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Braden Bushby Convicted of manslaughter Barbara Kentner of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation died in 2017 and will be sentenced in Thunder Bay, Ontario this morning.
Bushby dropped a metal tow hook from a moving car and hit the 33-year-old indigenous mother in the abdomen while she was walking with her sister in a residential area.
Kentner passed away a few months later.
According to Christa Big Canoe, director of legal advocacy at the Aboriginal Legal Services Department, the case is being closely watched across Canada.
“[People] Think about gravity. They want to condemn.They want [the sentence] Said never to do this again, never to throw things at the people in Thunder Bay,” said the big canoe.
Bushby was convicted in December. The sentence was originally scheduled to be pronounced in the Ontario High Court in May, but it was postponed due to the pandemic.
Judge Helen Pierce is expected to begin his sentence at 10 am Eastern Time on Monday.
Lawyer’s sentencing period is different
Big Canoe stated that she hopes Pierce will provide a detailed explanation for her decision, especially after she heard several community and victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing in February.
She said the statements talked about the deep loss felt by Kentner’s family and the systematic racism experienced by the Thunder Bay indigenous people, where there is a history of people throwing objects at them from moving vehicles.
The royal lawyer who requested a sentence of 8 to 12 years in prison also argued that Bushby’s actions were based on prejudice and prejudice against women. They especially did not argue that these actions were based on racial prejudice.
Bushby’s defense lawyer said that a long sentence would be “too torturous” and recommended a four-year sentence.
Call to protect the safety of indigenous women and girls
Kentner’s family did not say they would like to see Bush longer than in prison. They hoped to bring justice to her death and hope that Thunder Bay is safe for the indigenous people.
Monday’s verdict was a few days after the federal announcement Government releases national action plan End violence against indigenous women and girls.
Cora McGuire-Cyrette, executive director of the Ontario Indigenous Women’s Association, said that Kentner’s death shows that concrete actions are needed to improve their safety.
“What have we done to improve the safety of indigenous women and girls, even at the local level? Is there any extra safety for women walking in that area,” Bushby threw away the tow hook there. “I did not see anything.”
McGuire-Cyrette said that violence against Aboriginal women has been normalized in Canada and this needs to be changed.
“There is no punishment for Barbara Kentner or anyone else we lost to return,” she said.
“In the justice system, holding people accountable is the first step in starting to say that violence against indigenous women is unacceptable.”
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