Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Jeff Richstone. I am the Director General and Senior General Counsel in the HQ Counsel Group of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the PPSC. With me this morning is my colleague Marke Kilkie, General Counsel in our group.
I will start by speaking in general terms about the act that establishes our service and about our mandate. Mr. Kilkie will talk about the protocol we have established to help Indigenous Communities combat the pandemic. Pursuant to the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, the PPSC is an independent federal entity that initiates and conducts federal prosecutions on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada.
There has existed for many years a gap with respect to the prosecution of Indigenous Community laws. Those laws are enacted by communities under a number of law-making authorities, but the common theme is the nation-to-nation relationship that Indigenous Communities share with Canada.
The prosecution of these laws is not part of PPSC’s mandate. Essentially, our function is to conduct prosecutions of federal statutes on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada. Reconciling the unique law-making authorities of Indigenous Communities with the traditional criminal justice system is a complex issue engaging the mandates of several federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, as well as Indigenous Communities themselves.
Despite our limited statutory role, PPSC is committed to working with partners to explore options and develop long-term solutions. To that end, prior to the pandemic, PPSC was in the early stages of initiating discussions with other stakeholders to see how to bring this issue to the forefront, in the hope of identifying solutions to fit the needs of Indigenous Communities.
I will now hand the floor to my colleague Mr. Kilkie, who will continue with our opening remarks.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.