1 Introduction

The focus of this report is on the underlying causes of overrepresentation of Black people in the Canadian criminal justice system. It also refers to related reports which identify gaps in efforts to address the problem and potential ways to mitigate the issues. This is a literature review and, as such, is based on materials already in the public domain.Footnote 1

Overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system is not a new problem and has received attention from governments, non-governmental organizations, communities and individuals for many years. In 1989 and 1995, respectively, a Royal Commission and a Commission of Inquiry both addressed issues of systemic discrimination and injustice affecting Black people in the criminal justice system,Footnote 2 as have many policy papers, academic articles and books. In recognition of the realities and the problems identified by experts, justice system personnel, victims and accused individuals involved with the system, the Department of Justice Canada appointed an external Steering Group of nine experts and leaders from Black communities across Canada. Their first task was to review all existing reports and studies to guide community consultations to inform the development of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy. The Steering Group’s final report – A Roadmap for Transformative Change – with 114 recommendations was published in June 2024.Footnote 3 The Implementation Plan – Toward Transformative Change: an Implementation Plan for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy – designed to identify the Government of Canada actions and commitments to reduce the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system was released in 2025.Footnote 4

The external Steering Group Report and the Implementation Plan both recognize a fundamental principle laid out in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 that continues to underlie policy formation with respect to social and legal rights:

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.Footnote 5

Yet equality without racial discrimination is still not a given in Canada. A Working Group representing the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly visited Canada in 2017 and produced a report entitled Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its Mission to Canada. The Working Group investigated social and legal institutions and Canadian society generally. While it identified many positive aspects of Canadian society, two broad conclusions are especially noteworthy. The first lays the foundation for the conditions Black people face:

[T]he Working Group is deeply concerned by the structural racism that lies at the core of many Canadian institutions and the systemic anti-Black racism that continues to have a negative impact on the human rights situation of African Canadians.Footnote 6

With respect to the criminal justice system:

The Working Group is particularly concerned about the overrepresentation of African Canadians in the criminal justice system, which may be attributed to racial bias at all levels of the system, from racial profiling to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, the imposition of pretrial incarceration and disparities in sentencing.Footnote 7

Thirty years ago, an Ontario Commission of Inquiry concluded the following:

Systemic racism, the social process that produces racial inequality in how people are treated, exists in the Ontario criminal justice system. Commission findings leave no doubt that racialized people experience the system as unfair and that at key points in the administration of justice, the exercise of discretion has a harsher impact on black than white people.Footnote 8

More recently, the external Steering Group observed the following:

The harms of the past continue to influence the operation of the modern Canadian justice system in which Black people are overrepresented and disproportionately experience negative outcomes.Footnote 9

This report addresses the major challenges facing Black people that can lead to increased risk of involvement with the criminal justice system. Long standing anti-Black racism and discrimination throughout Canadian society is a fundamental cause of socio-economic marginalization, poverty, inadequate housing, relatively few employment and educational opportunities, and a lack of effective mental health services. These factors can increase risks of criminal justice system involvement. The subsequent exposure to the discriminatory outcomes of the criminal justice system can further exacerbate the problems facing Black people, especially youth.