Organizations may submit proposals to tackle bias and barriers faced by Indigenous peoples
David Lametti, federal justice minister and attorney general, has announced a call for proposed projects informed by Gladue Principles, for which the Department of Justice Canada’s Indigenous Justice Program has set aside funding of $10 million over four years.
Lametti urged organizations to submit proposals by Aug. 5. The principles in R. v. Gladue, 1999 CanLII 679 (SCC), [1999] 1 SCR 688 recognize the need for:
“Indigenous peoples are alarmingly overrepresented in Canada’s criminal justice system,” said Lametti in a statement. “By providing support for projects informed by Gladue Principles, our government is helping bring systemic change to address this unacceptable reality.”
The federal government will support projects that seek to advance the knowledge and understanding of criminal justice professionals regarding the root causes of Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and regarding Indigenous and restorative justice programs and other community-led options to deal with crime.
Proposed projects may also promote Indigenous-led community, regional and national efforts to improve policies, practices, processes and structures for addressing systemic barriers and discrimination faced by Indigenous peoples.
More specifically, according to the justice department’s backgrounder, proposed initiatives may have the following goals:
The funding is part of total investments of $49.3 million, as proposed in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, aiming to support the implementation of Gladue Principles in the criminal justice system in accordance with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 30, 31 and 38 and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report’s Calls for Justice 5.11, 5.15 and 5.16.
On June 29, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada urged Canadian authorities to work toward promptly implementing Canada’s Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was passed by the Senate on June 16 and which received royal assent on June 21.
The legislation requires the federal government to take the needed measures to ensure that Canadian laws adhere to the UNDRIP, in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples and with other federal ministers; to implement the UNDRIP’s international legal standards that it has officially endorsed without qualification; and to develop and implement an action plan for attaining the UNDRIP’s objectives.
“LRWC has long been concerned about Canada’s persistent failure to keep its promises regarding Indigenous Peoples and its failure to uphold the internationally protected rights of Indigenous Peoples,” Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada said.
