018, the day before the day scheduled for the peace bond
application.

[6] RCMP notes also indicated that the next attempted service was
September 25, 2018. RCMP notes also indicated that the officer who
attempted to serve C.D. learned that C.D. worked on a two-week
rotation outside of Iqaluit, and was not available when the officer
attempted to serve him on September 25. RCMP notes did not
indicate any further attempt to serve C.D. between September 25 and
October 22, 2018.

[7] It is of the utmost importance that citizens who approach the court
have confidence that all players in the Court will be responsive to their
needs. The administration of justice requires the valuable
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contributions from all those involved in court proceedings. It is a risk

to confidence in the administration of justice when a citizen
approaches the court for a peace bond and, due to the absence of the
respondent, nothing of any substance happens.

[8] The RCMP, in their 2014 report, Missing and Murdered Aboriginal
Women: A National Operational Overview, identified some steps it
would take to prevent violence against Aboriginal women. The RCMP
said:

Based in part on the data collected, the RCMP will identify

communities with the highest risk of violence against women.
Within these communities, intervention, diversion and family
violence prevention initiatives will be focused towards at-risk
individuals to maximize support and referrals to appropriate
community treatment programs, such as the community-led,
police-assisted program, Aboriginal Shield.

[9] On June 25, 2018, at the hearings of the National Inquiry into Missing
and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, RCMP Commissioner
Brenda Lucki delivered the following remarks:

Thank you so much for having me here today. I'd like to

acknowledge the land we are gathered on is Treaty 4 and the
traditional territory of the Cree and Saulteaux, Assiniboine and
Métis people.

The Inquiry and these Hearings have provided families with an

opportunity to tell their truths. I am listening, and I will
continue to do so throughout my tenure as Commissioner.

This week, the National Inquiry is hearing from police for the
first time. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the
families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Thank you so much for having the courage to speak up about
the injustices you experienced and the times you felt
disrespected, ignored and neglected by the RCMP.

On behalf of myself and my organization, I am truly sorry for

the loss of your loved ones and for the pain this has caused
you, your families, and your communities. I'm sorry that for
too many of you, the RCMP was not the police service you
needed it to be during this terrible time in your life.
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It's very clear to me that the RCMP could have done better. I
promise to you, we will do better. You are entitled to nothing
less than our best work in your communities.

I believe it's never too late to do the right thing, and I want this
apology to be one more step in the RCMP's commitment to
Reconciliation. Although we're not the only solution to the
issue of violence against Indigenous women, girls and the
Two-Spirit-LGBTQ community, we know we have a large role
to play when it comes to preventing that violence, and bringing
perpetrators to justice. [emphasis in original]

II. DISPOSITION

[10] Against this backdrop, I dismiss the application, as the respondent

was never summonsed to answer to the peace bond application. In
addition, I consider that the applicant did not show up after her initial
court date.

Dated at the City of Iqaluit this 9th day of November, 2018

________________________
J.P. Joseph Murdoch-Flowers
Nunavut Court of Justice