JustResearch Issue 15
Research in Profile (cont'd)
Report on “Forum on Justice System Responses to Violence in Northern and Remote Aboriginal Communities.”
Anne-Marie Bédard, Public Health Agency
Anna Paletta, Principal Research Officer
A forum on violence in northern and remote First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities was organized by the Department of Justice Canada in Ottawa on March 30, 2007.[16] The impetus for the timing of this forum was two papers written by Rupert Ross,[17] Assistant Crown Attorney responsible for a number of fly-in remote communities in north western Ontario. In his paper on traumatization in remote First Nation communities Ross noted:
I offer this memorandum to convey my growing concerns, after 21 years doing courts in the remote First Nations of Northwestern Ontario, that individuals, family and community traumatisation in a number of the First Nations is now so pronounced that in many respects the criminal justice system has been rendered powerless to effect significant change. In fact, I believe that in some respects its normal application may operate as an obstacle to necessary community healing (emphasis in the original).
A number of other Crown Prosecutors in the north expressed similar sentiments, along with a profound hope for finding more effective responses for much needed long-term solutions. Thus the Forum was organized to explore justice system responses.
The forum began with the prayers of Elder Annie Kishkwanakwad Smith St. George, followed by two panels: the first focussed on criminal justice professionals’ work in northern and remote First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, and the second focussed on community and program responses.
The panel of criminal justice professionals was chaired by Stuart Whitley, QC, Senior Regional Director, Department of Justice Canada, Office of the Northern Region,[18] and included Rupert Ross, Assistant Crown Attorney, Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, as key presenter, and Bonnie Tulloch, Director, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Nunavut Regional Office. Each of these speakers had years of service in northern communities, and delivered impassioned presentations on their experiences with disconnected youth, and the severity of the violence, substance abuse and escalating suicide rates in those communities.
Rupert Ross reported that the negative repercussions resulting from residential schoolexperiences are irrefutable. Based on his years of experience and analysis, he stated that in many communities it is likely that two generations of children have grown up amid levels of alcohol abuse, family violence and sexual abuse that are unparalleled elsewhere in Canada. There is an increasing understanding of the psychological impact of residential schools and how the effects extend to both the children who were extracted from their families, and to those who were left behind. He reported that in some areas, whole communities are severely traumatized, and estimated that 60-80% of the population in these communities have been victimized by serious sexual abuse - primarily at the hands of extended family members, and up to 50% have been victimizers. Further, an Executive Director of an Aboriginal alcohol treatment centre reported that 100% of her clients disclosed childhood sexual abuse as a primary force behind their alcoholism.
Based on these inter-generational effects, Ross posited that a large portion of those populations likely suffer from Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD).The disorder is a clinically‑recognized condition that describes the pervasive negative impact of chronic trauma that results from prolonged exposure to physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, torture, and war. It affects the sufferers' sense of safety, trust, and self‑worth, their tendency to be re-victimized, and their loss of a coherent sense of self. [19] Other panellists reported similar experiences and also spoke to the number of northern and remote communities they see suffering from inter-generational CPTSD.
Other presenters confirmed Ross’ assertion that so little of the violence is ever reported, and rather, is just sublimated. Presenters gave multiple reasons why Aboriginal people are reluctant to participate in the formal justice system. Key reasons included a fear of allying with outside forces and lack of supports for victims who decide to speak out. Most importantly, Aboriginal approaches to justice are based upon relationships of interdependency whereas the mainstream justice system focuses on offenders strictly as individuals and crimes are treated in isolation from the context in which they occur. Accountability, in what Rupert Ross described as a “relational paradigm,” does not come from the same place in Aboriginal approaches to justice as in the mainstream criminal justice system. Accountability in the Aboriginal approach leads to healing, while mainstream systems are, in part, based upon the premise that punishment can force people to make better choices, and deter particular behaviours.
Presenters at the forum agreed that, in far too many cases, mainstream systems are currently ineffective at addressing familial and community violence, and may even be exacerbating such problems. Mainstream systems can cause further harm to both offenders and victims. Presenters agree that although mainstream systems are the primary response, they are inadequate to end violence, especially in small northern and remote communities where community resources are scarce, and offenders often return more violent than before.
