Guilty pleas among Indigenous people in Canada

Method

The Research and Statistics Division at the Department of Justice Canada conducted semi-structured, open-ended telephone interviews with 25 justice system professionals between November 2016 and January 2017. Participants included courtworkers, lawyers, and representatives from provincial and territorial governments and program delivery agencies. They were recruited through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Permanent Working Group on Legal Aid, the Tripartite Working Group of the Indigenous Courtwork Program, and the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Heads of Prosecutions Committee.Footnote 2 Participants were available from all provinces and territories except New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The interview consisted of 12 questions about the participants’ experiences and knowledge of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. Participants reflected on how Indigenous accused/clients understand the justice system, the circumstances under which they plead guilty, the implications, justice system supports, and research and data gaps.Footnote 3 An interview guide was shared with participants before the interview (Appendix A).

Interviews lasted approximately 30 minutes and were audio-recorded to help with transcription and analysis. Transcripts and notes were analyzed using thematic analysis.Footnote 4 The themes emerged from the literature (top-down approach) and immersion in the interviews (bottom-up approach). This report foregrounds the voices of participants in several quotations to illustrate their rich and nuanced observations. This research followed ethical guidelines on anonymity, confidentiality, and data storage.