Latest news with #banishment
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Man banished from First Nation for 5 years challenges 'incredibly extreme punishment'
A man banished from his First Nation community until 2029 is now challenging the decision to cast him out in federal court. Terry Francois, 53, pleaded guilty to two counts of resisting a peace officer in May. He was charged after driving away from a checkstop by his home community of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) on New Year's Eve, a federal application for a judicial review filed Thursday says. NCN has its own permanent checkstop at the Highway 391 junction. First Nations safety officers enforce a bylaw allowing residents to bring limited amounts of alcohol into the community — the equivalent of a 26 oz (700 ml bottle) of liquor, a case of beer, a box of wine. Cannabis is allowed in limited quantities. While Francois had previously undergone the community's checkstop process numerous times, he refused to let safety officers use a drug sniffing dog to search his vehicle in that instance because he felt it was "not authorized by law," the application says. Francois later resisted three RCMP officers who went to his home the next morning, after they told him he would be charged with assaulting a peace officer with a weapon because he drove past the checkstop, according to the application. He eventually went with the Mounties. RCMP officers told Francois he could not live in NCN with pending criminal charges. He was forced to move to the city of Thompson — about 80 kilometres east of NCN — where he's lived on his own dime since December, the application says. He was ultimately fined $600 for charges involving resisting a peace officer, but other charges were stayed. Francois, who's lived in NCN over the last decade with his four daughters and young grandchild, returned to the community for his daughter's graduation in June. That's when he received a formal letter of banishment from NCN, which said he was banned from the community until the end of 2029, the court document says. "It's crazy. It just baffles me," Francois told CBC News on Monday. "It made me feel like an alien, you know, I'm like no longer allowed anywhere near anybody from my reserve, and I grew up there as a kid." 'No hearing, no opportunity to be heard' CBC News reached out to NCN Chief Angela Levasseur for comment on Monday but has not yet heard back. Marty Moore, a lawyer representing Francois, says the five-year banishment is an "incredibly extreme punishment." "The idea that you can be banished from your home, and your family, without notice or an opportunity to be heard, is just an egregious violation of basic principles of fundamental justice," he told CBC News on Monday. "He has a 16-year-old daughter, he's got a two-year-old granddaughter there on the reserve, so this is talking about a very serious interference with someone's ability to be part of their family and part of their community as well." Francois's application argues that the checkstop infringed his Charter right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure and the right not to be arbitrarily detained. Moore says NCN's banishment rules say that while a hearing on an eviction order can be requested within seven days, a person subject to a banishment order can request a hearing "no earlier than five years from the date of the banishment order." "It literally provides no hearing, no opportunity to be heard for at least five years — once a banishment order is issued — and so there's a problem here with this decision, absolutely," said Moore. NCN's own legal framework recognizes its members' rights under the Constitution, he said. "Indigenous Canadians have rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms just like other Canadians, and those must be respected, including by their own First Nation's government." Marc Kruse, director of Indigenous legal learning and services at the University of Manitoba's Robson Hall law school, says there's a long history of First Nations using band council resolutions to check what's coming into their communities — an authority that stems from the Indian Act. While First Nations have their own sovereignty and should be able to write their own laws, Kruse says all law in Canada needs to follow the Charter and the Constitution. "The issue here is, I don't think they're following common law or Indigenous law when it comes to exile orders," he said. "They don't have a process, and the process can't be just people in a backroom signing a piece of paper. That's not law from the common law side or from the Indigenous legal order side." Most Canadian provinces have seen First Nations banishments overturned because there was no due process, he said. "If there is no due process, then the federal court's going to side with the person who was exiled," he said. "They have to be given notice, a chance to hear the evidence, present evidence and have a decision in writing." Francois's case shows the need for Indigenous courts in Manitoba, he said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prince Harry ‘worried' about possible exile when Prince William becomes king: biographer
Prince Harry fears he will be banished from his homeland once his estranged brother, Prince William, becomes king, a prominent royal biographer has claimed. The Duke of Sussex, 40, is said to have begun thinking about the future and is eager to mend fences with his cancer-stricken father. Earlier this month, his aides were seen meeting up with the monarch's communications secretary for a top-secret meeting in London. The meeting also underscored another element to the rift as the Prince and Princess of Wales' communications team was not in attendance, with it later being revealed that they weren't even told that talks were taking place at all. Royal author Tom Bower believes that the feuding camps have a long way to go before the hatchet is buried. 'Whether they'll meet again in Charles' lifetime depends on how long Charles lives. I couldn't say never because I'm sure Charles wants to meet his son, but so much depends on how Harry behaves,' Bower told the Mirror. 