‘one size fits all’ approach to sentencing, Bill C-10 adopts a formalistic approach to equality that will serve to perpetuate the historic disadvantage of marginalized groups.”. That the Canadian justice system has failed Aboriginal peoples at every turn is by now well known. The Supreme Court has said the fact that more than a quarter of our prisoners are Indigenous is a crisis in the justice system, so then when the same criminal justice system appears to fail either the missing Indigenous women and girls or, many people would say, Colten Boushie, then it’s kind of a ground for despair. But hopefully there will be some reform going forward. Winnipeg, MB, Canada One problem that has often been highlighted is the under-representation of Indigenous people on juries. Tanya Talaga . During jury selection, lawyers on both sides are given a set number of peremptory challenges, which allows them to strike a prospective juror without providing a reason. Indigenous peoples are vastly overrepresented in the Canadian criminal justice system. Almost half of the people in Manitoba agree there is a problem with the Canadian justice system when it comes to treatment of Indigenous Peoples according to a recent report in the Winnipeg Free Press ("Manitobans divided on justice system," April 16, 2018). He is visiting Canada in October and has asked for people to write to him about these matters. When analyzing the historical and current situation of the relationship between Indigenous persons and the CJS it becomes apparent why the Supreme Court of Canada refers to this situation as the ‘Crisis in the Canadian Justice System’. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The over-incarceration of Indigenous people in Canada is a crisis that begins earlier than adulthood as Indigenous youth (under 18) represent a disproportionate number of children behind bars. The Supreme Court of Canada has called the overrepresentation of Indigenous people “a crisis in the Canadian justice system ” (Rudin, 2005, p. 5). They often try to incorporate Indigenous cultural practices and understandings of justice. Obviously, that’s something that’s going to have to be done on a case-by-case, community-by-community, nation-by-nation basis. Appeals by the Crown are only available for errors of law – not on more general or fact-specific grounds of miscarriage of justice or unreasonable verdict. That’s another reason that hasn’t been well picked up by the media as to why we might not have confidence in the jury. To be fair, some defence lawyers will oppose that, but I don't think there’s a Charter right to peremptory challenges. Canada has had a long-standing problem with both societal and institutional racism against Indigenous peoples, especially within the justice system. Kent Roach (above) is a professor of law at U of T. He has represented Indigenous groups in interventions before the court, including in R. v. Gladue, which advises that lower courts should consider an Indigenous offender’s background when making sentencing decisions (Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images). An example of this was the method of dealing with “wendigo” spirits. 204-474-6535, U of M senate approves ‘compassionate grading’ plan, UMSU lobbies provincial, federal governments, UMSU to restart efforts to leave federation of students, UMSU announcement throws student clubs for a loop, on "Canadian justice system failing Aboriginal people", Math prof embroiled in court battle with university, Much-needed changes made for winter festival, Aboriginal Students Gathering at Migizii Agamik. Published November 5, 2020 Updated November 9, 2020 . Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil apologized Tuesday to Black and Indigenous Nova Scotians for systemic racism in the province's justice system, and said the government is committed to reform. The court system has also contributed, ironically, to the great injustice experienced by Indigenous peoples in Canada. Canada has a very high remand rate; there is blatant discrimination against Aboriginals because their rate is significantly higher in comparison to their counterparts (Mildren, 2008). It focuses on the experiences of Indigenous peoples residing in the four major Anglo-settler-colonial jurisdictions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Only this can correct the systemic discrimination that Aboriginal people face in the Canadian criminal justice system. And it applies whenever someone is doing an unlawful act like careless use of a firearm, which seems to have been present here, pointing a gun at a person’s head. Furthermore, a recent report by Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office found that between 2002 and 2012, justice spending increased by 23 per cent, while crime rates have simultaneously fallen that same amount. Before that, in 1998, I was involved in a case called Williams (R v. Williams) where the Supreme Court allowed an Indigenous accused to question jurors about whether they would be biased, whether they would have racial bias against the Indigenous accused. The reduction in government expenditures if these outcomes were achieved would be an additional $14.2 billion. In 2001, it was 17.59%. Although overt bias against Indigenous peoples in the justice system was more prevalent in the past, systemic discrimination remains a serious problem. D ear Canada, We need to talk. Canada has a very high remand rate; there is blatant discrimination against Aboriginals because their rate is significantly higher in comparison to their counterparts (Mildren, 2008). Is there a limit to how many peremptory challenges you can make? Understanding the Overrepresentation of Indigenous People in the Criminal Justice System. That’s a matter of provincial jurisdiction about getting the 200 prospective jurors into the room. It was … Are there other problems, in addition to the jury selection? Upon colonization, the Crown deemed these systems illegitimate and subjected cases to judgment by the Queen. In her opening remarks, Marcia V.J. The second is a challenge for cause, which is when they have to give reasons and get to cross-examine the prospective juror about why this person might not be impartial. The traditions that are left are fragmentary and watered down, further whitewashing Aboriginal identity. The experience of the indigenous peoples in these two countries, with over-representation in the criminal justice system, prisons and child welfare agencies, parallels the experience in Canada for the Indian, Inuit and Metis peoples. Indigenous people are the most over-represented population in Canada’s criminal justice system. They represent only 3% of the Canadian adult population, 3 and this proportion has been increasing – in the late 1990s, it was slightly more than 10%. I do think there’s a Charter right to challenge for cause. I was involved with the Gladue (R v. Gladue) case in 1999 that said it was a crisis in our justice