Courses Included in This Bundle
Welcome to the National Judicial Institute’s bundle on Indigenous Over-Representation in the Criminal Justice System. This bundle will explore the crisis in detail, from many different perspectives.
The General Introduction sets out the overall framework of the course and explains the guiding principles and perspectives.
Understanding Indigeneity touches on the meaning of Indigeneity, definitions of key terms, and considers both legal constructions and personal experiences. We also touch on how judges can handle matters of identity in the courtroom.
Over-Representation: The Facts turns to statistics to consider rates of Indigenous over-representation in general as well as for Indigenous women and youth. This course provides an overview of Supreme Court of Canada case law from Gladue and Ipeelee through to R v Sharma, 2022 SCC 39.
How the Past Informs Today examines the enduring impacts of colonization on Indigenous Peoples in Canada, with a particular focus on how the legacy of colonialism continues to contribute to the significant over-representation of Indigenous persons in the criminal justice system.
The NJI is actively working on several additional courses for this bundle and these will be released on a rolling basis through 2024.
Acknowledgements
This course is being developed with a Judicial Planning Committee comprised of the following judges. We are thankful for their generosity of time and contributions:
1. The Honourable Justice Ken Champagne, Court of King's Bench of Manitoba
2. The Honourable Judge Kael McKenzie, Provincial Court of Manitoba
3. The Honourable Justice Stacy Ryan, Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador
4. The Honourable Chief Justice Shannon Smallwood, Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories
5. The Honourable Judge Karen Whonnock, Provincial Court of British Columbia
6. The Honourable Marion Buller, Chancellor, University of Victoria
7. The Honourable Leonard S. (Tony) Mandamin, Retired, Federal Court - Trial Division
