Less than a month before he was set to face a discipline hearing for allegedly making racist remarks about Indigenous people in court, Kenora Justice of the Peace Robert McNally retired. As a result, the public hearing into his case scheduled for this month was scrapped, as the law does not allow for the disciplining of retired justices of the peace and provincial court judges.Critics say it’s time for that to change, and to bring the system closer in line with other bodies that maintain jurisdiction for discipline over retired professionals, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. “There is a public interest in judicial oversight bodies retaining jurisdiction to investigate complaints and make appropriate findings against judicial officers even when they retire or resign,” said Michael Lacy, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, one of the organizations that had complained about McNally to the Justices of the Peace Review Council. “Although sanctions might be limited in such a case, there is value in allowing hearings to proceed. It would provide an opportunity for the judicial officer to answer the complaint and potentially clear his or her name in the face of a serious allegation,” Lacy said.McNally, whose retirement was effective Dec. 31, is the fourth justice of the peace to avoid facing a discipline hearing by retiring in less than four years. In some of the other cases, the council recommended that the retired justices be compensated for part of their legal costs, even though no hearing ended up being held.Read more: Justice of the peace accused of making racist remarks in court to retire before discipline hearing can be held ‘Your ancestors probably scalped him’: Kenora justice of the peace to face hearing over ‘racist’ remarksJustice of the peace is subject of complaints over ‘scalped’ comment to Mi’kmaq lawyerJudges and justices of the peace have ...
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