Thank you. I'd be happy to answer that.
There are three Gladue courts in Toronto. They are courts that are specifically designed to work with aboriginal people. They deal specifically with bail and sentencing. They are the only three Gladue courts in Canada, so there are no other courts like that. There are Cree courts and some travelling courts, but these are the only Gladue courts.
We produce what we call Gladue reports because they're done in light of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in the Gladu case. It instructs judges to look for alternative sentences, and in order to do that judges need information about the clients. They need to know some of the background and systemic factors that have led the person to commit crime, and they also need to have some very specific ideas about what options might be available for sentencing.
Our Gladue case workers interview the clients, family members, and counsellors. It's a very wide process, and it often takes 30 to 40 hours to do a Gladue report. They run 10 to 20 pages. They consist of the person's background, including an examination of systemic factors. For example, we will provide background on residential schools generally, or on specific residential schools that a client may have been to, intergenerational trauma, and things that judges aren't necessarily aware of. Once we've done that, the report goes into very specific detail about the client.
We very commonly have clients who have substance abuse issues. We explain why those arose. Given the client's criminal record, the judge is often not prepared to give a probation sentence. So while the client is in custody, or if they're out on bail, we have them apply to and be accepted into a treatment centre. We're able to suggest to the judge that rather than sentence this person to jail, we have an option for consideration. Tomorrow this person will go on a bus to a treatment centre where he has been accepted--this is the acceptance date.
So we're able to put those sorts of things together. That's what a Gladue report looks like.