3. Methodology

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This study involved an environmental scan and a case law review, which expands on an initial review of case law undertaken by Justice Canada in 2019.^{Footnote 34} The environmental scan was conducted between June and July 2023 to identify individuals, organizations and institutions that provide Gladue report writing services or report writing training. Publicly available Canadian websites were searched, including those for provincial and territorial governments, post-secondary institutions, legal aid programs, Indigenous courtwork programs, and friendship centres. The term “Gladue” was used to search these websites followed by a general search using Google for “Gladue report [province/territory name].” Throughout the scan, when additional sources were identified (e.g., LinkedIn), they were also reviewed.

Organizations that provide Gladue report writing and training programs were identified and key information about the programs was collected. This included contact information, program description, program costs, and whether the organization, company or trainers identify as Indigenous.^{Footnote 35} Additionally, for the training programs, information was collected on whether the trainees can obtain a “certification,”^{Footnote 36} and if so, by whom and with what credentials.

The initial 2019 case law review (cases from 2000, 2010 and 2018) was expanded to include all English language cases in CanLII^{Footnote 37} between January 1, 2019, and September 30, 2021^{Footnote 38} that used the term “Gladue” (excluding administrative tribunals). Only English language cases^{Footnote 39} were included in the review and only cases from Gladue or Indigenous courts^{Footnote 40} were included if the court is linked to a provincial court and was registered in the CanLII system.

In total 2,688 cases were listed in the CanLII referenced the term Gladue or the Gladue decision during the six years reviewed for this study. Of these, only 802 cases involved an Indigenous offender and only 530 cases of the 802 cases included a decision where the court explicitly applied or considered Gladue principles and section 718.2(e). These 530 cases formed the sample for this study, with most cases (77%) being heard between 2019 and 2021.

Each province and territory is represented in the sample of cases reviewed. Over half (55%) of the 530 cases that considered Gladue principles were heard in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario (see Figure 1). Of the 530 cases, 38% included a Gladue report, with British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec the largest contributors. The lower use of Gladue reports in Nunavut may be a result of not having a publicly funded Gladue report writing program as well as the court’s perception^{Footnote 41} that they are unnecessary since the courts are already knowledgeable about the historical and systemic factors impacting Indigenous peoples and that they consider them in their decision-making on a regular basis.^{Footnote 42}

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