Aboriginal Justice Strategy, Summative Evaluation
2. Description of the Aboriginal Justice Strategy
- 2.1. Context
- 2.2. Program logic
- 2.3. Organizational structure
- 2.4. Resources
2. Description of the Aboriginal Justice Strategy
This section of the report describes the AJS. It discusses the policy context relating to the Strategy and describes its program logic, its management structure, and its financial resources.
2.1. Context
The AJS is one component of the federal government's response to the well-documented fact that a disproportionate number of Aboriginal people are in conflict with the law. A recent account of this problem came from the Correctional Investigator, who reported that the incarceration rate for Aboriginal people is still approximately 10 times higher than the rate for non-Aboriginal persons:
“Aboriginals account for a disproportionate share of the prison population. They represent 18 per cent of the federal prison population although they account for just 3 per cent of the general Canadian population. (…) [T]he best estimate of the overall incarceration rate for Aboriginal People in Canada is 1,024 per 100,000 adults. Using the same methodology, the comparable incarceration rate for non-Aboriginal persons is 117 per 100,000 adults.”[3]
In previous years, numerous studies have documented the problematic relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the mainstream justice system. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a particularly disturbing conclusion on this issue:
“The Canadian criminal justice system has failed the Aboriginal peoples of Canada – First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, on-reserve and off-reserve, urban and rural – in all territorial and governmental jurisdictions. The principal reason for this crushing failure is the fundamentally different world views of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people with respect to such elemental issues as the substantive content of justice and the process of achieving justice.”[4]
The Supreme Court of Canada also emphasized the far-reaching consequences of maintaining Aboriginal offenders in a system that largely fails to serve and rehabilitate them:
“Not surprisingly, the excessive imprisonment of aboriginal people is only the tip of the iceberg insofar as the estrangement of the aboriginal peoples from the Canadian criminal justice system is concerned. As this Court recently noted (…), there is widespread bias against aboriginal people within Canada, and “[t]here is evidence that this widespread racism has translated into systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system.”
(…) These findings cry out for recognition of the magnitude and gravity of the problem, and for responses to alleviate it. The figures are stark and reflect what may fairly be termed a crisis in the Canadian criminal justice system.”[5]
Other related developments were specific amendments to the Criminal Code that Parliament adopted in 1995 to deal with diversion and sentencing:
- Section 717 of the Criminal Code clarifies conditions to be met for using alternative measures (such as diversion programs funded through AJS) when dealing with a person alleged to have committed an offence.
- Sub-section 718.2 (e) of the Criminal Code dictates that
“all available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances should be considered for all offenders, with particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal offenders.”
In sum, both the funding provided to community-based justice programs and the changes to the Criminal Code reflect a desire to divert, when applicable and reasonable, offenders from the mainstream justice system, and to consider a variety of sanctions other than imprisonment when offenders—and particularly Aboriginal offenders—do end-up in the mainstream justice system.
It is in this context that the Department of Justice has been funding community-based justice programs for the past 16 years, including the past five years under the current AJS funding allocation that is the object of this evaluation.
2.2. Program logic
The AJS supports a range of activities that are expected to contribute to the achievement of specific policy goals. This section describes the AJS' program logic and is based on the model included as Figure 1 on page 9.
2.2.1. Program goals and objectives
The AJS pursues objectives that relate both to the administration of justice within Aboriginal communities and to the administration of the mainstream justice system. More specifically, the AJS pursues three objectives:
- to assist Aboriginal people to assume greater responsibility for the administration of justice in their communities;
- to reflect and include Aboriginal values within the Canadian justice system; and
- over the long term, along with other justice programs, to contribute to a decrease in the rate of victimization, crime and incarceration among Aboriginal people in communities operating AJS programs.[6]
2.2.2. Program activities and outputs
The AJS includes six program components that can be grouped into two categories, namely community-based activities, which are supported through contribution agreements, and support measures, which are carried out internally within the Department of Justice.
Community-based activities
- Community-based programs: This component stands at the core of the AJS. Through contribution agreements, the federal government covers up to 50 percent of the contribution made toward Aboriginal community-based justice programs, such as diversion, pre-sentencing options, sentencing circles, Justices of the Peace, family and civil mediation, or other related initiatives. The Aboriginal Justice Directorate signs and manages these contribution agreements, which can either be bilateral or tripartite. As a result of this contribution, the federal government expects that community-based justice programs will be implemented to serve Aboriginal communities.
- Training and development: Available to communities that do not yet have community-based programs or communities that run such programs, but require further training and capacity-building, this component offers support for training activities that address the developmental needs of communities, support the development of new programs, or support women's and victims' roles in restorative justice initiatives. The AJS may cover up to 100 percent of the activities under this component. The Aboriginal Justice Directorate signs and manages these contribution agreements. As a result of this contribution, the federal government expects that training and developmental activities will be implemented in Aboriginal communities.
- Self-government capacity building: This component supports the development of pilot projects and resource material designed to build self-government capacity. It is closely linked to self-government agreements, as it prepares Aboriginal communities to enforce their own Aboriginal laws. The AJS may cover up to 100 percent of the activities under this component. The Aboriginal Justice Directorate signs and manages these contribution agreements. As a result of this contribution, the federal government expects that self-government capacity building projects will be implemented in Aboriginal communities, particularly those that have signed self-government agreements or that are in the process of signing such agreements.
