Appendix 1
Information for Participants
Thank you for participating in this consultative session. Your input will be used to help develop Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.
Introduction
Canada’s Black Justice Strategy is a project supported by DESTA Black Community Network, an association supporting Black Montreal youth 18-35 in their financial and educational growth. This research is also being supported by the Black Community Resource Centre (BCRC).
Purpose
This is a community-led process that will provide the government with recommendations to reduce the involvement of Black people in the criminal justice system and eliminate anti-Black racism and discrimination in Canadian policing, courts and correctional systems.
Your ideas and suggestions will be provided to Canada’s Black Justice Strategy Steering Group, a collection of Black people from across Canada who have experience working in or with the criminal justice system.
The Steering Group will produce a report to the Minister of Justice, anticipated to be made public in the spring of 2024, that will include a summary of the ideas and suggestions received, and will provide recommendations. Your name and identifying information will be kept confidential and will not appear in the report.
Confidentiality
We will begin by gathering background information that will be kept confidential, but it is important for the Steering Group to have in order to understand the circumstances of Black people in Canada. While it is voluntary for you to provide this information, our communities are very diverse, and we want to make sure that that diversity is reflected in the report.
Risks and discomforts
There is a risk that you may feel uncomfortable talking about some of the topics included in this questionnaire which include:
- Past interactions with police and law enforcement, from your perspective or a loved one’s
- Recalling of time spent in court/tribunal, from your perspective or a loved one’s
- Recalling of time spent in jail/prison, from your perspective or a loved one’s
- Experiencing of hate crimes and other violent acts
- Experiencing deportation and other interactions with immigration services
- and the sharing of personal information. If you feel any discomfort, you may stop the focus group at any time and/or refuse to answer any question you want.
Data collection and confidentiality
These focus groups will be recorded and transcribed for data analysis purposes then raw data will be deleted. Name and images of the participants will not be shared outside of the focus groups and all data will be anonymize in final reports.
Contact us
Should you have any question or concerns regarding the project, please do not hesitate to contact us:
call us at 514-664-5042, or reach us by email at support@destabyn.org
I, the undersigned, indicate I understood the information provided to me about the project and my voluntary participation to take part in this research.
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