Challenge The Justice System Essay

​In conclusion, this article is an eye-opening one that does not necessarily paint Canada’s justice system in a great light. Razack shows through the use of examples how Aboriginal people are treated differently and perceived to be lower than whites on the hierarchy of society, and how this lead to the lack of justice in the murder of Pamela George. It is disheartening to think that simply because she was an Aboriginal and a prostitute that her life is considered less important than those of her (white) murderers, but this is the light that Razack brings to the argument, and she does so

There are three significant issues concerning law enforcement, namely enacting the law, police discretion, and assessment of criminal behavior. Different entities create and enact laws that are specific for the societies those laws represent.

For decades, there has always been a very precarious relationship with aboriginal communities and the criminal justice system, especially with issues of indigenous victimisation and over-representation within the custody of police and prisons and the history of colonisation. Over-representation is the disproportionate numbers in which indigenous people come into custody compared to the non-indigenous. Although the justice system has been working together in order to overcome these deep-rooted issues and eliminate any negative associations with indigenous communities. This essay will outline the relationship between aboriginal communities and the police, the concerns associated with this relationship, why they are over-represented in the criminal justice system and the efforts that have been made to prevent this accumulating in the future.

The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.

How often do we stop to think about the minorities of this country and how they become involved and are treated in the criminal justice system? I surmise; only some of us will concern ourselves with such details. For some like myself; we might work with individuals of the Aboriginal community or have interacted with members of this group whether through school or work. Canada “had an Aboriginal identity in 2011 of 4 % or 1.4 million people” (Kelly-Scott and Smith, 2015). Of this total there is a gross overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in Canada’s Criminal Justice System. This overrepresentation of Aboriginals in the CJS comes as a result of socio economic factors, sentencing reforms, systemic discrimination, education and employment and victimization of Aboriginal women. In partial fulfilment of this course, this paper will address the leading factors which has led to the overrepresentation of this group in the CJS.

When discussing the Aboriginal quality of life within Canada there are several issues that come to mind, such as health, education, housing and our Canadian-Indigenous relationship (First Ministers And National Aboriginal Leaders, 2005, p. 1). However, many times Canadians neglect to distinguish the root of the issue. While residential schools may be addressed and looked upon historically, the traumas and effects are still particularly palpable for many Indigenous communities. For this reason, it is significant for Canadians to be empathetic towards the underlying issues, for obstacles like Indigenous health to be properly handled. Within this essay, I create an awareness of the impacts of assimilation tactics to Aboriginal communities;

Racial inequality inside of Canadian prisons is shocking and sometimes unbelievable when taken into account the percentage a minority group takes up in Canada’s overall population versus behind bars. The injustices against Canada’s First Nations people are unfortunately not just historic, as their mistreatment is still evident today. Despite representing only 3% of the population, First Nations account for about 25% of the prison population in provincial/territorial facilities. More specifically, 31% of the female population, and 22% of the male population were First Nations in 2015. More than one in five admissions to men’s prisons are of Aboriginal descent, and one in three in women’s prisons. Although it can be said that more and more attention has been drawn to this issue by citizens and politicians alike recently, First Nations people continue to suffer from poverty, injustice, and a lack of opportunities compared to the average Canadian citizen. About one in four native children live in poverty, leading to criminal activity, and eventually

A lot of aboriginal students are now graduating high school in the past few years. But, now they seem to rank lower in education, higher rates of unemployment, along with higher rates of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, which can lead to needing a lot more health care than the average person. (Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah. 2005, page.3)

Aboriginal peoples of Canada have suffered exponentially throughout the entirety of history and proceed to do so in modern society. Much of the continued suffrage of aboriginal peoples is as a result of the Sixties Scoop and the Residential School System, as well as the lack of resources available to them. This has wreaked extensive havoc on the mental health of Aboriginal peoples, and has left excessive amounts of stigma and racism attached to Aboriginal Peoples, explicitly seen in the cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Aboriginals in Canada are also known as indigenous people. They consist of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. Approximately 4.3% of the Canadian population is considered Aboriginal. Most of them can be found in the province of Ontario. However, even though they have a strong presence in the country’s population, they have and still do go through a variety of issues. One of those issues would be education. The gap between Aboriginals and other Canadians on school-related achievements has gotten wider over the past decade, even though, more Aboriginals have been completing their secondary, as well as post-secondary education than ever before. Another issue would be the housing conditions for Aboriginal people living in Canada. The 2006 Census revealed that Aboriginal people were much more likely than non-Aboriginal people to live in houses that were in need of some major repairs. Research done from 1996 to 2006, highlighted the fact that around 20% of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people lived in less than desirable housing. The number of non-Aboriginal people, on the other hand, that needed some major repairs, went from 8% in 1996, to 7% in 2006. Another major issue in Aboriginal communities is violence. More specifically, domestic violence. More often than not, the violence usually comes from one side of the relationship, the male side. In 2006, it was reported that only 7% of non-Aboriginal women had been assaulted by a current or former spouse, compared to

The number of aboriginal women in Canadian prisons is on the rise, women of aboriginal descent now make up more than 35 per cent of the female prison population, and Aboriginal women represent about four per cent of the general population. The overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system has long captured attention in Canada. Many factors such as finically poor, instable housing, households with only mothers with children, low education and disordered social network systems are associated with the commission of crime in neighbourhoods. This paper will argue that the over-representation of Aboriginal women can be explained by their underprivileged position in both socioeconomic

This essay endeavors to explain what risk factors are and discuss four key risk factors that may assist in explaining the over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. These include family violence, alcohol and drug abuse as well as employment and

Throughout the development of the residential school system, much injustice had been done towards Aboriginal people, who carried these scars through generations. Even today, Aboriginal people experience the highest crime rate and suicide rate, and many possess mental illnesses and stress disorders. It is important for Canadians to learn about the residential school system so similar events can be prevented in the future, awareness of the Aboriginal society

Seeing that youth suicide rates amongst Aboriginal youth are five to seven times higher than non-Aboriginal youth, and Inuit youth are among the highest in the world, at 11 times the national average, there are several contributing attributes that should be further researched. (Health Canada, 2013) One of the contributing factors that are discussed in many Aboriginal courses is that of identity. Aboriginal youth who face high levels of intergenerational trauma due to the RS system often find themselves distanced from Aboriginal culture, without their mother tongue, and western culture. This alongside the negative portrayals of Indigenous peoples within media many times go much deeper to factors beyond an individual 's control and end up as a common root cause of suicide. One way for the federal government can combat this particular factor is through the emplacement of acknowledgment initiatives. Trying to reduce negative stigmas and stereotypes as well, to educate, can help promote healthy self-esteem and confidence levels within Aboriginal youth and result in the prevention of high suicide levels amongst Aboriginal youth. (CITE)

Young women were brought to residential schools (which can be compared to the Japanese camps from the first world war) Molested and were brought to schools where the indian in them was killed, because they were “savages” as a child, most aboriginal people had parents who went to these school and their grandparents. went to the schools ( showing how long this has been going on) the women were beat and raped showing high signs of child sex trafficking and rape and the normalization of rape culture for white men to indigenous women. Social problems are also endemic. The incarceration rates of Aboriginal people are 5−6 times higher than the national average. “In a recent survey, 39% of Aboriginal adults reported that family violence is a problem in their community, 25% reported sexual abuse and 15% reported rape.6 About 4% of First Nations children were in custody of Child and Family Service agencies in 1996/97.”