Introduction
Introduction
It is a known fact that there exists a societal gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous peoples of Canada. This gap was only made clearer by the existence of residential schools, a system of boarding schools owned and operated by the Canadian Government’s Department of Indian Affairs and the Christian Church. These schools, beneath their thinly veiled facade, were made for the sole purpose of destroying any trace of indigenous culture left within Aboriginal youth. They have since been abolished however, with the Government pledging to move forward hand in hand with the Aboriginals to foster a better tomorrow for their sake. Despite these claims, and the introduction of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report which outlined several areas that needed change in order to truly attain reconciliation, that societal gap still exists. Figure 1, shown below, illustrates the disparity between the rate of indigenous and non-indigenous people incarcerated in certain provinces.
This chart serves to illustrate the more surface-level issues with the criminal justice system in regards to Aboriginal people. In this exhibit, I argue that the Canadian Government has not made sufficient progress in advancing the recognition of Aboriginal people within the Criminal Justice System, resulting in the continued spread of systemic issues which hinder the process of reconciliation. I cite the 42nd Call to Action stated in the TRC report (2015) as my basis for this claim. It states: “We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to commit to the recognition and implementation of Aboriginal justice systems in a manner consistent with the Treaty and Aboriginal rights of Aboriginal peoples, the Constitution Act, 1982, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed by Canada in November 2012” (2015, p. 181). In this exhibit, I will outline the various ways in which the federal, provincial and territorial governments have failed to achieve reconciliation by committing to the full implementation of Aboriginal Justice Systems.