English

[11 September 1997]

Why is CCD involved in the Latimer case?

CCD is involved in the Latimer case because CCD is one of the strongest national voices of people with disabilities and it has a responsibility to make their viewpoints known. In this situation, public opinion leans heavily toward the notion that "compassionate" killing of a person with a disability is somehow a lesser crime than murder. People with disabilities are feeling highly vulnerable and so CCD sees this as a high priority involvement.

[14 August 1997] — On 2 June 1997, Canadians elected a new government.

March 6, 1997

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

CRIMINAL CODE

Mr. Svend J. Robinson (Burnaby-Kingsway, NDP) moved that Bill C-304, an act to amend the Criminal Code (aiding suicide), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

He said: Mr. Speaker, each year in Canada more than 190,000 Canadians die. We know that some 40,000 Canadians die each year of tobacco related causes and I am very pleased that this House has just passed Bill C-71 which will have an impact on health, in particular young Canadians.

[6 February 1997]

Is Tracy's murder the only crime that Latimer has been charged with?

(5 February 1997) — The killing of Tracy Latimer by her father, Robert Latimer, alarmed people with disabilities. The outpouring of public support for Robert Latimer also shocked people with disabilities. At the time of the first trial, the perspective of people with disabilities was largely ignored. It was Robert Latimer, Tracy's killer, who presented the Canadian public, via the media, with its understanding of Tracy Latimer and her life. Public opinion became skewed by an ableist bias because the voice of Canada's community of persons with disabilities was largely ignored.

(4 February 1997) — When the decision comes down in Robert Latimer's appeal, Irene Feika, a past Chairperson of CCD will be in Ottawa and available to the media to present the perspective of Canadians with disabilities in this case. Ms. Feika has her own personal experience with disability, is the mother of a daughter and an adopted daughter who both have disabilities and has worked extensively with multiply handicapped children. Coincidentally, Ms.

For Immediate Release

February 6, 1997

Winnipeg - The Supreme Court has set aside the conviction and ordered a new trial for Robert Latimer.

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities demands that the rights of Tracy Latimer and all people with disabilities be equally respected.

The Council calls on the Crown Prosecutor's Office in Saskatchewan to immediately retry Robert Latimer on the charge of first degree murder for the deliberate killing of his twelve year old daughter Tracy.

(14 January 1997) — On 20 January 1997, Ronald Leonard Brown was sentenced to two years in jail for manslaughter. It only took Manitobans 19 years to convict Ronald Leonard Brown, 37, for smothering to death 11 year old Ronald Lambert. This was despite the fact that Brown confessed his actions three weeks after Lambert's death and then on several other occasions.