Indigenous Women's Justice Plan calls for major reform by province and feds
The BC First Nations Justice Council has released a detailed plan for broad reforms it says will improve the lives of Indigenous women and girls.
BCFNJC said it held engagement across the province as it drafted the plan, hearing directly from Indigenous women about their lived experiences and their interactions with police, social workers, the courts and the criminal justice system.
The council released the final draft of its Indigenous Women’s Justice Plan at a forum in Vancouver on Monday.
Attendees heard that Indigenous women and girls in B.C. are far more likely to be victims of violence, including sexual violence, than non-Indigenous women, and are significantly over-represented in the foster care system and correctional facilities.
"It's unacceptable that Indigenous women and girls and (Two-Spirit)-plus people are on the negative end of all of these indicators. It's absolutely unacceptable,” said Kory Wilson, BCFNJC chair.
Among the many recommendations in the plan are calls for expanded cultural and trauma-focused programming for incarcerated Indigenous women.
"We know that the justice system is doing exactly what it was meant to do and that was to punish, to ostracize, to push down,” said Darla Rasmussen, who spoke at the forum. “But, we as Indigenous peoples know that doesn't work."
Addressing more than 500 people, Rasmussen opened up about her sister’s life in gangs, struggles with addiction and eventual suicide.
"When Rhonda took her life it was devastating, mostly because she left behind beautiful children. And the sadness of that is that my nieces are also a product of that,” Rasmussen said.
Despite living with significant emotional trauma from that experience and others, Rasmussen, who grew up in foster care, is optimistic justice reform will make a difference in the lives of Indigenous women.
The BCFNJC will now share its plan with the provincial and federal governments and would like to see them make significant changes to the child welfare system, corrections and policing.
"The reality is a lot of this also stems from racism. Systemic, institutionalized racism that has to be addressed in an honest way,” said Wilson.
She’s confident the changes the council is pushing for will allow the next generation of Indigenous girls to grow up in a brighter future filled with opportunity instead of trauma.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Speaker kicks Poilievre out of Commons over unparliamentary comments
Speaker Greg Fergus kicked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre out of the House of Commons during question period today.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
Judge raises threat of jail in hush money trial as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Court upholds Milwaukee police officer's firing for posting racist memes after Sterling Brown arrest
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a former Milwaukee police officer was properly fired for posting racist memes related to the arrest of an NBA player that triggered a public outcry.
Witness details deadly wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A driver who witnessed a wrong-way police pursuit on Highway 401 moments before a fatal crash said he was hoping the chase would have been called off before lives were lost.