Indigenous Law Centre Gladue Awareness Project Final Report

The Indigenous Law Centre at the University of Saskatchewan has published the final report of the Gladue Awareness Project.

It looks at the crisis of Indigenous over-incarceration in Saskatchewan and the justice system’s response:

"The Gladue Awareness Project has aimed to foster greater knowledge of the Gladue decision and its implementation in Saskatchewan. The Gladue decision was released by the Supreme Court of Canada approximately twenty years ago to address what judges must consider when sentencing Indigenous people. The Supreme Court took it as an opportunity to clearly acknowledge the disproportionate rates at which Indigenous people are sentenced to prison in Canada and interpret Parliament’s response to this crisis through a 1996 amendment to the Criminal Code. The Court also took note of how Indigenous over-incarceration has been linked to the systemic discrimination that Indigenous people face throughout Canada’s criminal justice system, as well as the complex and devastating intergenerational legacies of the residential school system and settler colonialism faced by Indigenous peoples across the country (...)"

"The primary focus of this project has been on sharing information about the Gladue decision and the unique considerations involved in the sentencing of Indigenous people with all those who work in or are exposed to the criminal justice system in this province. This final report not only summarizes the work completed through the project to date but may also provide a baseline for future research and education in the area. Among other things, it introduces sections 718 and 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code and summarizes how reported cases from Saskatchewan have engaged with, discussed, and applied the Gladue decision and related case law from the Supreme Court of Canada. By raising awareness and sharing information it is hoped that this project will assist others in their own work addressing Indigenous over-incarceration in Saskatchewan."