'A misunderstanding': Northerners question failing grades on new justice report card

Some Northern officialsare giving a new report evaluating the country's justice systems an A for effort, but say itinaccurately reflectsthe reality in Yukon, the N.W.T. andNunavut due to"significant flaws"in methodology.

The report, co-authored by associate professors Benjamin Perrin and Richard Audas of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, is based mostly on data available from Statistics Canada.

Each territory and province is given a letter grade for "five major objectives" of the justice system, according to the authors: public safety, support for victims, costs and resources, fairness and access to justice, and efficiency.

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Out of all 13 provinces and territories, Yukon placed 13th. Manitoba placed 12th, followed by the N.W.T. and thenNunavut.

The three territories were the only regions in the country to get Fs they got two each.

One for the high cost of running the justice systems everything from the cost per inmate to the number of RCMP officers per capita and the other for a lack ofsupport for the victims of crimes.

'Misunderstanding... of reality'

Some people say the authors were too quick to fail the North.

Brad Cathers, Yukon's minister of justice, says the authors shouldn't assume investing in the justice system and spending more money is necessarily a bad thing.

Cathers says his department deliberately hired at least 10 more RCMP officers "to better improve our crime reduction measures." He sees that as a positive move.

"To cast the spending on policing as a negative when in fact it's something that we've made a choice in response to the needs identified by the RCMP... is, in our opinion, quite frankly, a misunderstanding of Yukon reality."

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Cathers also takesissue with the failing grade given to Yukon for its support for victims.

The report calculates that grade based on the number of victims that receive restitution, and by the number of victims who were referred to a support program by a group that would track that, like the RCMP.

Cathers says that calculationsimply doesn't paint an accurate picture.

"Those referrals can come in through other departments and through NGOs as well as through self-referral.

"Not to capture those numbers in the report is, from our perspective, a flaw in methodology."

Nunavut is 'fundamentally failing'

An official in Nunavut says anF for victim supportis accurate for her territory.

MadeleineRedfern, the chair of the legal services board ofNunavutandthe mayor ofIqaluit,says the territory is "fundamentally failing" when it comes to support groups for victims as well as offenders.

"The reality is we don't have resident mental-health workers in every community, there are no addictions treatment centres.

"The support services are absolutely needed and necessary."

Redfern does agreethat it's hard to completely understand the North's justice systems through a report that compares the territoriesto southern provinces.

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She argues thatthere aremany additional considerations such as the high cost of flying judges and lawyers around the territory to do their work.

"While I do think the grades for most of the different criteria were accurate, it is very difficult, as I said, to have a fair, comparative analysis with the other regions."

The authors of the report the first of its kindhope it will become an annual exercise for the territories and provinces across the country.

Yukon's report card:

• Overall: C
• Public safety: C
• Support of victims: F
• Costs and resources: F
• Fairness and access: B+
• Efficiency: B+

N.W.T.'s report card

• Overall: C
• Public Safety: C+
• Support for victims: F
• Costs and resources: F
• Fairness and access: B+
• Efficiency: A

Nunavut's report card

• Overall: C+
• Public safety: C
• Support for victims: F
• Costs and resources: F
• Fairness and access: A+
• Efficiency: A