Support measures
- Policy development and support: The Aboriginal Justice Directorate, in collaboration with the Aboriginal Law and Strategic Policy group, participates in a number of departmental, interdepartmental and intergovernmental committees and working groups to support a coordinated response to Aboriginal policy and program delivery. The Directorate also conducts research and evaluation activities in support of an effective delivery of community-based activities. As a result of these activities, the Department of Justice is expected to engage in Aboriginal justice fora and provide policy advice based on research and evaluation activities.
- Outreach and Partnerships: This component was originally known as the Aboriginal Justice Learning Network (AJLN). The AJLN became Outreach and Partnerships in 2005-06. Under this new component, the Aboriginal Justice Directorate carries-out communication activities on the AJS and on Aboriginal involvement in the legal profession. As a result of these activities, stakeholders are expected to access information and promotional events relating to the administration of justice within Aboriginal communities.
- Self-government negotiations support: A legal counsel with the Department of Justice provides advice to federal negotiators involved in self-government negotiations with the First Nations. This legal counsel provides advice relating specifically to justice chapters whenever such chapters are included in the self-government agreements.
2.2.3. Expected impacts
Activities listed in the preceding subsection are expected to contribute to the achievement of the following initial outcomes:
- Access to community-based justice programs and other community services tailored to Aboriginal needs: It is expected that the federal contribution that is provided through the AJS, combined with other financial contributions (particularly those of the provinces and territories), will translate into actual access to community-based justice programs for Aboriginal communities. While the federal government established no specific target for achieving this, the extent to which AJS-funded initiatives are reaching Aboriginal offenders is a key consideration in assessing the achievement of this outcome.
- Increased capacity to implement community-based justice programs and other community-based services: Not all Aboriginal communities are in a position to effectively implement and manage community-based justice programs. Through the training and development initiatives that the AJS is funding, it is expected that a number of Aboriginal communities will increase their capacity to offer such programs or to improve the delivery of the programs they already offer.
- Increased capacity to administer and enforce Aboriginal laws: Self-government capacity building initiatives that the AJS is funding are expected to increase the capacity of First Nations to administer and enforce their Aboriginal laws, which, in turn, supports an effective implementation of self-government agreements.
- Increased knowledge of Aboriginal justice issues: The Aboriginal Justice Directorate is expected to play a leadership role in coordinating federal initiatives relating to the administration of justice in Aboriginal communities, and also in linking the federal initiatives with provincial and territorial ones.
- Increased knowledge of AJS among targeted groups: Activities funded under the former Aboriginal Justice Learning Network and the current Outreach and Partnerships component are expected to increase knowledge of the AJS among key stakeholder groups such as provincial and territorial ministries, prosecutors, judges and social workers.
- Self-government agreements adequately address Aboriginal justice requirements: The federal government expects that self-government agreements signed with the First Nations will adequately address issues relating to the administration of Aboriginal laws, and also the enforcement of federal and provincial legislation, as applicable.
The AJS activities are also expected to contribute to the achievement of three intermediate outcomes:
- Reduced crime and incarceration rates in communities with funded programs: The federal government expects that AJS-funded initiatives will reduce the victimization and crime rates in participating Aboriginal communities.
- Community-based justice programs and other community services in place: The AJS-funded activities are expected to allow more Aboriginal communities to implement community-based justice programs, and also to allow those Aboriginal communities that already have such programs to increase their capacity to administer them.
- Aboriginal laws enforced in First Nations communities: It is expected that more First Nations will successfully enforce their Aboriginal laws as a result of the AJS funded activities.
Finally, the AJS activities are expected to contribute to the achievement of three long-term outcomes:
- That Aboriginal communities assume greater responsibility for community-based justice programs and other community services in the administration of justice in their communities;
- That Aboriginal values are reflected and included in the administration of justice in Canada;
- That there be a reduction in the rates of crime, victimization and incarceration among Aboriginal peoples.
Figure 1, Logic Model - Aboriginal Justice Strategy
2.3. Organizational structure
During the first four years of the current AJS funding allocation (2002-03 to 2005-06), the Aboriginal Justice Directorate managed all components of the AJS. In June 2006, the Department of Justice realigned the AJS management structure as follows:
- It transferred the Aboriginal Justice Directorate, which was formally included in the Aboriginal Affairs Portfolio, to the Programs Branch within the Policy Sector (see Figure 2). The role of the Directorate was also redefined to focus primarily on the management of the contribution agreements signed under the AJS.
- The Department realigned the AJS related policy functions to the Aboriginal Law and Strategic Policy group within the Aboriginal Affairs Portfolio, as a result of its policy capacity. In collaboration with the Aboriginal Justice Directorate, the Aboriginal Law and Strategic Policy group leads federal-provincial-territorial working groups on Aboriginal justice issues and the renewal process for the AJS, and provides legal advice on self-government negotiations.
Figure 2, AJS Management Structure
2.4. Resources
When the federal government first launched the AJS in 1996, it allocated $4.5 million annually to the program, a figure that increased to $8.6 million annually by the end of the first funding allocation in 2000-01. While it initially allocated $11.5 million annually to AJS in the current funding allocation, the federal government applied budget-reallocation and adjustments to the AJS such that the program's actual allocation has been varying between $9.4 and $10.3 annually (see Table 1 for details).
Table 1 : AJS funding allocation
Both the Department of Justice and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada allocate funding to the AJS. The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada contributes $2 million annually while the Department of Justice contributes the remaining portion.
The Department of Justice allocates most of its AJS funds to the funding of community-based justice programs. In 2005-06, close to 70 percent of the total AJS funding went to support such programs, which provincial and territorial governments also support through direct funding or in-kind contributions.
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