Next Steps

In the spirit of reconciliation, and to uphold the Indigenous right to self-determination, Justice Canada recognized that an Indigenous Justice Strategy must be informed by and developed with First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

By working closely and collaboratively with Indigenous peoples on the development of the Indigenous Justice Strategy we had an opportunity to develop a national strategy to advance effective and concrete measures, shaped by the lived experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, to improve Canada’s justice system and to support the revitalization of Indigenous laws.

The Indigenous Justice Strategy was completed in five phases:

1. Pre-engagement
2. Indigenous-led and Justice Canada-led engagement
3. Reporting and development
4. Validation and finalization
5. Release of the Indigenous Justice Strategy

Phase 1: Pre-Engagement (completed)

Starting in the summer of 2021, Justice Canada met with Indigenous representative organizations that could provide a voice for their membership at the national level and offer early guidance on the scope and preferred approach to develop the Indigenous Justice Strategy. These discussions informed the initial scope and direction for the Indigenous Justice Strategy.

The pre-engagement sessions with National Indigenous Organizations, Indigenous representative organizations including Indigenous women’s organizations, provided great insight into what could be included in this strategy. Through these sessions, partners suggested that an Indigenous Justice Strategy should include concrete actions in the areas of crime prevention, policing and diversion, courts, corrections, and reintegration. Partners also discussed the importance of social supports (e.g. health, mental health, housing) in improving the experiences and outcomes of First Nations, Inuit and Métis in the Canadian justice system. Partners also emphasized the importance of supporting the revitalization of Indigenous justice systems, self-determination and criminal law reforms.

Phase 2: Indigenous-led and Justice Canada-led engagement (completed)

The engagement phase helped to identify the main issues and areas of concern for Indigenous people in relation to their overrepresentation in the justice system.

There were two aspects to engagement: Indigenous-led and Justice Canada-led.

Indigenous-led engagement

Budget 2021 provided $11 million in funding, until March 2024, to support Indigenous-led community engagement, as well as collaboration between Indigenous groups and the federal government, as a first step towards developing an Indigenous Justice Strategy in Canada.

From December 13, 2021 to January 24, 2022, Justice Canada held a call for proposals to support Indigenous peoples and eligible organizations to undertake Indigenous-led engagement to gather input, ideas and proposals to inform the development of a future Indigenous Justice Strategy.

Through this call for proposals, Justice Canada provided $11 million in funding to 38 Indigenous communities, organizations, and governments —reflecting the diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis perspectives— to undertake their own engagement activities from 2022 to 2024.

Justice Canada-led engagement

In addition to, and to complement this Indigenous-led engagement, Justice Canada consulted and cooperated with key First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners, including National Indigenous Organizations, First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, Indigenous justice experts, Indigenous justice program and service providers, justice practitioners (including law enforcement) and Indigenous academics. Justice Canada also directly engaged with Elders, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, women, youth, those living in urban settings and those with lived experience in the justice system.

Justice Canada’s engagement on the development of the Indigenous Justice Strategy, which consisted of in-person regional gatherings and broader virtual dialogue sessions, took place from the fall of 2022 to December 2023.

Engagement with key partners and contributors will continue throughout all phases.

Phase 3: Reporting and development (completed)

As part of the reporting and development phase, Justice Canada has developed a series of What We Learned reports summarizing the outcomes of the Justice Canada-led engagements.

The outcomes presented in these reports, as well as the reports received from the 38 federally-funded Indigenous partners, informed the development of the Indigenous Justice Strategy Key Elements Consultation Draft (the Consultation Draft)—Canada’s first effort to consolidate what we have learned from Indigenous partners into a shared plan forward.

Phase 4: Validation and finalization (completed)

Justice Canada released the Consultation Draft for validation and feedback in June 2024. This included targeted consultations with Indigenous partners, provinces and territories, as well as an online feedback period from July 18 to September 20, 2024.

Justice Canada also conducted a parallel process with First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments and representative organizations and modern treaty partners to co-develop distinctions-based elements of the Indigenous Justice Strategy.

Phase 5: Release (completed)

The Indigenous Justice Strategy was released on March 10, 2025. It sets out a vision and priority areas for work going forward by Canada with Indigenous peoples, provinces, and territories to ensure positive and lasting change in the Canadian justice system.

What happens next

Budget 2024 provided $87 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $11.3 million per year ongoing, to renew important Indigenous justice programming at Justice Canada, including:

• $56.4 million over five years and $11.3 million per year ongoing for the Indigenous Justice Program and the Indigenous Courtwork Program
• $5.5 million over three years to continue work on TRC Call to Action 50 towards the revitalization of Indigenous laws, legal systems and traditions
• $25.1 million over three years to renew funding to enable Indigenous peoples’ capacity building and engagement on implementation of the Indigenous Justice Strategy.

In the short term, the release of the Indigenous Justice Strategy and the continued work at collaborative tables with Indigenous peoples, provinces and territories, are essential actions to foster a more systemic, coordinated, whole-of-government approach to address the urgent crisis of Indigenous overrepresentation, improve community safety and support the revitalization of Indigenous laws and legal orders.

Justice Canada aims to provide progress updates on the development of regional, cost-shared implementation plans.