Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs wants to create pilot First Nation courts to reduce incarceration

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is reimagining what a justice system could look like for First Nations people in the province, with plans to create pilot courts in two communities with processes based on First Nations' legal traditions.

As Indigenous people continue to make up a disproportionate number of people in custody and be jailed younger, denied bail more frequently and granted parole less often, the need for such a system in Manitoba is urgent, said Grand Chief Cathy Merrick.

"The statistics are well known to both Canada and Manitoba, yet they continue to tinker with the current justice system with little to no First Nation involvement," Merrick said.

"And the only measurable success they have to show for it [is] higher incarceration rates for First Nation people."

The plan is to develop one First Nation-led court in a northern Manitoba community and another in the south, she said.

The organization said it's also working on a project to restore legal traditions of the Anishinaabe (Ojibway), Nehetho/Ininew (Cree), Anishininew (Ojibwe-Cree), Denesuline (Dene) and Dakota Oyate (Dakota) people.

The proposed courts mark a "small but very vitally important step" in what will hopefully become a template that can be applied to other communities in the province, Merrick said — one that's "flexible enough to adapt to the needs of different First Nations, yet based on similar foundations and able to work with each other in the Canadian system."

It's not a new idea — an Indigenous justice system was one of the recommendations of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry's final report more than 30 years ago. 

And given its large First Nations population and particularly high proportion of Indigenous people involved in the justice system, Manitoba should be leading those types of initiatives — not lagging behind, Merrick said.

While the initiative will require government co-operation and likely also funding, Merrick said her organization realized it would have to do the work to get the initiative going "with or without funding, with or without support from our treaty partners." 

A Manitoba Justice spokesperson said in an email the province has not been made aware of any initiatives but is committed to reconciliation and welcomes ongoing discussion with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and all its "Indigenous stakeholder groups."

A spokesperson for Manitoba Courts said all three levels of court in the province look forward to learning more about the organization's justice initiatives as part of an ongoing dialogue with Indigenous governments, organizations and communities.

While Manitoba has restorative justice options within its existing justice system, Merrick said her organization is envisioning an entirely new system based on First Nations laws and legal traditions.

"We had our own traditional systems or processes before the settlers arrived here on Turtle Island," she said.