system the way we were failing Indigenous people. Visit http://opencuny.org/whosewinnipeg2013/ for details. One is the peremptory challenge – which is what was used here – where they simply say, “I don’t want this person on my jury” and they don’t have to give a reason. Canadian Criminal Justice System By Shaista Asmi Social Connectedness Fellow 2019 Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness www.socialconnectedness.org August 2019 . Colten Boushie in a photo posted Nov. 6, 2011 (photo via Facebook), Ellie Hisama named dean of U of T’s Faculty of Music, ‘They shall not be forgotten’: U of T marks first anniversary of Flight 752 tragedy, Brain cancer linked to tissue healing: U of T researchers, AMD’s supercomputing partnerships with U of T, other universities to take centre stage at CES, Over-policing in Black communities to be explored in new U of T public health course, Urban studies course forges bond between students and seniors during COVID-19. Not only did the correctional investigator’s report find “no new significant investments at the community level for federal aboriginal initiatives,” but Sapers has said that the government’s response to his report has been to either disagree with every recommendation or simply reinforce what the correctional service is already doing. Restorative justice differs significantly from the current Canadian system in that it focuses on addressing the root cause of the crime, allowing the offender to take responsibility for his or her own actions, repairing the damage done by the crime, and allowing everyone affected by the crime to heal. Racism in the justice system is the root cause of wrongful prosecutions and the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in prison today. This turns traditional non-hierarchical Aboriginal justice on its head, and insidiously enforces western European values of hierarchy and authoritarianism in Aboriginal communities. I don’t know whether communities in Saskatchewan were expecting a murder conviction, but personally I was surprised that the jury did not come back with a manslaughter conviction. However, restorative justice can only truly reflect Aboriginal traditions in the context of self-government. So therefore you get an acquittal on murder, but the way it works is we have an extremely broad manslaughter offense in Canada. [Simpson] jurors have gone on lots of television shows. I was very surprised that the jury did not come in with at least a manslaughter verdict. What are the chances the verdict will be appealed? How hopeful are you that this is a turning point? The Canadian criminal justice system has failed Indigenous peoples, said the Honourable Tony Mandamin during his keynote on Tuesday, Mar. It’s hard to say what the chances are that an appeal would be successful without seeing the trial or a full transcript of its proceedings. Constitutionally, recognition was given to the inherent right of self-government in the failed Charlottetown Constitutional Accord.Nonetheless, discussions continue in attempting to seek this objective, including the realization of an independent or quasi-independent Indigenous justice system. Canada’s courts are barely hiding their disdain for Indigenous people. Alarmingly, Aboriginal women, who make up only four per cent of the Canadian female population, constitute 34 per cent of the female federal inmate population. Firstly, their relationship to the Canadian state is complicated by a history of genocide and colonialism. There is no justice in the justice system for Indigenous peoples in Canada. The paper argues that an understanding of the dynamics of this relationship helps explain the way in which attitudes and responses to events such as the occupation of Ipperwash Park can be understood. Tunnel vision, eyewitness misidentification, false admissions of guilt, and ineffective assistance of counsel are all more likely to result in a miscarriage of justice if the accused is Indigenous. It has long been recognized that Indigenous Peoples are overrepresented in all points of the criminal justice system. Gladue Courts deal with all criminal offences. A separate report found that the city’s police had “failed to recognize ... against Indigenous people is not given the same level of care and attention in the Canadian justice system,” said Greg Horn. What’s more, numerous justice inquiries and commissions have found that racism is pervasive in Canada’s entire justice system; from police to prosecutors to judges. Indigenous peoples’ place in the national narrative of the “birth” of Canada has been minimized and viewed as peripheral to the dominant culture’s stories. For example, in 2014, a significantly higher proportion of Indigenous people than non-Indigenous people in Canada (aged 15+) reported being victimized in the previous … Kent Roach, a professor of law and public policy in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, says many Indigenous people are excluded from juries through peremptory challenges. Unfortunately, Parliament – and this goes for governments both Conservative and Liberal – did absolutely nothing about that. The Criminal Justice System has set up this certain criteria, which evidently happens to discriminate more against Indigenous peoples just by the virtue of the questions they have asked (LaPraire, 2002). The presence of systemic racism in Canada's justice system; and; How traditional sentencing principles and practices were failing to properly address the needs and realities of Indigenous peoples. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly declared his commitment to beginning a new prosperous relationship between Canada and its indigenous people. Canada has failed its Aboriginal peoples, leaving both sides ensnared in a broken relationship. The western European model of criminal justice was forcibly imposed upon them, as was the Canadian state itself. Clearly the mainstream justice system is failing Aboriginal people, and the situation has reached a breaking point. Specifically, we need to talk about the racism that is so natural and so ingrained in much of the population that most of you don’t realize it is even there. The goal, therefore, of Aboriginal justice reform must be self-government and a return to true restorative justice. The concern about jury selection is a real one. I’m a little worried that this will just result in comments of sympathy as opposed to concrete action. The Criminal Justice System has set up this certain criteria, which evidently happens to discriminate more against Indigenous peoples just by the virtue of the questions they have asked (LaPraire, 2002). Usually they only handle bail hearings and sentencing hearings. Throughout Canada, a number of courts have been created that deal specifically with these forms of justice. This fact sheet uses data from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization. News by. 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