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| John L. Hill |
That is why the launch of Miscarriage of Justice Canada (MJC) deserves far more than a passing headline. This new federal non-profit is stepping into the breach at a critical time, as Ottawa moves forward with Bill C-40 — the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission Act (David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law). The law creates an independent commission to review wrongful conviction claims, but until that commission is up and running, MJC is preparing applications and providing advocacy for those who maintain their innocence.
“MJC exists to ensure that credible claims of wrongful conviction are brought forward effectively and fairly,” said Myles McLellan, the group’s executive director, in a news release. But behind those measured words lies a grim reality: countless Canadians, especially from Indigenous and marginalized communities, remain trapped behind bars because the system failed them.
The creation of MJC also highlights a long-standing gap. Innocence Canada has carried the heavy burden of homicide-related cases for decades, but wrongful convictions are not confined to murder trials. They occur in drug cases, sexual assault trials, fraud prosecutions and situations where coercive control or domestic abuse have shaped the evidence. These cases rarely attract the same public sympathy, yet their impact on families and communities is just as devastating.
If we are serious about justice, Canada must do more than process applications and shuffle paperwork. MJC’s promise to scrutinize commission reports and advocate systemic reform is essential. Wrongful convictions don’t occur in a vacuum — they are the result of police practices, prosecutorial shortcuts, inadequate defence funding and biases that fall hardest on the poor, the racialized and the mentally ill.
We should not forget the names that forced this issue into public view: David Milgaard, Donald Marshall Jr., Guy Paul Morin. Each case was a national scandal, yet the system remains slow to learn. Every new wrongful conviction should shame us into action.
In my latest book, Acts of Darkness, the first chapter focuses on what I believe is an ongoing stain — the life sentences imposed on two factually innocent men, Vito Buffone and Jeffrey Kompon, wrongly convicted for the biggest cocaine importation scheme in Canada. I am now thankful MJC exists. It offers hope to the wrongly convicted and to those of us in the bar who still believe in the ideals of a just judicial system.
MJC’s launch is a hopeful development, but it is also an indictment of how reluctant Canada has been to face this problem. Innocent people remain behind bars today, waiting for someone to take their claims seriously. Until we commit to rooting out these injustices, loudly and without hesitation, our justice system cannot claim to be just at all.
John L. Hill practised and taught prison law until his retirement. He holds a J.D. from Queen’s and an LL.M. in constitutional law from Osgoode Hall. His most recent book, Acts of Darkness (Durvile & UpRoute Books), was released July 1. Hill is also the author of Pine Box Parole: Terry Fitzsimmons and the Quest to End Solitary Confinement (Durvile & UpRoute Books) and The Rest of the (True Crime) Story (AOS Publishing). Contact him at johnlornehill@hotmail.com.
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