Instructions:

This week we will look at "Part $5($A$)$: Justice" for our Weekly Discussions.

Watch the video below, "Transforming the Criminal Justice System $-$ Jorgina."

Read below, points #$25-33$ on Justice, use the additional pdf attached below, to help further clarify these points.

Add to the discussion below by posting a comment in response to the question below:

Discussion Question: "Part $5($A$)$: Justice, of the $94$ Calls to Action for Truth and Reconciliation highlights the urgent need for reforms within the justice system to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system. How can the implementation of these calls to action promote equitable access to justice, restore trust between Indigenous communities and the justice system, and ensure culturally appropriate approaches to healing and rehabilitation for Indigenous offenders?"Justice

#$25.$ We call upon the federal government to establish a written policy that reaffirms the independence of the RCMP to investigate crimes in which the government has its own interest as a potential or real party in civil litigation.

#$26.$ We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to review and amend their respective statutes of limitations to ensure that they conform with the principle that governments and other entities cannot rely on limitation defences to defend legal actions of historical abuse brought by Aboriginal people.

#$27.$ We call upon the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal$$Crown relations.

#$28.$ We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal$$Crown relations.

#$29.$ We call upon the parties and, in particular, the federal government, to work collaboratively with plaintiffs not included in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement to have disputed legal issues determined expeditiously on an agreed set of facts.

#$30.$ We call upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments to commit to eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody over the next decade, and to issue detailed annual reports that monitor and evaluate progress in doing so$.$

#$31.$ We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to provide sufficient and stable funding to implement and evaluate community sanctions that will provide realistic alternatives to imprisonment for Aboriginal offenders and respond to the underlying causes of offending.

#$32.$ We call upon the federal government to amend the Criminal Code to allow trial judges, upon giving reasons, to depart from mandatory minimum sentences and restrictions on the use of conditional sentences.

#$33.$ We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to recognize as a high priority the need to address and prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and to develop, in collaboration with Aboriginal people, FASD preventive programs that can be delivered in a culturally appropriate manner.