'Harry is seriously worried that when his father dies one day, William will literally banish him and he will have no status in Britain at all. He will be persona non grata.' Bower, who penned 'Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors,' described the 'Spare' author as 'his own worst enemy.' Elsewhere, the expert noted that while Harry is 'desperate' to repair his fractured relationship with Charles, a royal reconciliation may not happen given the extent of the years-long rift. 'Harry needs a meeting with Charles to show he is part of the royal family and to establish his credibility in Britain,' Bower said, adding that the Invictus Games founder is 'unpredictable.' 'But as long as the palace won't give him access to Charles, he can't take the first step,' he went on. 'They suspect that the moment he meets Charles, he will use it to establish his credibility, because that's what he desperately needs, and that's also why he's kept away.'The Post has reached out to the duke's reps for comment. If a royal reconciliation is in the cards, it's likely it would take place in September when Harry returns to the UK for the annual WellChild Awards. His impending arrival on British soil has opened up the prospect of a potential meeting between the pair, which would mark their first in 18 months. While a September meet-up between the father-son duo hasn't been confirmed just yet, it may put the king in a tricky position as he's set to welcome President Trump at Windsor Castle for his upcoming state visit, slated for September 17. Solve the daily Crossword
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Prince Harry's fear when William becomes King
Prince Harry fears he will be banished from the UK when William ascends the throne, a royal expert has claimed. The Duke of Sussex is reportedly desperate to heal his fractured family relationships – primarily with his father King Charles. Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been living in their $US14.65 million ($A20.9 million) California mansion with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, since 2020. This comes amid swirling speculation after senior aides to both Harry and the Monarch were snapped meeting in London last week. Meredith Maines, Meghan and Harry's chief of staff in California, and Liam Maguire, the head of their UK PR operation, recently met Charles's communication secretary Tobyn Andreae at the Royal Over-Seas League which sits just three minutes from Clarence House, The Sun reports. It is unclear which side initiated the meeting. The secret peace summit sparked rumours a reconciliation is in the works, but Prince William's team was notably absent. It comes after the Duke revealed in his bombshell BBC interview 'life is precious' and 'I would like to get my father and brother back'. Royal expert Tom Bower told the Mirror: 'Whether they'll meet again in Charles's lifetime depends on how long Charles lives. 'I couldn't say never because I'm sure Charles wants to meet his son, but so much depends on how Harry behaves. 'Harry is seriously worried that when his father dies one day, William will literally banish him and he will have no status in Britain at all … He will be persona non grata.' The author, who wrote 'Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors', claimed the Duke is 'desperate' to make amends with his father. Although Mr Bower suspected the Palace could be reluctant to build bridges with the dad-of-two, due to a lack of trust. The expert also thought it would be unlikely for Harry to meet with Charles when he visits the UK in September for the annual WellChild event. In September the King should still be on holiday at his Balmoral retreat, ahead of hosting US President Donald Trump in the middle of the month. And, even if the father and son do get back on regular speaking terms, there's a lot of damage to unpack. Mr Bower highlighted Harry's BBC interview in the wake of losing his security case appeal in May. In the bombshell chat, the Duke dubbed his defeat a 'good old fashioned establishment stitch-up' and pointed his finger at the Royal Household on swaying the decision. The royal author claimed Harry 'fears that once Charles dies he will get no help from William' when it comes to his security case. Meanwhile, when it comes to Meghan, Mr Bower suggested she would be indifferent to whether or not a reconciliation happened. The Duchess posted about sending her As Ever wine as a birthday present to her 'ladies near and far' on the same day Queen Camilla turned 78. It is unclear who she is sending the wine to. She posted the video on what would have been Wednesday in California, but early Thursday morning in the UK. This comes after another royal expert told The Sun Prince William would never be able to forgive his brother. But Mr Hugo Vickers said he believed there's 'hope' for Harry and King Charles. 'I don't think it's all gone too far,' he said. 'It's always good to talk. Lots can come out of talking, and you know it could perhaps lead to something. 'We don't know what they talked about or what their plans were. But that's a good sign.' Despite hopes of a reunion between the King and his son Mr Vickers warns a cheery reunion with Will is a far less likely possibility. He said: 'So as for William. It's much more difficult because the barbs were sent in his direction from Prince Harry, but very much directed towards Catherine. 