The decision to waive former Pembina Hills school division Supt. Richard Harvey’s case to the other side of the country is both perplexing and deeply troubling.
One of the most critical components of a justice system in a free and democratic society is that not only must justice be served, people must be able to see justice being served.
Harvey stands accused of defrauding the school division of more than $5,000 and breach of trust to boot. He was entrusted with funds that rightfully belong to all Alberta residents, and is accused of breaching that trust. Obviously, this is a very serious charge, and one that affects all of us, albeit indirectly.
It is fairly obvious that it would be in the public interest to have Harvey answer those charges in an Alberta courtroom. Unfortunately, it appears that isn’t likely to happen.
Albertans who have paid into Alberta Education in general and the Pembina Hills school division in particular won’t get the opportunity to hear a guilty plea or evidence weighed at a trial unless the want to foot the bill for a round-trip ticket to the east coast.
Perhaps it was inconvenient for Harvey to travel to Alberta to face the charges against him? Undoubtedly, or else he would have made a single in-person appearance. To our knowledge, that hasn’t even happened.
Instead, the matter will likely be resolved in a courtroom some 4,000 kilometres from the people Harvey’s accused of defrauding, and he will never have had to return to Alberta to explain himself. The fact the waiver has been allowed likely means he will enter a guilty plea, and he’ll do it at his convenience in Newfoundland.
It’s not that Crown prosecutors have an easy job. Far from it; they’re tasked with carefully weighing the likelihood of a conviction against the cost to the government of going through a trial — and the fact this trial had been scheduled for four days should be a good indication of how complex this case is.
And undoubtedly, they have a lot on their plates — the public service in Alberta isn’t exactly renowned for being overstaffed with professionals.
But to allow this transfer without so much as an explanation of why it’s happening is somewhat of a slap in the face.
