Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs wants to create pilot First Nation courts to reduce incarceration
CBC
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is reimagining what a justice system could look like for First Nations people in the province, with plans to create pilot courts in two communities with processes based on First Nations' legal traditions.
As Indigenous people continue to make up a disproportionate number of people in custody and be jailed younger, denied bail more frequently and granted parole less often, the need for such a system in Manitoba is urgent, said Grand Chief Cathy Merrick.
"The statistics are well known to both Canada and Manitoba, yet they continue to tinker with the current justice system with little to no First Nation involvement," Merrick said.
"And the only measurable success they have to show for it [is] higher incarceration rates for First Nation people."
The plan is to develop one First Nation-led court in a northern Manitoba community and another in the south, she said.
The organization said it's also working on a project to restore legal traditions of the Anishinaabe (Ojibway), Nehetho/Ininew (Cree), Anishininew (Ojibwe-Cree), Denesuline (Dene) and Dakota Oyate (Dakota) people.
The proposed courts mark a "small but very vitally important step" in what will hopefully become a template that can be applied to other communities in the province, Merrick said — one that's "flexible enough to adapt to the needs of different First Nations, yet based on similar foundations and able to work with each other in the Canadian system."
It's not a new idea — an Indigenous justice system was one of the recommendations of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry's final report more than 30 years ago.
And given its large First Nations population and particularly high proportion of Indigenous people involved in the justice system, Manitoba should be leading those types of initiatives — not lagging behind, Merrick said.
While the initiative will require government co-operation and likely also funding, Merrick said her organization realized it would have to do the work to get the initiative going "with or without funding, with or without support from our treaty partners."
A Manitoba Justice spokesperson said in an email the province has not been made aware of any initiatives but is committed to reconciliation and welcomes ongoing discussion with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and all its "Indigenous stakeholder groups."
A spokesperson for Manitoba Courts said all three levels of court in the province look forward to learning more about the organization's justice initiatives as part of an ongoing dialogue with Indigenous governments, organizations and communities.
While Manitoba has restorative justice options within its existing justice system, Merrick said her organization is envisioning an entirely new system based on First Nations laws and legal traditions.
"We had our own traditional systems or processes before the settlers arrived here on Turtle Island," she said.
Strong winds across the Maritimes left thousands of N.B. Power customers without electricity on Saturday afternoon — and it could be days before all customers have their power restored.
Toronto police say they located a body inside a downtown Toronto home Saturday.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is responding to public outcry against his government’s policy changes for non-permanent residents by making a plea to the federal government.
A man in Saskatoon is in hospital after being shot by police as officers executed a warrant late Friday night.
RCMP say a man who was reported missing near Key First Nation has been found deceased.
Christy Morin says life was never the same in Alberta Avenue after the fires began.
It's small things, like a cigarette or a pair of clean socks, Rachel Montour says, that can go a long way to make you feel more human when you’re out on the street.
Several dozen members of Windsor's Chaldean community and its supporters celebrated in the cold at the corner of Marentette Avenue and Wyandotte Street East Friday, as city officials gave a secondary name to the section of Marentette between Wyandotte and Tuscarora Street: Chaldean Way.
Allison Hill says she tries to make people’s experience at the Thunder Bay Food Bank “as pleasant as possible.”
Two years after a man went missing in Scarborough, Toronto police are renewing the investigation in hopes that the public will bring forward more information.
A musical instrument created in Guelph, Ont., has been thrust onto the international stage — or rather, screen.
More than 1,000 Maritime Electric customers are without power after high winds blew across the Island Friday night into Saturday.
The Supreme Court of Canada is deliberating a case that could shape the way sentences are handed down in cases where both the offender and victim are Indigenous, which some Nunavut lawyers say could have ramifications for the Inuit-majority territory.