'That is very insulting, and I think William is likely to be more of an unforgiving person than his father.' Mr Vickers added: 'I think at the moment, if I was advising Prince Harry, I would say, get onto good terms with your father as soon as possible, and then that's step one and step two, try to get on good terms with your brother.' Harry is reportedly set to invite his brother and father to the next Invictus Games. If the Monarch and his eldest son were to attend it could mark the biggest step towards reconciliation so far. In the meantime, the Duke has been following in his mother Princess Diana's footsteps in Angola this week. He was pictured walking among landmines with charity Halo Trust 28 years after his mother did the same. Harry's solo adventure saw him land at Luanda airport and proceed to take a series of small two-person planes to the site of the mines. The Duke of Sussex hopes the publicity from the daring stunt will encourage the Angolan government to make more donations to Halo – of which he became patron in 2019. FAMILY FEUD With rumours swirling around the possibility of a reconciliation, Harry previously said in his BBC interview he had 'forgiven' his family. The Duke also claimed reconciliation was now down to Charles. The feud between the Duke and his family started when he and Meghan announced on January 8, 2020, that they would be stepping down as 'senior' members of the Royal Family. Since then it was revealed that Harry has limited contact with his father the King along with a slew of other revelations about the family feud. There was hope for reconciliation last year when Harry travelled to the UK to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of his Invictus Games. However, the King and Harry failed to meet due to the Monarch's 'full programme'. The Duke was offered to spend his time at one of the royal apartments – however he turned it down in what was branded a snub to his father. Meanwhile, Princes William and Harry have not been in direct communication since the release of Harry's controversial memoir, 'Spare', in January 2023. Their last known interaction was during the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022, but conversations were said to be brief. The feuding brothers reportedly did not speak to each other despite standing 'virtually back to back' among mourners at their uncle's memorial service last year. The brothers have been at loggerheads since Harry and wife Meghan quit royal duty in 2020 for a new life in the US, where they have launched a succession of barbs at the Royal Family. Growing up, Wills and Harry shared many of the same friends who were part of their close, tight-knit circle. But their relationship took a sour turn after Harry lobbed vile allegations against the Prince of Wales in his memoir 'Spare'. In the book, he claimed William had physically attacked him and knocked him to the floor in 2019 and made insulting comments about Meghan. The Sussexes had also targeted Princess Kate, when Meghan claimed the royal made her cry. The bitter feud was ignited with full force when the Sussexes told Oprah, in their 2021 sit down interview, that certain members of the Royal Family had speculated about Prince Archie's skin colour.
The Sun
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Prince Harry ‘fears he will be banished from UK' when William becomes King and wants to ‘heal family rift' with Charles
PRINCE Harry fears he will be banished from the UK when William ascends the throne, claimed a royal expert. The Duke of Sussex is reportedly desperate to heal his fractured family relationships - primarily with his father King Charles. 11 11 11 This comes amid swirling speculation after senior aides to both Harry and the Monarch were snapped meeting in London last week. Meredith Maines, Meghan and Harry's chief of staff in California, and Liam Maguire, the head of their UK PR operation, recently met Charles's communication secretary Tobyn Andreae at the Royal Over-Seas League which sits just three minutes from Clarence House. It is unclear which side initiated the summit. The secret peace summit sparked rumours a reconciliation is in the works, but Prince William's team was notably absent. It comes after the Duke revealed in his bombshell BBC interview"life is precious" and "I would like to get my father and brother back". Royal expert Tom Bower told the Mirror: "Whether they'll meet again in Charles's lifetime depends on how long Charles lives. "I couldn't say never because I'm sure Charles wants to meet his son, but so much depends on how Harry behaves. 'Harry is seriously worried that when his father dies one day, William will literally banish him and he will have no status in Britain at will be persona non grata.' The author, who wrote Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, claimed the Duke is "desperate" to make amends with his father. Although Mr Bower suspected the Palace could be reluctant to build bridges with the dad-of-two, due to a lack of trust. I know Prince Harry & he's desperate to mend the royal rift for three key reasons The expert also thought it would be unlikely for Harry to meet with Charles when he visits the UK in September for the annual WellChild event. In September the King should still be on holiday at his Balmoral retreat, ahead of hosting US President Donald Trump in the middle of the month. And, even if the father and son do get back on regular speaking terms, there's a lot of damage to unpack. Mr Bower highlighted Harry's BBC interview in the wake of losing his security case appeal in May. In the bombshell chat, the Duke dubbed his defeat a "good old fashioned establishment stitch-up" and pointed his finger at the Royal Household on swaying the decision. 11 11 The royal author claimed Harry "fears that once Charles dies he will get no help from William" when it comes to his security case. Meanwhile, when it comes to Meghan Markle, Mr Bower suggested she would be indifferent to whether or not a reconciliation happened. The Duchess posted about sending her As Ever wine as a birthday present to her "ladies near and far" on the same day Queen Camilla turned 78. It is unclear who she is sending the wine to. She posted the video on what would have been Wednesday in California, but early Thursday morning in the UK. This comes after another royal expert told The Sun Prince William would never be able to forgive his brother. But Mr Hugo Vickers said he believed there's "hope" for Harry and King Charles. "I don't think it's all gone too far," he said. 11 11 "It's always good to talk. Lots can come out of talking, and you know it could perhaps lead to something. "We don't know what they talked about or what their plans were. But that's a good sign." Despite hopes of a reunion between the King and his son Mr