Calls to Action

The Truth and Reconciliation Report’s “Calls to Action” section called for 17 changes to be made within the justice system to address lack of indigenous justice and the overrepresentation of indigenous men and women in custody, some of which include: RCMP investigation of crimes/litigation in which have government interest,  public inquiry into the remedy and causes behind the disproportionate victimization of Indigenous females, the commitment of all levels of government to eliminating the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the prison system, and criminal system reform for those suffering with FASD, reforms include increased support, statutory exemptions from minimal sentences, and more (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015).

Lack of indigenous justice can be seen in the disproportionate victimization and lack of convictions in cases involving missing and murdered indigenous women. According to the CBC (which has created a platform with specific data relating to missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) displaying over 300 cases), authorities have ruled ‘no foul play’ in many instances, despite the families doubt and outrage as well as suspicious bruising found on the victim (Hoffman et al., 2016). You can filter by name, age, and province on the website. This has come to the attention of the government multiple times (see fig. 2). For example, in this transcript from H&K Communication of Former Prime Minister of Canada (2006–15) Stephen Harper talking to journalists in Saskatoon about MMIW in 2013 (p. 4), translated from the original French by Google Translate.

“HON. STEPHEN HARPER: As I say to several times, we have studied this matter many times, and in fact, there is again, there is yet another study in the House of Commons in months to come. We believe that now is the time to act, to move on to the action. And we have done several things to try to prevent such tragedy and to increase the capacity to investigate these things. But it's a matter... it's a matter of criminality, and in my opinion, it's essential to treat them as criminal cases, not as sociological. These are criminal cases, and we must act as quickly as possible” (Library and Archives Canada & H & K Communications, 2023).

Even after this declaration was made ten years ago, there are still unresolved cases, and the number of missing and murdered indigenous women continues to rise (see fig. 3). There is still much work to be done to achieve reconciliation, as discrimination is ingrained in the legal system and the Canadian government needs to go beyond corrective measures.