Courts and Tribunals Bill (Second sitting)

Paulette Hamilton Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 25th March 2026 Public Bill Committees

[The Chair]

We have two minutes left.

[Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)]

Q Good afternoon, Doug. I have a really quick question. I am just going to be brutally honest. I am a woman of colour—a black woman. Within our communities in the UK, there is a fear that if we move towards a judge-only trial, it would create major problems. How has the Canadian system ensured that defendants from such diversity are receiving a fair hearing in judge-only trials?

Doug Downey: Again, that is a wonderful question. One of the dynamics is cultural sensitivity. Whether a jury can be walked through what they are dealing with, with the proper lenses, is open for debate. I can tell you that we have a lot of effort going into judicial education, by the judges for the judges, on First Nations perspectives, with everything from body language to lived experience. That knowledge resides with the judge; it may or may not reside with the community of peers. That is the goal. That issue can go both ways, but we have some confidence that judges are exposed to things that juries may not be.

[The Chair]

Mr Downey, thank you very much for joining us today from Canada.

Doug Downey: It was such a pleasure. Thank you.