Nunavut Justice Issues: An Annotated Bibliography

4.  Annotated Bibliography (continued)

Department of Justice.  Options for Court Structures in Nunavutt.  Ottawa: Department of Justice, 1997.

This document highlights the relationship with the mainstream justice system as well as the Northern environment.

General Overview

This is a discussion paper.  It does not propose particular answers.  Instead, it is intended to encourage dialogue about the issues involved.  It gives an overview of the different court structures that can be established in Nunavut after the division of the Northwest Territories and the creation of the Nunavut Territory.  The two main options available are the establishment of a Territorial court structure (representing the status quo with a Territorial Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Justices of the Peace) or a single-level trial court (a court with a single class of judges responsible for hearing all the cases at the trial level, replacing Territorial and Supreme Courts).  The author discusses the merits of each as they address the specific Nunavut context and needs.

Through the discussion a number of important issues facing justice in the North, especially justice issues for Nunavut policy-makers to consider, are highlighted.

Underlying Themes and Assumptions

Findings

Limitations of the Territorial Court: As a result of the vast geography and dispersed population in the North, the Territorial Court operates as aCircuit Court.  Inherent in that system is a number of limitations. Specifically, there are huge delays in addressing crime and Courts are not based in the communities they serve.

Territorial Court or Single Level Trial Court?  The author holds that there exists no hard data on which system is better and this discussion paper does not conclude strongly in favour of one or another.  Rather, it sets up the issues for determining the structure. 

Expanded role of the Justices of the Peace: The expansion of the roles and responsibilities of the Justices of the Peace (in criminal, civil, family and youth courts) is discussed as a way of addressing the limitations of a one-tier system and lessening the problems associated with circuit courts.  Expanding the roles of JPs would address the delay in having the matter addressed.  Delays are damaging to both the victim and the accused. The victims in small Northern communities may be in a dangerous situation when faced with a delay, while the accused is put in a unjust position by having the charge ‘hanging over’ him or her until the circuit court comes.  The time lapse creates a feeling of being subjected to an irrelevant justice process.  Expanding the role of the JP also results in greater community involvement because the JPs are residents of the community they will serve.  However, the author points out that there exists a danger in enlarging the role of the JP: the existing inequalities in the community may be reinforced through the justice system.  The author concludes that a possible way to address this is to have JP panels, instead of individuals.

Geographic and demographic realities of Nunavut and their implications: The demographics of Nunavut pose a unique challenge to a justice system.  It must address the fact that 84% of the population is Inuit, more than half are under the age of eighteen, 20% (in 1991) spoke only Inuktitut, and it is made up of small, dispersed communities spread over a quarter of Canadas land mass.  In such an environment, access to justice can be a problem as information is difficult to obtain and there are few lawyers.

Criminal activity in Nunavut: In 1996 the Northwest Territories had seven times the national average rate of reported sexual assault and over five times the national average rate of reported assaults. An understanding of and a plan of action to address the level and type of criminal activity in the region of Nunavut must be incorporated into any justice system.

Interface between Nunavut justice system and Canadian justice system: A relationship will continue to exist in a number of ways.  The Nunavut justice system must be consistent with protections guaranteed to accused persons in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  As well, there are constitutional limits on the degree to which a court system in Nunavut can be modified to reflect traditional Inuit responses to crime. 

Conclusions

The discussion paper holds that given the demographic and physical reality of Nunavut, there are specific goals and considerations that must be incorporated into any discussion of justice delivery and administration:

Department of Justice.  Inuit Visions of Justice: An Analysis of Inuit Testimony Given to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples .  Ottawa: Department of Justice, 1997.

This report highlights the Northern environment, the relationship with the mainstream criminal justice system, and issues surrounding community mobilization and/or power dynamics.

General Overview

This report gives an overview of the major justice issues and themes that came out of the Inuit testimony to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.  The focus of the testimony was not on specific programs or how the needs of Inuit communities can be specifically met, but rather represented a broad call for action and change.

For this report, the author searched the testimony given by Inuit communities and organizations to the RCAP, as they were recorded on a CD-ROM of RCAP documents. Special focus was given to the testimony that came out of Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Pangnirtung and Iqaluit, NWT.  Search techniques then depended upon location, term (“justice”) and testimony by identified Inuit individuals and organizations.

Major Themes in the Testimony

Findings from the Testimony

Lack of Inuit culture and tradition represented in the Euro-Canadian system – addressing it and overcoming it: The form and process imposed upon Inuit peoples is foreign.  Consequently, the formal system cannot deal with local or cultural issues while at the same time, the formal system’s responses are seen as inappropriate to the Inuit community.  This may result in less Inuit use of the formal system in order to protect their rights. The testimony suggests a number of ways to overcome this: give more control over programs and services to Inuit communities, allow for community control over summary (less serious) offences, make courts more accessible to Inuit, and rely more on Elders and their resources.

The need to provide alternatives for Inuit youth: Since crime is part of a larger cycle, emphasis should be placed on breaking that cycle and preventing crime.  As a result, there is a strong need to attend to the needs of youth and address boredom and idleness.  The testimony suggests that this can be done through employment, recreation and encouraging greater contact between youth and Elders.  The past and present must be linked in the community.

The need for alternative approaches to corrections and rehabilitation: The testimony speaks to the idea that crimes and disputes are the result of larger social problems, and as a result focussing on corrections and punishment are not appropriate.  Doing so does not deal with the underlying problems that brought that individual to the crime in the first place.  It is suggested by the testimony that there must be a greater emphasis put on counseling and healing the offender and enlarging the role of Elders in decision-making regarding offenders in the community.  In other words, a shift in focus must be developed.

Need to educate for change – the role of education: A long term approach has to be developed, one that addresses and supports making funds available for post-secondary education as well as for assisting Inuit youth set goals to encourage them to achieve all they can. 

Conclusion

These findings and testimonials represent a starting point for the development of community-based justice and the development of appropriate policies and programs.  It is now time to not only listen to and incorporate the ideas and experience of the community, but to recognize that something must be done.