One of the five focus areas
of The Journey Together is "creating a more cultural
responsive and relevant justice system." Reform of correctional facilities
are central towards this goal. In 2015, Indigenous peoples made up 25% of the
incarcerated population in Canada, well above the population of Indigenous
peoples outside prisons.
Chiefs in Assembly
Resolution 04/31 (First Nations Peoples and the Criminal Justice System in
Ontario) concluded that there is a need to examine the justice system in
Ontario and improve relations, policies and procedures, and Resolution 10/13 (Establishment
of the Justice and Corrections Leadership Roundtable) called for a justice
forum to discuss correctional facilities and services. Finally, Resolution
13/47 (A Strategy to Work Towards the Reconciliation of
Overrepresentation of First Nations Peoples in the Justice and Correctional
Systems) directly addressed the problems of overrepresentation in prisons,
calling for access to justice for First Nations peoples, and declarations of
responsibility of First Nation leadership to ensure that justice is provided in
a culturally appropriate way. It also designated overrepresentation of First
Nations people in prisons as a priority area for the Justice Forum.
Correctional Transformation
was addressed in The Journey Together with the following
commitment:
“Ontario
continues to engage with Indigenous partners to develop options to address
Indigenous overrepresentation in the correctional system, guided by the
Correctional Services Transformation Strategy, which includes providing more
culturally responsive programming to those in the system.”
Problematically, there is
no publicly facing documentation concerning the Strategy, so while this
strategy is guiding the province's actions, there is little to no clarity
concerning the contents of the strategy.
The Ministry of Community
Safety and Correctional Services has been working to engage with First Nations
to provide cultural supports and healing services for incarcerated First Nation
peoples. Engagement sessions with 125 First Nation participants in Ontario led
to 80 recommendations and next steps concerning the correctional system.
Some of the key results
from these engagement sessions include the establishment of a policy framework
for working within First Nations corrections, embedding Indigenous spiritual
and cultural services into correctional plans, working with First Nation
communities to develop plans moving forwards, expanding services, and exploring
dedicated healing unites for Indigenous prisoners.
More recently the province
has undertaken a review of the use of segregation in prisons, as well as a more
fulsome review of the entire system. For more details on that review, see this post.
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