Quebec invests $14 million to adapt justice system to First Nations communities

MONTREAL – Quebec is investing $14 million over four years to adapt its justice system to the realities of Indigenous communities.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière said today the money will go toward promoting community justice initiatives and reducing the over-representation of Indigenous people in the justice system.

He says the government will hire people to produce pre-sentencing reports on Indigenous offenders, which will take into account the specific difficulties experienced by First Nations people.

The money will also fund justice committees that will develop culturally relevant processes to resolving conflicts in Indigenous communities.

Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, took part in today’s news conference and said 25 per cent of the people detained in the country are Indigenous when they only represent about four per cent of the general population.

Lafrenière says the government wants to have a judicial system that is better adapted to meet the needs of First Nations, rather than expecting First Nations to adapt to the system.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2021.