Vickers warns a cheery reunion with Will is a far less likely possibility. He said: "So as for William. It's much more difficult because the barbs were sent in his direction from Prince Harry, but very much directed towards Catherine. "That is very insulting, and I think William is likely to be more of an unforgiving person than his father." Mr Vickers added: "I think at the moment, if I was advising Prince Harry, I would say, get onto good terms with your father as soon as possible, and then that's step one and step two, try to get on good terms with your brother." Harry is reportedly set to invite his brother and father to the next Invictus Games. If the Monarch and his eldest son were to attend it could mark the biggest step towards reconciliation so far. In the meantime, the Duke has been following in his mother Princess Diana's footsteps in Angola this week. He was pictured walking among landmines with with charity Halo Trust 28 years after his mother did the same. Harry's solo adventure saw him land at Luanda airport and there proceed to take a series of small two-person planes to the site of the mines. The Duke of Sussex hopes the publicity from the daring stunt will encourage the Angolan government to make more donations to Halo - of with he became patron in 2019. FAMILY FEUD With rumours swirling around the possibility of a reconciliation, Harry previously said in his BBC interview that he had "forgiven" his family. The Duke also claimed reconciliation was now down to Charles. The feud between the Duke and his family started when he and Meghan Markle announced on January 8, 2020, that they would be stepping down as 'senior' members of the Royal Family. Since then it was revealed that Harry has limited contact with his father the King along with a slew of other revelations about the family feud. There was hope for reconciliation last year when Harry travelled to the UK to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of his Invictus Games. However, the King and Harry failed to meet due to the Monarch's "full programme". The Duke was offered to spend his time at one of the royal apartments - however he turned it down in what was branded a snub to his father. Meanwhile, Princes William and Harry have not been in direct communication since the release of Harry's controversial memoir, Spare, in January 2023. Their last reported interaction was during the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022, but conversations were said to be brief. The feuding brothers reportedly did not speak to each other despite standing 'virtually back to back' among mourners at their uncle's memorial service last year. The brothers have been at loggerheads since Harry and wife Meghan quit royal duty in 2020 for a new life in the US, where they have launched a succession of barbs at the Royal Family. Growing up, Wills and Harry shared many of the same friends who were part of their close, tight-knit circle. But their relationship took a sour turn after Harry lobbed vile allegations against the Prince of Wales in his memoir Spare. In the book, he claimed William had physically attacked him and knocked him to the floor in 2019 and made insulting comments about Meghan. The Sussexes had also targeted Princess Kate, when Meghan claimed the royal made her cry. The bitter feud was ignited with full force when the Sussexes told Oprah, in their 2021 sit down interview, that certain members of the Royal Family had speculated about Prince Archie's skin colour. 11 11
CBC
11-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
As Indigenous communities consider banishment to address drug crime, a lawyer explains how it works
Social Sharing As many N.W.T. communities grapple with an ongoing drug crisis, some are looking for new ways to address the issue and increase public safety. One idea discussed last week at a public safety forum hosted by the Dene Nation in Yellowknife is for communities to banish people deemed responsible for problems. Marc Gibson is a lawyer who practices in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Ontario with a focus on Indigenous rights and constitutional law. He spoke with CBC's Trailbreaker host Hilary Bird on Friday about how banishment works and what rights communities and individuals hold. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. We have a number of different types of Indigenous communities here in the Northwest Territories, those with settled claims, and we have reserves. Can you walk us through how banishment works in Indigenous communities? At its core it's basically the process of removing somebody from a community or from part of a community or from a certain situation. And there's a number of different ways that it can be done depending on what the community is trying to do. If they're trying to remove non-members from the community, it can be done fairly easily actually, through a trespass law and through trespass enforcement. And if they're trying to remove members who have a right to be in the community, then it's a much more complicated process because the person has a legal right to be there. Indigenous people have collective rights to the lands that they have, whether they're reserve lands or settlement lands. And so if the person being removed has a right to be there, then the community needs to go through due process in order to remove that person and make sure that they've had a chance to tell their side of the story and that they're making a reasoned decision. So if it's a non-member, it's much easier to do. How do you go about doing that? It's an authority that most First Nations have, regardless of whether they're an Indian Act First Nation or an Indigenous group that has a settlement agreement or a treaty with the government. They usually have some kind of authority that allows them to control residency on reserve and issues relating to public safety and public health. And those are all powers that can be used to create banishment laws. But they need the law itself, they need some kind of bylaw or law that allows them to exercise their authority to banish people. So it starts with passing a