Brittany Sack, a Mi’kmaw woman from Nova Scotia, suffered severe injuries from an assault by her former partner, Harry Cope, which was captured on surveillance video in June 2021. Cope pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, but his five-year sentence is under appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada, raising complex legal questions about sentencing Indigenous offenders versus protecting Indigenous women. Sack did not participate in the legal process due to fears of discrimination and ongoing trauma. The case could set a precedent for how Canadian courts address these intertwined issues of justice and Indigenous rights.
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