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British Columbia Attorney General Furious Over Court Ruling

Arthur J Pais in Vancouver

Domestic violence, sex crimes and stalking are some of the things that anger Ujjal Dosanjh. Attorney-General of British Columbia, Dosanjh, has addressed many press conferences and announced measurements to swiftly prosecute violators of domestic peace. When 18-year-old Poonam Randhwa was killed, allegedly by a man who had stalked her for over a year, Dosanjh began a school and college-wide campaign to expose the tactics of stalkers.

Last week, Dosanjh was angry again.

But this time he is upset and angry over the decision by Canada's Supreme Court which rejected his appeal of a four-year sentence for a 48-year-old man who had stabbed his spouse to death.

The ruling could send the message, "if you have a nagging spouse, you can kill them," said Dosanjh.

The attorney-general, whose name is frequently mentioned as a possible premier in British Columbia, is seen by many people in the province as being extra tough on the criminals.

Bert Stone had stabbed his wife 47 times five years ago. He told the court that she had insulted him, made jokes of his sexual stamina, and that he was in a state of dissociation when the stabbing took place. He was convicted on a lesser charge of manslaughter.

The lenient sentence produced uproar in newspapers and public. Dosanjh says he received over 3,000 letters. He went to Ottawa to institute his appeal. Meanwhile, Stone was out of the jail on parole. Dosanjh wanted Stone to be sent back to prison and serve a lengthy sentence. He felt the success of his appeal would influence the courts to hand out stiffer sentences to domestic violence perpetrators, never mind what their defense was,

The Supreme Court verdict brought sharp criticism from many women's organizations and from Sue Hammell, the minister for women's equality. They praised Dosanjh's efforts in trying to right a wrong.

"What is a good enough reason to kill a loved one," wondered Hammell. And Chris Simmons, the British Columbia chair of Canadians Against Violence Everywhere, said she was appalled that the nation's highest court had ignored the strongest plea by the attorney general.

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