Consultation with Canadians report - Criminal Justice System

3. Background

The Government of Canada is undertaking a broad review of Canada’s criminal justice system to ensure that it is just, compassionate and fair, and promotes a safe, peaceful and prosperous Canadian society. This review originated from the mandate letter to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. In particular, the Minister was instructed to “conduct a review of the changes in our criminal justice system and sentencing reforms over the past decade with a mandate to assess the changes, ensure that we are increasing the safety of our communities, getting value for money, addressing gaps and ensuring that current provisions are aligned with the objectives of the criminal justice system.”

As part of the broader review, the Government of Canada has held extensive consultations with stakeholders and Canadians across the country to discuss how we can transform the criminal justice system. These included 19 provincial and territorial stakeholder roundtables with representatives from non-governmental organizations representing victims, offenders, police, prosecutors, and defence lawyers, members of professional legal associations, judges, provincial and territorial government officials, academics, mental health professionals, and Indigenous leaders and communities. A What We Heard report describes the findings from these discussions, including concerns with the criminal justice system, and calls for different approaches for people with mental health and addictions issues in the system, collaborative approaches that partner with other social systems, the private sector and others in the criminal justice system, increased use of restorative justice, and addressing victims’ issues with compassion and fairness and allowing survivors of crime to be heard.

A public consultation on transforming the criminal justice system took place from November 27, 2017 to January 31, 2018. The Department of Justice worked in partnership with a firm (Hill and Knowlton Strategies) that provided professional services to design, deliver and report on a stakeholder and citizen engagement program in support of the Criminal Justice System Review. Consultation in the development of the engagement also included other government departments including Public Safety, Correctional Services Canada, Health Canada, and Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. The goal of the public consultation was to educate the public on issues facing the criminal justice system and seek their input on what could be changed. The consultation presented scenarios and alternative approaches for:

This report summarizes the views and opinions expressed by participants during this public consultation. Verbatim quotes from participants are included throughout the report and are italicized.