Supporting Indigenous-led justice and victims services in Six Nations

OHSWEKEN, ON, Dec. 13, 2023 /CNW/ - Advancing reconciliation requires supporting culturally appropriate, Indigenous-led and community-based justice services, and building policies informed by the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples. These are key to achieving systemic change in our justice system.

Today, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, joined Tim Bucci, Director of Six Nations Justice Department, to announce over $560,000 in funding to support two Indigenous-led projects of the Six Nations Justice Department that help address the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system and provide trauma-informed training that prioritizes the needs of victims.

The first project is the Gladue Aftercare Worker. This project assists Six Nations members who have gone through a Gladue report process to successfully complete their report recommendations and meet the terms of their sentence by connecting them with supports and services. These services include healing circles, spiritual care, and mental health and addiction services. The Gladue Aftercare Worker also assists individuals, family and community members who have experienced past trauma by connecting them with healing supports.

The second initiative is the We Walk Together project. It provides trauma-informed victim assistance training for Six Nations Justice Department staff and volunteers. This training aims to better equip participants with the knowledge needed to aid clients who have experienced trauma. 

Justice Canada is providing the Six Nations Justice Department with $487,500 over five years (2022-2027) for the Gladue Aftercare Worker project through the Indigenous Justice Program's Community Based Justice Fund, and $76,435 over three years (2022-2025) for the We Walk Together project through the Indigenous Justice Program's Capacity-Building Fund.

The Six Nations Justice Department is a non-profit organization guided by Haudenosaunee Legal Principles. It provides meaningful support to victims and survivors, offenders, community members, and Indigenous peoples navigating the legal system. 

"The Six Nations Justice Department welcomes this funding and sees it as an opportunity to continue providing support to victims and those accused of a crime in Brantford, Cayuga, Hamilton, and Six Nations Reserve. We will continue working to provide services free of charge with the goal of helping Indigenous peoples navigate the legal system better informed."

Tim Bucci
Director of Six Nations Justice Department

 "Investing in Indigenous-led justice services is critical to advancing reconciliation in Canada. That is why our government is supporting the Six Nations Justice Department in its work to address and reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system, both as victims and offenders. These projects, Gladue aftercare and training trauma-informed victim assistance, are helping bring systemic change to this unacceptable reality."

The Honourable Arif Virani, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

"Funding Indigenous-led justice services supports communities in assuming greater responsibility for the administration of justice. This in turn increases the access of culturally appropriate, community-based justice services informed by the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples. The Six Nations Justice Department is a valuable partner in our government's efforts to achieving systemic change in the justice system."

The Honourable Irek Kusmierczyk
Member of Parliament for Windsor-Tecumseh

• Gladue reports provide the details of the unique systemic or background factors that contributed to an Indigenous person coming into contact with the law. They may include information about community-based alternatives to incarceration and referrals to programs and services aimed at addressing the root causes of offending.
• The Indigenous Justice Program supports Indigenous community-based justice programs that offer alternatives to mainstream justice processes in appropriate circumstances. These programs support Indigenous peoples assume greater responsibility for the administration of justice in their communities. They can work at any point along the justice continuum, including prevention, diversion and reintegration.
• The Indigenous Justice Program's Capacity-Building Fund helps Indigenous communities develop knowledge and skills for the establishment and management of community programs. It also helps Indigenous communities build trust and develop partnerships with the mainstream justice system.
• In consultation and cooperation with Indigenous, provincial and territorial partners, Justice Canada is developing an Indigenous Justice Strategy to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system. The engagement phase will help identify the main issues and areas of concern for Indigenous people in relation to their overrepresentation in the justice system.
• In 2020-21, Indigenous people represented 32 per cent of those in federal prisons in Canada, but only accounted for 5 per cent of the general population. (Sources: Office of the Correctional Investigator, Statistics Canada's Population and Demography Statistics).
• In 2014, 28% of Indigenous people (aged 15+) reported being victimized in the previous 12 months, compared to 18% of non-Indigenous Canadians. The rate of violent victimization among Indigenous people was more than double that of non-Indigenous people (163 incidents per 1,000 people vs. 74 incidents per 1,000 people).
• Indigenous women had an overall rate of violent victimization that was double that of Indigenous men and close to triple that of non-Indigenous women. The rate of violent victimization for Indigenous women in 2014 was 220 violent incidents per 1,000 people, while the rate for Indigenous men was 110 per 1,000.
• The Indigenous Justice Program responds to some Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, particularly #31 which states "we call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to provide sufficient and stable funding to implement and evaluate community sanctions that will provide realistic alternatives to imprisonment for Aboriginal offenders and respond to the underlying causes of offending."
• Dec 15, 2023, marks the 8th anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation final report. This report is a testament to the courage of each and every survivor of the Indian Residential Schools system and family member who shared their story. The report includes 94 Calls to Actions to advance reconciliation.

• Six Nations Justice Department
• Indigenous Justice Program
• Indigenous Justice Strategy
• Indigenous Justice, Recognition and Reconciliation
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

• Follow the Department of Justice Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
• Follow Minister Virani on Twitter: @MinJusticeEn
• Subscribe to receive our news releases and more via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/news-nouv/rss.html.

SOURCE Department of Justice Canada