Looking at violent crime in northern and remote communities through a “trauma” lens should allow for new solutions to be found. However, Rupert Ross cautioned that we should be careful in using a western understanding of traumatisation because of the tendency to pathologize, which could lead to the creation of inappropriate treatment options. Presenters further agreed that mass inter-generational traumatisation requires a mass recovery strategy. A more relational approach, rather than an adversarial one, would be more amenable to creative solutions outside a justice system “box” for recovery strategies. In order to alleviate the high rates of violence, Aboriginal communities have to find their own mechanisms to hold people accountable and engage the healing process.
In her work, Bonnie Tulloch observed that to dealing effectively with violence in these small northern and remote communities requires patience and flexibility, a non-judgmental attitude, a strong desire to listen more than to speak, being prepared to “think outside the box,” and to set aside preconceived ideas. In addition, communities need to have ownership of their programs, and the mainstream criminal justice system and the communities need to engage future generations to sustain the efforts.
There was consensus among panellists that solutions have to come from and be designed by the communities themselves. The role of the outsider is one of support, to give communities the tools they require for healing. Governments could facilitate the healing process by providing training to the justice community and the general population, and creating positive situations within which Aboriginal communities could develop their own accountability or justice mechanism. Rupert Ross maintains the criminal justice system should function as a partner, as well as a mechanism that facilitates the healing process.
The discussion of the first session led to the afternoon session of panellists who were, for the most part, directors of Aboriginal-centred programs who respond to drivers, as well as the fallout. Karen Green, A/Senior General Counsel and Executive Director, Federal Centre for Workplace Conflict of the Department of Justice Canada, chaired this session. Panellists included Dr. Mike DeGagné founding Executive Director, Aboriginal Healing Foundation; Sandra Bryce, Manager, Family Violence Prevention Unit, Yukon Department of Justice; and Bronwyn Shoush, Director, Aboriginal Justice Initiatives, Alberta Solicitor General.
For Dr. DeGagné, the success of initiatives to address violence in northern and remote Aboriginal communities lies within a balanced approach. Initiatives should start at the grassroots level and gradually build on successes and best practices. In his experience in order for communities to achieve their goals there needs to be healing through a return to traditional culture. Dr. DeGagné also highlighted problems with the current funding structure which does not provide core funding for programs, leaving successful programs to spend an inordinate amount of time on yearly funding applications, resulting in insecurity for service providers and clients who are often in dire need of programming. Moreover, the current funding structure also permits even excellent programs with clear measures of success to come to an end, sometimes in mid-program or healing cycle. He argued that rigid accountability structures could not be layered on as a way of managing risk for front line workers or programs, especially in remote distressed communities that, when programs end mid-stream, are then left more vulnerable.
Sandra Bryce and Browyn Shoush gave numerous examples of communities that have found solutions. They each reported on programs that provide training to justice professionals. Other programs are aimed at building relationships between prosecutors and Aboriginal communities. For instance, Community Wellness Courts have been established in the Yukon. These courts focus on victims and family violence and have seen positive results with respect to reconciliation between victims and offenders. An example which continues to show positive results, is the Alberta Eden Valley Community Pilot Project that was implemented to deal with the pervasive effects of prescription drugs and violence that flows from that abuse.
Other panellists also gave examples of successful programs in their jurisdictions. Muskrat Dam (Ontario), for example, has an intensive five week residential program for whole-family healing. It proved so successful that the waiting list is impossibly long. Another community-initiated and developed program, Hollow Water in Manitoba, is so successful that they are flooded with the number of people coming forward requesting to be allowed to partake in the treatment. Indeed, other First Nations communities are asking to take part in their programs. There are many, many excellent programs which have succeeded or have proved they could succeed.[20] All speakers agreed that in order for this agenda to go forward, commitment was necessary at every level.
Elder Smith St George closed the forum with these words:
Over time we have been faced with years of oppression [sic], and for that reason things cannot change overnight. We need to start in the communities. We need to be looking at healing, not only looking at a particular community but looking at communities broadly. There are two categories of women; women on reserves and women off reserves; Métis, on reserves, off reserves, we have to look at them all. We have to start somewhere, from our hearts; from our own bones; we have to start listening to us here, before we can start caring and healing other communities.
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