A First Nations Court in Prince George is “well past the idea stage,” says RCMP Superintendent

In the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Canada’s signing of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People’s, interest in First Nations courts continues to grow.

Proponents say they could help remedy the over representation of Aboriginal people in the Canadian justice system. According to the Office of the Correctional Investigator, more than ¼ of federal inmates are Aboriginal, even though First Nations people make up just 4.3% of Canada’s population.

“I believe there’s a root cause to that,” says Johnathan Alec, a local court worker. “And what First Nations court does is it finds a healing plan to address that root cause in order for that person to heal and generate life skills to heal and live a healthy lifestyle. If the municipality were to go above and beyond and facilitate that reconciliation, that would really look good for Prince George and it would be an attractive town for First Nations people.”

Alec isn’t alone in his desire to see a First Nations court in the city.

“The time has come to look at innovative ways of finding more meaningful process to curb that over representation in the court,” says RCMP Superintendent Warren Brown. “We have formed a group and we are looking to get support from interested stakeholders. I think we’ve done that. I think we’re at the time now where we need to build a business case and take it to provincial government.”

Brown says the local Native Courtworkers of BC are spearheading the initiative.

They wouldn’t be rebuilding the wheel with the idea either.

“Four Aboriginal courts already exist in British Columbia,” Brown says. “Here in Prince George, we have the highest concentration of Aboriginal communities in the North District. I think we’re just overdue to have some kind of community-type court like First Nations court here in the north.”

For Alec, the idea of restorative justice is a powerful one, especially for dealing with issues such as addiction and chronic homelessness.

“Instead of taking something away from someone or stopping them from doing something, I think, proactively, [a First Nations court] would be able to open it up for a person to explore their gifts and have a healthy avenue to explore.”

Brown is supportive of that idea as well.

“I’m not saying that’s a silver bullet or it’s a cure all but I think year after year when we see the same thing happening time and time again, I think it’s time we look at better and more innovative ways of doing things.”

He says a First Nations court in Prince George is well past the idea stage and enjoys a lot of support from the community but there’s no timeline yet for establishing one.