Summary

The Clinique juridique de Saint-Michel (CJSM) carried out public consultations with Francophone communities of African descent across Quebec. Public engagement proved to be extremely difficult, primarily due to the very short timeframe for carrying out the public consultations, fear of retaliation and “consultation fatigue” observed in the target group. However, a few key points arose from these consultations. Poverty and employment discrimination create significant stress among some individuals of African descent, leading some of them to commit crimes just to survive.

In addition, fear of the justice system in general, and police in particular, is a reality that was mentioned many times during the public consultations in all the regions visited. This is particularly true for people with a precarious status in Canada, such as workers with a closed work permit.

Lastly, Black offenders are a minority within correctional institutions, which raises significant concerns in terms of racism and discrimination. Moreover, victims of crime feel that the relevant authorities do not take them seriously.