SASKATOON – The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has dismissed Travis Patron’s appeal of his conviction. The former leader of the defunct Canadian Nationalist Party was found guilty of breaching a probation order by harassing a woman and a child on a Saskatoon street.
In a decision released Oct. 3, a three-judge panel unanimously upheld Patron’s conviction and denied him leave to appeal his 45-day sentence. Justice Jerome A. Tholl found no merit in Patron’s arguments, which attempted to challenge the validity of the legal system.
“Mr. Patron’s erroneous belief that there was no jurisdiction for the Court of King’s Bench to impose the probation order, resulting out of an asserted conflict of interest, does not have any merit,” said Justice Tholl in his written decision. Justices Naheed Bardai and Keith D. Kilback concurred with Justice Tholl’s reasons.
“The probation order was imposed by the Court of King’s Bench and its imposition has been upheld on appeal to this Court. As a result, it was a valid order that bound Mr. Patron, and he was properly tried on the charge of breaching that order in the Provincial Court.”
The case stems from a July 29, 2023, incident where Patron verbally and aggressively confronted a woman because her skin colour was different from that of the child in her care. According to evidence presented at his trial, Patron followed the woman as she fled into a hotel, continuing to harass her and falsely identifying himself as a peace officer before being thrown out by hotel staff.
At the time of the incident, Patron was under a probation order imposed after an October 2022 conviction for wilful promotion of hatred.
Patron argued that the probation order itself was invalid, claiming the court had no lawful authority over him. He based this on what Justice Tholl described as “pseudolegal arguments,” including references to the British North American Act, 1867, and the Treaty of Paris of 1763.
The trial judge rejected those arguments, convicting Patron and saying his positions “demonstrate his unwillingness and refusal to comply with the probation order.”
Patron represented himself before the Court of Appeal, repeating his claim that the original probation order was invalid. He also argued he was denied disclosure from his prior trial and that his faith and French-Canadian heritage provided him a defence.
Justice Tholl dismissed each point. He ruled that Patron’s attempt to challenge the probation order in this manner was an impermissible “collateral attack,” as he had already unsuccessfully appealed the order directly.
“Mr. Patron had his opportunity to challenge the validity of the conviction for which the probation order was imposed,” said Justice Tholl. “He was unsuccessful in that appeal and could not reopen that issue in his trial for the matter at hand nor can he do so in this appeal.”
The court also found that Patron’s arguments about the deregistration of his political party and alleged identity theft that occurred during the 44th General Election in Canada were irrelevant to the breach of probation charge.
On the sentence appeal, the court ruled that Patron offered no grounds or arguments about errors in principle, only asserting that the sentence should be overturned because he shouldn’t have been convicted. His leave to appeal was denied.
'Are you afraid of me now?'
The incident with the woman and the child wasn't the only time Patron harassed people who were a different colour.
“Are you afraid of me now?” asked Patron, when cross-examining an RCMP Const. testifying in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench in January 2024.
“No, there are a bunch of sheriffs here,” answered the officer. “I’m not afraid.”
The officer – who had investigated and testified against Patron at his hate trial in September 2022 – told the court that he had feared for his safety and that of his girlfriend’s when Patron confronted them at Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon on July 20, 2023.
Court heard that on July 20, 2023, Patron followed the officer – who was off duty – and his girlfriend, in Midtown Plaza. Video evidence played in court showed Patron standing behind the couple going up the escalator and again going down the escalator. Another video showed Patron following them inside the mall without their knowledge. Patron confronted the officer at the mall saying, “Why are you with a Canadian woman?”
The officer was born in Iraq and came to Canada at age four, court heard.
A jury of five women and seven men found Patron guilty of harassment of the off-duty police officer.
ljoy@sasktoday.ca
