Dear Premier,
We write to raise our concerns with your comments regarding the alleged perpetrator of the Lapu Lapu Day attack during Question Period in the Legislature on May 1.
CBABC has expressed our support of the Filipino community along with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured during the devastating violence at the Lapu Lapu Day festival. There is no doubt that the incident must be reviewed from a number of perspectives with the aim of preventing such tragedies from occurring again.
In the legislature you stated that, “In my opinion, [the suspect is] a murderer. It's my opinion that he should spend the rest of his life in custody” and that he “should spend the rest of his goddamned life in jail.” We are deeply concerned that the Premier, the most senior and well-recognized leader in the B.C. government, is expressing opinions on legal outcomes prior to a fair trial. By ignoring the presumption of innocence and the requirement of due process in your public remarks, you give permission for others to do the same. Such action undermines the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, and it fosters distrust in our justice system.
We appreciate your comments during the same Question Period that you respect the independence of our courts and the decisions they make based on evidence presented. We also note you subsequently apologized for using intemperate language in the Legislature.
As we are sure you would agree, it is critical to the stability of our democratic society to have impartial legal processes and to ensure that judicial decisions are based on laws and facts, not emotion, political pressure or outside influences.
We hope you will approach future remarks with this in mind.
Sincerely,
Lee Nevens
CBABC President 2024-25