The Yukon government continues to insist it cannot hold a public inquiry into the death of Raymand Silverfox, but it has the power to hold such an inquiry – it is the will that seems to be lacking.

Wednesday in the legislature, Opposition MLAs again called for a public inquiry in the 43-year-old Little Salmon-Carmacks man's death while in RCMP custody.

Again they were rebuffed by an indignant Justice Minister Marian Horne, who said the government will not hold an inquiry until a half-dozen other investigations and civil suits have run their course.

"The fact of the matter is that we have several processes underway, such as the policing review the superintendent and I announced, the Crown prosecutor's review of the material noted by the superintendent, as well as the civil suit by the family and an application for judicial review of the coroner's jury's findings,” Horne said when asked if a public inquiry will be held. "Let's let the processes unfold as they will.”

What Horne does not acknowledge is that the policing review is entirely unsatisfactory to Silverfox's family and their supporters. A policing review will not hold any individuals responsible and, being under Horne's purview, will likely take the same defensive approach as she has taken in the legislature.

"The member opposite brought up a question about our jury – the coroner and the jury,” Horne complained Wednesday in the legislature. "I have profound disappointment in that, that we would question the integrity of our coroner and the jury who sat with her to go through the facts of this case.”

For a woman who regularly refuses to speak about any matter which is before the courts – as the jury's decision currently is – it is curious that she chooses to take sides in this case.

The Silverfox family has asked a judge to look into the jury's findings, and the coroner's behaviour during the inquest. They claim the coroner "breached the rules of natural justice” and coaxed the jury into its decision of death by natural causes.

The family has since said they believe Silverfox's death should have been labelled a homicide.

The whole point of the judicial review is to get a public inquiry, so it follows logically that were Horne to order one, the family would drop their petition.

The family is also suing the Attorney General of Canada, the RCMP and a dozen employees of the force for damages. That matter could also be addressed by an inquiry if Horne mandated it.

Insisting the government has to wait for the RCMP and the courts to come to a decision is a classic avoidance tactic, says B.C. Civil Liberties director David Eby.

"These processes can drag out forever, so really it's a cop-out to say, ‘We're going to wait until all the other processes are complete,'” Eby told the Star today.

The B.C. government is doing the same thing to avoid addressing the RCMP's and Vancouver Police Department's foot-dragging on dozens of missing woman files from the city's Downtown Eastside, he said.

The same tactic was used in the Frank Paul inquiry, which wasn't held until 10 years after the First Nation man was left to freeze to death in an alley by Vancouver police.

Horne has said on several occasions that no inquiry can be held while the RCMP continue to look into their own officers' behaviour via code-of-conduct hearings. That process alone could take years.

Last month, RCMP spokesman Sgt. Don Rogers said he has seen similar investigations take up to two years. Supt. Peter Clark, the head of the Yukon's Mounties, last week agreed it is a fairly arduous process.

The RCMP's national chief, Commissioner William Elliot, has labelled the process "glacial” and called for new legislation to speed it up.

And with another code-of-conduct hearing into the behaviour of the Watson Lake officers acquitted of sexual assault already on the schedule, the process could take even longer than usual.

"Not only does it take too long, but the fact it is all internal is problematic,” Eby said. "The RCMP does not have a great record of investigating itself. We would not expect a finding that would reflect poorly in anyway on themselves....

"In B.C., there has never, ever been a criminal charge for an in-custody death.”

Since the B.C. RCMP have the highest number of in-custody deaths of any jurisdiction (45 since between 2002 and 2006, with the runner-up for the same period being Alberta at 15), "you'd think the odds would be good,” Eby added.

The only process the Yukon government may legitimately have to wait for is the Crown prosecutors' office, Eby said. The prosecution service is currently reviewing

the possibility of criminal charges in light of the damning evidence about Silverfox's treatment at the hands of the guards and officers who were supposed to care for him as he lay dying in his cell.

That evidence, much of which came out at the coroner's inquest, was also reviewed by the Mounties; they did not recommend criminal charges.

The Crown's review is expected to be completed in June, chief prosecutor John Phelps said today.

But the fact remains: the government is the ruling power and has the authority – if not the will – to call for an inquiry which would encapsulate all of the issues raised by the Silverfox family, the opposition parties and the public.

As Eby explained, a government-mandated inquiry "can recommend criminal charges; it can award compensation; it can make other recommendations. Whatever the government feels is appropriate, they can do.”

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) is also investigating Silverfox's death, but the public can expect little more to come of that than what is expected from the policing review.

"The focus is on making remedial recommendations,” CPC spokeswoman Kate McDerby said today. "We can make recommendations of criminal charges ... (but) we've never done that before. It would be extremely rare.”

She also noted that the CPC's decisions are non-binding.

Critics have called the commission "toothless,” and since the resignation of former chair Paul Kennedy, it has lost even more credence.

So the ball is in the Yukon government's court. If there is to be a legitimate and independent inquest into Silverfox's death and the treatment he received at the hands of the RCMP, it will come in the form of a public inquiry.

If the government wants to save itself and the Silverfox family a significant amount of time and money, an inquiry is the way to go.

If, however, it wishes to drag this issue on and let it be handled largely by the very people accused of causing Silverfox's death, then it is on the right track.