'Urgency' needed to meet Gladue requirements in B.C. for Indigenous offenders

The B.C. government says it plans to double the number of Gladue Reports produced for Indigenous offenders as it works to address the high number of Indigenous people in prisons.

Gladue reports providejudges with comprehensive information about life circumstances, historic trauma, and systemic racism during hearings for sentencing, bail and parole.

The reports also include recommendations on potential alternatives to prison, such as restorative justice programs.

According to B.C.'s Ministry of the Attorney General,only 117 formal Gladue reports have been produced in this fiscal year even though about 600 offenders who required pre-sentence reports identified as Aboriginal.

"It's not adequate to address the full need. There's no question," said David Eby, B.C.'s Attorney General.

Gladue rights for Indigenous offenders are the result of a1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision that aimedto address the over representation of Aboriginal people in Canada's prisons.

But justicesystems across the country havebeen slow to effectively implement the legal requirement.

A recent report card on Canada's justice systemalso found B.C. has disproportionately highrates of Indigenous incarcerations.

"I really feel the urgency around this. The Supreme Court of Canada was quite clear in their instructions to B.C. for the need for these reports to be prepared for Indigenous offenders. Period," Eby said.

'Significant shortfall'

To help with the shortfall,the provincial budget in February included funding to produce up to 300 Gladue reports in the next fiscal year.

The province has also set aside about $700,000 to work with the B.C. Aboriginal Justice Council, and other organizations, on policy development, digital resources, and a provincial Gladue coordination office.

"In terms of where we have been, it's a very significant increase and an important development in provincial policy," said Doug White, a memberof the B.C. AboriginalJustice Council.

"In terms of the actual need though, it continues to be a significant shortfall."

Without the resources to produce enoughformal Gladuereports, limited Gladue informationis often includedin pre-sentence reports instead, White said.

"It's very ineffective when it is done that way, so this new funding by the provincial government, it will significantly help with that."

New opportunities

As it stands,Gladuewriters in B.C. work as independent contractors for the Legal Services Society.

Mitch Walker, vice-chairperson and co-founder of the Gladue Writers Society of British Columbia, said the need for Gladue reports could be better served by creatingfull-time writer positionswithin regional Indigenous governments.

"Justice has always been happening to First Nations populations. There has not been a lot of involvement in the actual process," he said.

Although progress has been slow on Gladue, Walker said he's seen a distinct shift in recent years in the way people who work in the justice system view the requirements.

Instead of being seen as extra work, qualityreports are being seenas an effective and valuable tool by lawyers and judges, he said.

Training required

Producing more high qualityGladue reportswill also require more workto recruit and train writers, saidCarleton University law professor Jane Dickson,who isleading a national study on the how the courts are usingGladueinformation.

"We have been really strapped in this country for good training forGladuewriters," said Dickson,

Some training programs are being offered in B.C., including plans for thefirst accredited writer's training at Vancouver Community College, and anew onlinecourse through the Indigenous Perspectives Society in Victoria.

The next step is a set of standards for both the reports and the training of writers, Dickson said.

"Having that in place, maybe we can begin to achieve those remedial goals which are so crucial to the ongoing healing and wellness of Indigenous communities."