Protesters call for speedy justice for family of wife, 2 kids killed in triple homicide
Warning: This story references domestic violence
Dozens of protesters, including outreach workers, family and friends, gathered outside the Longueuil courthouse Monday morning to denounce the time it's taking for a man accused of killing two children and their mother to face justice.
The group rallied behind Sylvie Guertin, whose 38-year-old daughter, Synthia Bussière, was found stabbed to death inside a high-rise apartment building in Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore, on Sept. 24, 2022. Her two kids — two-year-old Zac and five-year-old Eliam — were drowned in what police called a triple-homicide and arson.
The accused is the children's father and Bussière's husband, Mohamad Al Boullouz. He remains in jail pending his trial. A preliminary inquiry is scheduled for 10 days beginning on Jan. 15, 2024, before the start of his trial in Superior Court.
Under the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision known as the Jordan ruling, an accused person must have their case completed within 30 months of charges being laid if it's being heard in the Superior Court (cases before provincial court must be completed within 18 months).
Cases that exceed these ceilings can be — and have been — tossed out on grounds that an accused's Charter right to a speedy trial has been violated.
Guertin is worried that her daughter's case might go down this path.
"It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense that after a year, there has been no movement," she said she said outside the courthouse on Monday.
"There's no way to describe this sadness. I've lost my child and my grandchildren. I've asked questions since they were killed and still don't have any answers."
Maria Papadakis, a community worker with the Com'Femme women's centre on the South Shore, said she has reached out to the provincial and federal governments to appoint more judges, however, she says she feels ignored.
According to the most recently available statistics, there are five vacancies of federally appointed judges in Quebec's Superior Court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
A slight temperature drop makes Tuesday the world's second-hottest day
Global temperatures dropped a minuscule amount after two days of record highs, making Tuesday only the world's second-hottest day ever.
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.