Canada Bar Association of British Columbia’s Agenda for Justice 2021 Presents Next Steps Forward to Creating Equity and Justice for Indigenous Peoples
By Erica Fritch and Melodi Alopaeus
As we complete a year of restrictions and changes in how we interact with each other, businesses and government agencies due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Bar Association of British Columbia (the “CBABC”) has released its Agenda for Justice 2021 (the “Agenda”). CBABC calls the Agenda a “roadmap to action” and lists over 40 recommendations in 22 key areas to improve access to the justice system.
The Agenda begins with a call for justice for all British Columbians focussing on fair, modern and accessible new systems. The introduction points out that while all business sectors and the court system adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic’s pressures and demands with simpler and remote processes, other sectors (legislative reform, government funding and legal service delivery) did not adapt as effectively. The CBABC points out that expectations remain high for the modernization of the justice system, which has been slow to break with traditional ways of storing and filing documents, let alone implementing law reforms to make access to justice equitable and accessible to all. In reflecting on the past year, CBABC president Jennifer Brun says that “These issues were always apparent, but a year into the Covid-19 pandemic they have become impossible to ignore.”[1]
DGW Law director John Gailus is the Chair of the Indigenous Justice Advocacy Committee (“IJAC”), a group of lawyers who played a significant role in the development of the Agenda over the past year. A chapter in the Agenda entitled, “Meaningful Change for Indigenous Peoples,” sets out steps proposed by IJAC to advance access to justice for Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.
In this chapter, The CBABC calls out the systemic discrimination toward Indigenous peoples “at every level of the provision of government services, including how policies are framed and services are delivered in the administration of justice.”[2] The statistics back up this statement. First Nation communities are overrepresented in levels of violence and incarceration. According to Statistics Canada’s 2018 reporting, nearly a quarter of homicide victims in Canada were Indigenous.[3] The number of Indigenous women and girls that are subject to violence is so high that in 2019 the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released a report on the phenomenon titled “Reclaiming Power and Place” that contained two volumes and a total of over 1,200 pages with 231 Calls for Justice.
The BC First Nations Justice Council reported in their BC First Nations Justice Strategy (the “Strategy”) that, based on 2016-2017 data, in B.C. Indigenous women make up 5.4% of B.C.’s population but account for 47% of new admissions to adult corrections and Indigenous men, who are also 5.4% of B.C.’s population, account for 30% of new admissions.[4] Data for Indigenous youth for the same year is even more staggering. Indigenous youth make up 8% of the youth population in B.C., yet 44% of new male admissions are male Indigenous youth and 60% of new female admissions are female Indigenous youth.[5] The need for a change at the systemic level has never been more clear.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (“TRC”) published their 94 Calls to Action for reconciliation. Calls 25 through 42 fall under the heading Justice, including Call 30:
We call upon federal, provincial and territorial governments to commit to eliminate the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody over the next decade, and to issue detailed annual reports that monitor and evaluate progress in doing so.[6]
With all the past studies, reports, news stories and personal experience in mind, the CBABC’s Agenda recommendations related to Indigenous peoples fall under four categories:
Moving Forward with DRIPA
The BC Government should move forward with section 3 of DRIPA: “In consultation and cooperation with the Indigenous peoples in British Columbia, the government must take all measures necessary to ensure the laws of British Columbia are consistent with the Declaration”[7]
BC First Nation Justice Strategy (the “Strategy”)
To transform Indigenous peoples’ experiences in the criminal justice system, the BC Government should provide adequate funding and resources to fully implement the Strategy.
Restorative Justice
Combined with the proven value of restorative justice programs, which recognize that both people and communities are harmed by crime and therefor both have a role to play in seeking a just outcome, CBABC calls on the BC Government to develop a Restorative Justice Strategy and Action Plan in consultation with the Restorative Justice Association of BC, First Nations Justice Council and Metis Nation BC Justice Council, BC Community Corrections, police, Crown Counsel and other legal stakeholders and restorative justice providers. This includes increasing funding to restorative justice associations and societies and continued funding to educate police, Crown Counsel, criminal defense counsel and BC Community Corrections teams about the benefit of and access to restorative justice programs.
Rural Access to Lawyers and Technology
Rural areas, including Indigenous communities, provide limited options for residents to access legal information and services, even with online options. Lawyers in rural areas are few in part because student debt upon graduation compels lawyers to seek higher paying jobs in cities. The Agenda recommends implementing a student loan forgiveness program similar to that established for doctors and nurses, to encourage lawyers to practice in remote areas. The Agenda further recommends the BC Government provide rural communities and Indigenous communities with high-speed internet access, sufficient computer equipment and up-to-date training to access and participate in court and justice services.
It is time for Canada and British Columbia to deliver on their promises of reconciliation. Adding to the work of the TRC’s 2015 Calls to Action, 2019’s Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the BC First Nations Justice Council Justice Strategy signed March 6, 2020, the CBABC’s 2021 Agenda provides clear steps that would bring meaningful change in the realm of law and justice for Indigenous peoples.
[1] https://www.cbabc.org/News-Media/In-The-Media/2021/Agenda-offers-roadmap-to-action?utm_source=Mar_9_2021&utm_medium=A4J_LD&utm_campaign=News+Jobs
[2] https://s3.amazonaws.com/tld-documents.llnassets.com/0025000/25042/agendaforjustice2021.pdf
[3] https://s3.amazonaws.com/tld-documents.llnassets.com/0025000/25042/agendaforjustice2021.pdf
[4] https://bcfnjc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Justice-Strategy-Summary.pdf
[5] https://bcfnjc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Justice-Strategy-Summary.pdf
[6] https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf
[7] https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/19044#section3