A grieving grandmother whose daughter and two grandchildren were murdered last year led a protest outside the Longueuil, Que., courthouse Monday morning.
She and her supporters are furious that a full year after the horror, the man accused in the case has still not gone to trial.
“I find it appalling that our justice system takes so long to act,” said Sylvie Guertin, the mother of 38-year-old Synthia Bussières. Bussières and her two sons, five-year-old Eliam and two-year-old Zac, were brutally murdered in Brossard almost exactly a year ago.
Bussières’s husband of 12 years, the father of the children, is facing three murder charges in relation to the crime.
“She was an exceptional kid,” Guertin said of her late daughter. “She has great friends, she was kind.”
Guertin spearheaded the demonstration because she can’t understand why it’s taken so long for Mohamad al Ballouz to face justice. She’s calling on Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette to take action to reduce delays in the justice system. The dozens of family members and friends who came to support her at the protest agree something needs to be done.
“It is unacceptable in a province like Quebec that this type of injustice keeps going on,” said Camille Rivet, of the Table de concertation des groupes de femmes de la Montérégie.
Quebec’s justice system is dealing with a staffing shortage, which is contributing to countless cases being delayed.
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“More judges absolutely need to be named, more clerks need to be hired,” Guertin said.
There are concerns the perceived lack of justice could prevent other women from coming forward to denounce abusers.
“It sends an underlying feeling of ‘perhaps I’m not going to be listened to,'” said Deborah Parsons, director of Pavillon Marguerite de Champlain, a women’s shelter in Longueuil.
The protesters worry the Jordan ruling could eventually come into play. That’s when a case is dropped due to excessive delays.
“We want to make sure that justice for women is taken seriously. There has been a lack of judges in the justice system at the moment, and because of that, a lot of families are still waiting for justice,” Rivet said.
In an email statement, the justice minister’s office said it is sensitive to the pain Guertin is going through.
“In the past three years, the government has added 27 new judge positions,” the minister’s office said. “Add that to a deal between the justice ministry and the Court of Quebec, agreeing to new efficiency goals.”
The ministry says because of recent efforts, about 90 per cent of jobs in Quebec courthouses are filled.
The accused killer’s preliminary inquiry is scheduled for January 2024.
Guertin pledges to follow the case all the way through.
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