I hate to say it, but I first met Bill Sundhu over drinks.
It was a long, long time ago. Bill was an up and coming young lawyer making his mark and I was an up and coming young editor making my mark.
We met after a community event and, as mentioned, had a few drinks with a mutual acquaintance. Even though it was almost 15 years ago, I still remember the evening. My wife and I sat and chatted with Bill and his then-wife-to-be for several hours.
It was one of those nights that was thoroughly enjoyable. The four of us had a great time talking politics, community, and pretty much everything under the sun.
One particular part of our conversation that has stuck with me all this time was when Bill talked about his youth. Bill was born in this country. He is as Canadian as you can get. But he is of Indo-Canadian heritage. I remember Bill telling me that things weren’t easy and that, even though we was born in this country, being an Indo-Canadian set him apart. He didn’t feel different, yet he was.
When we parted ways that night it we all agreed that we should get together again. Sadly, lives get busy, careers get busy, paths go in different directions. Our paths would cross occasionally but we never got together again socially, which I’ve regretted. When Bill was elevated to the bench in Kamloops, I interviewed him and he was genuinely excited about becoming a judge and proud of his accomplishments, as he should have been. We was probably still in his 30s yet, so becoming a judge at such a tender age was quite a feat. I was proud of him too.
After only 10 years on the bench, Bill Sundhu resigned this week.
The beginning of the end started just over a year ago when Bill was arrested following a drunken altercation at a Vancouver hotel.
He resigned Thursday, the same day a report on his conduct was released by Chief Justice Hugh Stansfield.
In his report, Stansfield noted Sundhu made derogatory remarks to a server, guest and police officer — all female — and to a male security officer about the officer’s sister; acted aggressively toward security and police; and threatened repercussions to the police officers’ jobs.
Stansfield said the behaviour was out of character for Sundhu, particularly his remarks about women.
I certainly second that sentiment. Bill is a classy guy. Even though I met him ‘over drinks,’ I never knew him to have a drinking problem. The night we met we didn’t get drunk or out of control.
Stansfield’s report says Bill has no recollection of the night in question and has determined that Bill has ‘episodic alcoholism,’ which means he drinks infrequently but when he does he gets rather intoxicated.
Attorney General Wally Oppal said Bill’s resignation is a sad turn of events. “(Sundhu is) a very good judge, a very popular judge and it is most tragic that one lapse on one night has led to this,” Oppal told our sister paper Kamloops This Week. “I question whether a resignation was in order.”
I agree wholeheartedly. Bill is one of the good guys. He’s a good family man, a good judge, and a good part of our society. It is truly a tragedy that he saw fit to resign from the bench.
I just wonder how many impaired drivers appeared before Bill, pleading for leniency because their impaired charge would cost them their job. And I wonder how many times Bill showed leniency.