Jurors support group hopeful for federal funding to offer mental-health support

TORONTO — A jurors advocate says he’s thrilled that a House of Commons committee is recommending $20 million over the next 10 years to support the mental health of those who have served on juries.

Mark Farrant with the Canadian Juries Commission says the group would use the money to help with mental-health support and to find ways to improve the court experience for future jurors.

“I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to somebody else,” Farrant said Monday.

Farrant was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after he sat on a jury in a five-month-long murder trial in Toronto in 2014.

He and other jurors later created the group to ensure jurors have a national voice across the country.

“We sat through difficult cases and we also understand the importance of the civic duty. None of us look at the jury duty experience as something we would regret,” Farrant said.

“We want Canadians to be able to participate in jury duty — not to seek ways to avoid it.”

The group is also looking at ways to include more diversity and Indigenous Canadians in jury pools, he said.

A Senate bill that proposes more mental-health support for jury members received second reading last month.

It also seeks to amend a section of the Criminal Code on jury secrecy. Current legislation prohibits jurors from ever talking about their deliberations, which can prevent them from seeking help.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2020

The Canadian Press