Introduction

By Jane Evans1

Systemic discrimination of First Nations, Inuit and Métis is a serious and persistent problem that has led to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Canada’s criminal justice system.2

It is within this context and in the spirit of reconciliation that the Government of Canada is working in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous partners and provincial and territorial governments to develop an Indigenous Justice Strategy. The development of an Indigenous Justice Strategy through meaningful collaboration is consistent with the Principles Respecting the Government of Canada’s Relationship with Indigenous Peoples.3 It is also in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act,4 addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action,5 and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice.6 To date, several activities have taken place to gather community knowledge and inform the development an Indigenous Justice Strategy.

In 2021, Justice Canada received funding to support First Nations-, Inuit- and Métis-led engagements (2022–2024) to gain insight from communities and organizations on how to address systemic barriers in the criminal justice system. In addition, Justice Canada led a series of distinctions-based and regional engagement sessions (2022–2023) to identify concrete actions that could be undertaken in the areas of crime prevention, policing and diversion, courts, corrections, and reintegration. The importance of social supports (e.g., health, mental health, housing, education, employment) in improving the experiences and outcomes of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in contact with the Canadian justice system was discussed. The importance of supporting the revitalization of Indigenous justice systems, self-determination and legislative reforms were key themes that emerged out of these engagement sessions.

In addition to supporting community engagements, Justice Canada commissioned a series of thought papers written by Indigenous legal experts, to help identify what an Indigenous Justice Strategy in Canada could include. The authors were asked to provide aspirational visions for the future—a path forward, using strength-based approaches to complement and expand previous work by researchers, inquiries, and commissions that have documented challenges and problems with the justice system. The purpose of these papers was to help facilitate a decolonizing approach7 to informing an Indigenous Justice Strategy, by providing a space for diverse Indigenous perspectives that respects Indigenous values, philosophies and knowledge.

To this end, the four papers included in this report were written to reflect First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Indigenous urban perspectives on justice and the development of an Indigenous Justice Strategy. It is important to note that there is diversity within each of these distinctive groups, and that the perspectives shared within these papers are those of the authors and not of an entire group of people.

The first paper entitled “‘Blanketing’: Justice for First Nations People in Canada” by Sarah Morales provides recommendations for developing an Indigenous Justice Strategy from a First Nations perspective. She considers the concept of justice through Coast Salish legal traditions and the practice of blanketing. She also examines a holistic approach to justice that focuses on human rights, wellness, prevention and healing.

The second paper, “Creating an Indigenous Justice Strategy, an Aspirational Paper from Inuit Perspectives” by Elizabeth Zarpa and Sarah Arngna’naaq, starts off with a brief history of Inuit in Canada and the Circumpolar World to raise awareness about how Canada’s justice system affects Inuit. The authors provide recommendations for developing and implementing an Indigenous Justice Strategy from an Inuit perspective. Specifically, they look at what systems, organizations and agencies need to be involved in the development of an Indigenous Justice Strategy as a first step toward developing an Indigenous justice law, a sustainable solution to addressing the overrepresentation of Indigenous people within the justice system.

The third paper, “Metis8 Perspectives on Justice: Reweaving Kinship and Recognizing Non-Duality” by Kerry Sloan, looks at strengthening the Metis concept of “wahkotowin”, or kinship, in order to achieve justice. This involves “reanimating” four key areas of Metis life that were disrupted by colonialism: family, land, diplomacy and knowledge transmission, through the implementation of Metis laws and other cultural practices. The metaphor of the “ceinture flechée,” the traditional Metis multi-coloured or arrow sash, is used to describe both how wahkotowin has been broken and how it can be repaired. The paper concludes with some practices that could be used to reconstitute wahkotowin and restore health to Metis people.

The final paper, “Towards Justice for Urban Indigenous Communities in Canada” by Aaron Mills, begins with a discussion on internal colonialism as the source of systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. The paper continues to outline the solution of returning legal authority (legality) to urban Indigenous communities and that the development of the Indigenous Justice Strategy should be oriented toward concepts of wellness rather than justice. Rather than providing detailed recommendations, the paper seeks to highlight new possibilities for how Indigenous law should be understood within an Indigenous Justice Strategy.

Although each paper is unique, collectively they outline the impacts of colonialism, overrepresentation and systemic discrimination of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. They discuss Indigenous concepts of justice and law that focus on health, well-being and prevention. They also call for an Indigenous Justice Strategy that is flexible and structured to empower Indigenous peoples to define their own systems of justice based on their own legal orders and laws.

These papers were written to not only advance discussions taking place by those engaged in the development of the Indigenous Justice Strategy, but also to help foster new ways of thinking about justice so that fundamental change can occur.