Chief on trial denied interpreter

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An Algonquin chief who was tried in a court conducted in a foreign language, without benefit of a translator, has appealed to the Quebec Court of Appeal for justice.

Chief Jean-Maurice Matchewan was sentenced to six months in jail on Nov. 21 despite the fact much of his trial on assault charges was conducted in French, a language he does not understand.

The chief of the Algonquins at Barriere Lake, whose first language is Algonquin and second language is English, sometimes spent hours at a time in court without an interpreter. Matchewan was arrested in January on the charges and was in trial from March 10 to April 25.

Because many of the witnesses did not speak French, an interpreter also had to translate their testimony, often incorrectly, said Russell Diabo, an adviser to the chief. An analysis of the testimonies has revealed a number of errors in interpretation were made during the trial.

Matchewan's lawyer, Jean-Claude Sarrazin, applied on Aug. 17, 1994 for a mistrial on the basis of errors in the interpretation.

However, Judge Chevalier of the Quebec Court rejected the application and on Sept. 1 convicted Matchewan of assault causing bodily harm against Viana Maranda and common assault against Louise Pien.

The two women, who could not be reached for comment, are dissident community members. They claimed they were assaulted by the chief during a New Year's party in January 1994.

The Quebec Court of Appeal has agreed to hear the case. The grounds for the appeal include the errors in translation and the denial of the chief's Charter right to an interpreter.

The chief's supporters hope the Sept. 1, 1994, Supreme Court of Canada decision in Regina vs. Tran will apply to his case. The court ruled that interpretation must be "continuous, precise, impartial, competent and contemporaneous."

Matchewan now is out on bail and back in the 450-member community, which confirmed him in his position as hereditary chief during a community meeting on Nov. 20, 1994.

Both Maranda and Pien were asked to address a community meeting, Diabo said. "They asked the people making the accusations to come forward and state them," Diabo explained. The women refused, so the Elders decided to support the chief's leadership.

"This community operates under custom," Diabo said. "It doesn't operate under the Indian Act."

The dissidents, who number about 30, accuse the chief's administration of corruption and they want more jobs, economic development and modernization.