law that allows them to use the power they have in a specific way that's endorsed by their community members. And then once that's set, how would they go about enforcing it? It depends on the community, but usually it's through the police. It's important that if an Indigenous community is thinking of enacting a banishment law or removing people from the community in some way that they have thought about enforcement or else you're just going to end up with a law that people aren't going to respect and that's not going to help the situation. If you're going to have the police enforce the law, it's important to work with the police as you're crafting the law, as you're drafting it, as you're developing it with your community members. And talk to them about how that should work, whether they have any concerns, and make sure that those are addressed in advance. If you're going to use some other kind of enforcement mechanism, like a First Nation enforcement body, a bylaw enforcement body or something else, work that out ahead of time because you don't want to have a law that you don't have an enforcement mechanism in place for. Sahtu Grand Chief Wilbert Kochon at the meeting this week told delegates that he believes that charter rights could be preventing communities from standing up to drug dealers. Are there limits to a community's power? Yes, and certainly the Charter is an important limit. I mentioned that there are collective rights to be on community lands, but there are also Charter rights. Individuals in Canada, including Indigenous people, all have Charter rights and that includes the right to security as a person, rights relating to equality. There's lots of rights that could be engaged, particularly under Section 7 of the Charter when you're starting to remove somebody from a place that they have a deep connection to, that they have a home, where they have their community. And so absolutely, Charter rights are engaged and need to be considered. And that doesn't mean that the fact that an individual has Charter rights prevents them from being banished, but it means that the community has to consider that, has to balance those rights against the rights of the community, and has to provide procedural fairness that allows them to make a decision that the courts can uphold and that'll be seen as fair by their own community members. What if someone owns property in a community? Can they be banished? Certainly they could still be removed from the community, but the power to banish a person or to remove them isn't necessarily the same power that you would need to appropriate their property or to take their goods or to actually take the land if they own the land in some form. So that would need to be a separate mechanism and that's not a mechanism that I would say Indigenous communities have access to as easily. Seizing someone's property is a much different game than removing them from the community under the powers that they have through either their treaties or the Indian Act. I know it's an ancient practice, but we've been hearing about banishment with, particularly, Indigenous communities over the last little while. I'm thinking of what's happening in Haida Gwaii for instance. How common has banishment become these days? It's certainly a tool that Indigenous communities are becoming aware of. And like you say, it's an ancient practice. I think a lot of Indigenous communities have practiced banishment going back millennia. And historically it was often the most serious form of punishment. It could be a death sentence. If you're in a remote location and you are cut off from the rest of your community members, you might not be able to survive. And so the roots of banishment go back a long way. But I think as communities are entering modern treaties and are, sort of, coming to terms with a lot of the powers and authorities that they have, and are reconnecting with their traditional authority, communities are looking at the tools that they have available to them. And banishment is a tool that I think a lot of communities are realizing can help with solving certain kinds of problems in certain situations. And it's not a one-size-fits-all solution for all kinds of problems, but it's a tool that can help if you're trying to solve a certain kind of problem involving individuals in the community. Or in a certain location that the community would be safer or healthier if those people were removed. Yeah, let's dive into that a little bit more. What are some of the other options Indigenous communities might have when dealing with this drug crisis and drug dealers in their community? Removing the drug dealers themselves are sort of the low-hanging fruit. It can be effective to just remove the people who are causing the problems, especially if it's a remote community and access can be sort of easily controlled. But often it's not that simple. And often there could be a non-Indigenous community right next door, and so it could be difficult to remove the person from the area entirely unless you're cooperating with your neighbours. And even if you can remove the drug dealers or the wrongdoers or whoever it is that's causing the problem in the community, more people could pop up, and you're still not dealing with the entire problem, like a drug crisis, for example. It's a very complex problem. It has lots of different causes. It has lots of different effects. And so things like social services, like child welfare, a lot of Indigenous communities control housing, and so they can achieve a lot of the beneficial effects of banishment just by removing people from housing or controlling their housing regulations. You really need to look at it holistically. I know a lot of First Nations that are considering banishment, at the same time they're considering, how do we provide social supports to our citizens? How do we support children? How do we support the neighbours? And these are all important considerations because just removing the people who are there right now causing the problems doesn't necessarily remove, you know, the root cause of the problem, or any of its effects.
