Thank you, honourable committee chair and members of the committee, for inviting me here today.

My name is Mark Farrant. I’m the founder and CEO of the Canadian Juries Commission, a national not-for-profit organization supporting and representing Canadians serving on jury duty and coroner's inquests.

Jury duty is an essential component of our Canadian democracy and our justice system. Entrenched in our Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the right to a fair trial and the right to be tried by a jury of one's peers are something to cherish and protect in these times of global unrest and uncertainty. Every year, thousands of citizens answer a summons and step away from their families and workplaces to attend a trial, observe evidence and deliver a verdict, often in difficult and disturbing cases.

For some, jury duty is a rewarding experience in which jurors take pride in supporting the justice system and their communities in court. For others, jury duty is extremely challenging and even life-altering. While jurors are addressed as officers of the court and judges of the facts, jury duty is not a vocation. Jurors represent the conscience of our society but have no preparation for their experiences in court, no special training and, indeed, no foreknowledge of the trial or its contents.

First responders and jury members are bookends of the justice system. Jurors deliver the verdict for the very same crimes answered by first responders and investigated by police. Jurors are exposed to the same graphic evidence of human cruelty, violence, homicide, sexual assault and unspeakable acts. Jurors do not have the opportunity to turn away from evidence and, indeed, must often view it over and over again. This is the burden of jury duty, along with the task of reaching a verdict based on facts and evidence.

Unlike first responders and other actors in the courtroom, jurors do not have access to evidence-based treatment, counselling and support networks to process the experience, or the necessary professional training to manage disturbing testimony and physical evidence. We now understand the toll these crimes have on those working in public safety and our courts, resulting in PTSD, depression and significant mental illness.

Collectively, Canadians have worked hard to destigmatize mental health and promote treatment. We have established programs to support first responders in their healing, respecting the important work they perform for our communities. Jurors are in many ways the most vulnerable to trauma and, sadly, receive the least amount of support compared to others in the courtroom.

Jury duty is a civic duty, but it's not a duty to suffer, yet many jurors have reported difficulties post jury service in accessing adequate support, especially in jurisdictions offering no post-trial support at all. In some cases, clinicians have been reluctant to treat former jurors due to the jury secrecy rule and the threat of legal repercussions. The jury secrecy rule also has prevented jurors from having free and open discussions within the confines of therapy.

Deliberation is the most stressful component of jury service, according to former jurors, with many describing it as one of the most difficult experiences of their lives, above other common life events. Jurors have reported experiencing intense feelings of shame, guilt and remorse from delivering middle-ground verdicts in difficult trials. Jurors have reported grieving for decades because of their verdict—a decision that in many cases was the only one available, given the evidence—but these same jurors have been unable to process this experience and move beyond it due to the jury secrecy rule.

How can we unpack psychological trauma and develop coping mechanisms if jurors are unable to discuss the very thing causing them harm? This refutes the very foundations of psychology and mental health practices.

Committee members, Bill S-206 represents a very narrow exception to section 649 of the Criminal Code that would go a long way to improving juror mental health and making a measured difference in the lives of jurors long after their jury service. This is a long-overdue investment in jury duty that will both improve Canadians' willingness to participate in jury service and build confidence in the justice system.

We owe jurors our thanks for their service. We also owe them every means possible to move beyond negative experiences in court and to return to their lives and families.

Thank you, committee members, for inviting me here today to speak with you.

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