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| Norman Douglas |
The staff had a tradition to erect a beautifully decorated tree in the lobby. Back in those days, most people greeted each other with a smile and a “Merry Christmas.”
But the Grinch won the day when it was decided the tree had to go because it might cause offence to those of other “religions.” Now I used those quotation marks for a reason. You will not find any Christmas trees in the Bible. Not in any of the prophecies about the Messiah. Not around the manger. Not in the place to which the magi travelled a great distance to find the Saviour. Not at the cross, nor the empty tomb, nor anywhere in the ministry of Jesus. The Christmas tree became popular during the reign of Queen Victoria.
It is more appropriately connected to the secular part of the Christmas tradition, along with stockings hanging, sleigh bells ringing, chestnuts roasting, Santa Claus ho-ho-ing, Frosty melting, Rudolph glowing and Amazon selling.
There is nothing really religiously offensive about the tree.
If the Queen had called it the Xmas tree, I suspect the newer colossal courthouse in Brampton might still boast an even bigger one.
The culprit, of course, is Christ.
When the tree was ordered removed, it caused some controversy.
I was at home in Georgetown (a short commute to work) reading my morning Globe and Mail (another one of “those days” activities), when I was intrigued.
There was a letter to the editor with a photograph attached. The picture was taken in December 1942 and was of a Christmas tree surrounded by a number of prisoners of war captured by the Nazis. The letter was signed Piotr Kuryllowicz, Georgetown. Piotr was one of the prisoners.
His point was that even the Nazis allowed a Christmas tree in the POW camp. And that it gave them hope in their seemingly hopeless situation.
My wife Mary Lou (who passed away in 2008 from cancer) and I tracked down Piotr and invited him to our home.
Piotr had escaped Poland, made it to England and joined the R.A.F. His Spitfire was shot down over France, and he was captured after bailing out.
After the war, he immigrated to Canada, went to university, began his dentistry practice and, with his wife, raised a beautiful family in Georgetown.
Here was a man who knew all about hope.
He had escaped Poland when all seemed lost.
He had bailed out of a burning airplane even when his cockpit canopy had jammed.
He could have been shot when captured on the ground.
He survived three years in the POW camp.
He made it to Canada to become a well-respected Canadian.
So what was it about that tree that gave him hope?
I’m sure none of those prisoners entertained hopes that Santa would come in his sleigh with Rudolph guiding eight other flying reindeer to rescue them.
And a decorated evergreen couldn’t save them.
But some of them, when they looked at that tree, thought of home and the very first Christmas in Bethlehem — the ultimate foundation of hope for mankind.
So let the tree stand in the lobby of the courthouse. Some can see it as a decoration for a festive holiday, and others can include it in the celebration of their faith. In Canada, Christmas has always been part of our heritage — the most important holiday of the year. You do not have to be a Christian to celebrate Christmas. Call it Xmas if you like, but please tolerate those who still put the “Christ” in Christmas.
And now, let’s leave the lobby and enter the courtroom to see justice in action. Better still, let’s enter the mind of the judge.
What was my duty every day for nearly three decades as I judged others?
The same as all other judges, regardless of our personal beliefs: to interpret, apply and enforce the laws in the Criminal Code. Those laws have been crafted to protect and promote our values as a country. And our country, from its inception, embraced faith in God as one of those values.
As I write this, I have the honour of singing the national anthem at the Collingwood Blues’ hockey team’s home games. One of the lines is a prayer: “God keep our land, glorious and free…”
I took part in the Remembrance Day service three weeks ago at Wasaga Beach. We sang God Save the King.
But you see, it doesn’t matter whether the person on the bench has a personal faith in God.
In my personal life, as a Christian (not a very good role model in all my stumbling, but still in the race), I try to follow the Golden Rule. I know it is true, as the Bible says: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
But in my professional life, my faith was not compromised by carrying out my duty to the community.
Sometimes I had to enforce the law to its limit. My judicial cheeks were not for turning. I was not the victim.
Judges need to impose long prison sentences on violent repeat offenders.
Police officers must be ready to shoot people when necessary.
Crown attorneys need to know when to say no to the defence lawyer’s plea bargain offer and fight for the victims of crime.
Yet our justice system is under siege today. Violent criminals are walking free. Drugs, gangs, shootings, knifings, carjackings and home invasions are all over the media.
So where did we go wrong?
Is there hope for our justice system?
Some believe the fix requires hiring more judges, more Crown attorneys, more court staff.
But hiring more people, building more courtrooms and jails, drafting tougher laws to add to a Criminal Code that is already over 2,000 pages in length will never solve the crisis of violent crime, overcrowded jails or backlogged courts.
The reality is that most of our jails are occupied by inmates awaiting trial dates. Most of our courtrooms sit empty most afternoons. Most criminal matters never go to trial — they are bargained away by the lawyers and packaged up for judges to give their blessing to the bargain.
The accused are given credit for their “remorse” by pleading guilty and saving precious court time and saving the victim the anguish of testifying.
When you draw back the curtain, you discover that the accused simply took the best deal he could get, the court had the time, and the victim wanted to be heard.
We need to teach the current police officers, crown Attorneys and judges that they are capable (and duty bound) of solving the crisis themselves.
The focus should be on teaching and coaching them properly, not adding to their number.
My view is that we simply need better leadership.
Get the veteran police officers, Crowns and judges to mentor the less experienced. Perhaps best left for my next column.
But the answer is yes, just as there is hope for every individual working in or falling into the halls of justice, there is also hope for the system itself.
Now that the only bench I sit on is in the park, and the only robe I wear is not black silk but fluffy white cotton, I do not have the privilege of trying to bring hope to the courtroom. But I can resolve, for 2026, to do my best in my home, neighbourhood and community, and to love my neighbour as myself.
Norman Douglas is a retired criminal court judge with 27.5 years of experience on the bench. His book, You Be the Judge, was published in December 2023.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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