Okay, I'll slow down.
In other words, it is not the existence of conditional sentences that is problematic, but, rather, their use in cases that seem clearly to call for incarceration.
We would not like to see a fear-based response to crime that would eventually hurt especially vulnerable populations, such as aboriginal women and youth.
Aboriginal women are often convicted of crimes that are related to poverty and crimes that are related to their own victimization. Many of these crimes are currently eligible for conditional sentencing under sections 742.1 to 742.7 of the Criminal Code. More emphasis should be placed upon providing the resources necessary to ensure the safety of aboriginal women and their children within their homes and communities and within society in general. Initiatives are also needed to improve the standard of living conditions for aboriginal women and their children. Without first resolving these issues, Bill C-9 will further compound the issue of overrepresentation of aboriginal women in the prison system.
Aboriginal women play an integral role within our communities. They are the givers of life and are central to aboriginal traditions, government, community, and our ceremonies. They are responsible for maintaining a collective efficacy of our communities. Given that Bill C-9 will result in an increase in the incarceration of aboriginal women, it is predictable that these communities will suffer culturally as collective efficacy diminishes.
It is clear from the Minister of Justice for Saskatchewan that the concerns of compounding the problem of overrepresenting aboriginal populations in jails and prisons is a factor to be considered in this legislation. Mr. Frank Quennell, Minister of Justice for Saskatchewan, has said many times that measures that limit conditional sentences could put at risk the province's unique justice programs aimed at its large aboriginal population. Aboriginal people now make up one in five admissions to the Canadian Correctional Service system, while they represent only 3% of the general population. The justice minister from Saskatchewan stated that Saskatchewan has the highest percentage of aboriginal residents in the whole country, and it has had some success in encouraging the use of penalties focused on native traditions, known as restorative justice, rather than prison time. The programs encourage native communities to find alternatives to jail, such as providing restitution to the victim of the crime, volunteering with a charity, or attending counselling or an addictions program.
These proposed changes may also be problematic for Nunavut, where, in 2005, territorial judges handed down 203 conditional sentences compared to only 189 jail terms.
It is clear, therefore, that there is a need to develop more community-based resources to ensure that aboriginal women who are criminalized are able to successfully complete their sentences within their communities. Ensuring that women are able to maintain their role within their family and community throughout the course of their sentence is integral to the sustainability of our communities.
Canada's judicial system is premised upon Eurocentric values and is at its heart an adversarial system. When an individual commits an act, it is seen as criminal. It is considered a crime against the state, and reparations are generally made to the state by way of punishment. In contrast, aboriginal traditions dictate that wrongs are committed against individuals and the community. Reparations are made as a way of restoring balance to the community and restoring relationships among community members. In an era when people are becoming more disenfranchised from each other, these community-based efforts would go a long way to building much sought after social capital.
In recent years these ways and beliefs have been acknowledged for their effectiveness and have garnered a great deal of support from both within and outside the aboriginal communities. Conditional sentences are well suited to the concept of traditional justice, as they allow offenders to be supervised within the community while giving them the opportunity to work towards restoring the imbalance that resulted from their actions.
Restorative justice initiatives are intended to add cultural relevance to the mainstream criminal justice system, but aboriginal men and women have not shared equally in this experience. Rather than focus on increasing rates of incarceration through the elimination of conditional sentencing, efforts should be made to ensure criminalized aboriginal women are given the opportunity to participate in restorative justice practices.
In addition to being overrepresented in the charging and imprisoning processes of the criminal justice system, aboriginal women are also overrepresented as victims. This victimization is often centred upon sexualized and racialized violence. Bill C-9 does nothing to address the root causes of this victimization and criminalization, nor does it address the sexualized or racialized violence that many aboriginal women face throughout their lives.
No in-depth examination of the impacts of conditional sentencing on aboriginal women, families, children, or communities has been done, and one is needed. This research must capture how conditional sentencing practices are currently applied to aboriginal women and how the criminal justice system, both federally and provincially, can better address the needs of aboriginal women.
The Government of Canada has failed to consult with relevant stakeholders, including the Native Women's Association of Canada, with respect to Bill C-9. In failing to do so, they have not considered the broader social or cultural impacts that this bill will have on aboriginal women, children, and our communities.
The Government of Canada should concentrate on building more diverse community-based programs, such as restorative justice initiatives. By diverse, we mean diversity in settings, since aboriginal people exist in all sorts of settings--rural, urban, remote, and far north. There should also be an examination of how changes in conditional sentencing interrelate with other social and global developments in the areas of social, health, education, and traditional culture for indigenous populations, since Canada's indigenous population is in relationship with other worldwide indigenous populations.
There has been a significant amount of effort put forth by aboriginal populations, in partnership with government, that is meant to deal with the deep-rooted causes of crime. These should not be overlooked by a policy that seeks to send more people to jail. People in jail do their time, and they are not afforded development opportunities. They are burdened with labels and records that stunt their development potential.
Merci.