Canadas Mass Incarceration of Indigenous People
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Dear Friend,
As the BCCLA continues to work towards systemic change in the criminal legal system, we’re seeing Canada’s mass incarceration of Indigenous people only worsening.
Over twenty years ago, the Supreme Court declared that the over-representation of Indigenous people in Canadian prisons was a crisis for the criminal legal system. If it was a crisis then, Canada now faces a catastrophe, and one of its own making. I write about this in our latest Commentary series:
"In the past two decades, while the overall number of people imprisoned in Canada has decreased, the number of Indigenous people in prison continues to rise."
Read Part 1: the Mass Incarceration of Indigenous People in Canada
Where police are willing to issue warnings rather than arrests, where prosecutors are willing to stay charges, where courts are willing to encourage rehabilitation and diversion programs, or where prison guards are willing to... show compassion, such allowances are rarely, if ever, being made for Indigenous people.
Through their recent reports, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) made several Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (NIMMIWG) vital Calls for Justice. These recommendations include providing “alternatives to imprisonment” and “expanding restorative justice programs and People’s courts.”.
Read our latest Commentary: the Mass Incarceration of Indigenous People in Canada
The endurance of systemic racism and ongoing colonialism indicates the urgent need for the Canadian government to make substantive reforms at every level.
Canada must, with no further delay, implement these TRC and NIMMIWG calls and take accountability now.
Thank you,
Safiyya Ahmad (she/her)
Articling Student
P.S. The second part of this series will address the shortcomings of Bill C-5 (a recent attempt to address the mass incarceration crisis by amending the Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act), which passed into law in 2022. Watch for it next month.
