Sexual-assault complainant asks Supreme Court of Canada to recognize her Charter rights

A sexual-assault complainant pleaded with the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday to treat her rights to dignity and privacy as equal to the fair-trial rights of the accused.

It was only the second time since the introduction of the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms that a sexual-assault complainant has made arguments, through her lawyers, at the Supreme Court, according to Dawne Way, a lawyer for A.S., the complainant in the Ontario case. The accused, Shane Reddick, wants to use videos at trial that she says were recorded without her knowledge.

The federal government introduced the changes after the 2016 acquittal of former CBC broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi on sexual-assault charges. In that case, Mr. Ghomeshi’s lawyer, Marie Henein, used e-mails from complainants in withering cross-examinations. At stake in the current case are personal records in the hands of the accused. Judges are to weigh factors that include the need to encourage victims of sexual assault to go to the police, and the potential harm to a complainant’s dignity and privacy if the defence uses the records at trial.

The Supreme Court judges had mixed reactions, including ones sympathetic to the changes, such as from Justice Sheilah Martin, an author on sexual-assault law before joining the court. Justice Michael Moldaver, a former criminal-defence lawyer who is the court’s expert on criminal procedure, stressed the “sad history” of sexual-assault law in Canada and that myths about complainants are still in play.

Lol we've learned over the last 3 months charter rights don't exist

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