TRC Calls to Action: #42

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42. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to commit to the recognition and implementation of Aboriginal justice systems in a manner consistent with the Treaty and Aboriginal rights of Aboriginal peoples, the Constitution Act, 1982, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed by Canada in November 2012. 

As of March 2018, no Aboriginal justice systems have been fully implemented by any government, and no concrete plans have been made to do so, although the Government of Canada says they "are open to discussing the recognition and implementation of Indigenous justice systems with First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities to whom this is a priority."

TRC Calls to Action: #41

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41. We call upon the federal government, in consultation with Aboriginal organizations, to appoint a public inquiry into the causes of, and remedies for, the disproportionate victimization of Aboriginal women and girls. The inquiry’s mandate would include: 

i. Investigation into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.

ii. Links to the intergenerational legacy of residential schools. 

The main cause of the disproportionate victimization of Indigenous women can be broadly explained by the intersection of gender and race: if women's lives are undervalued, and Indigenous lives are undervalued, Indigenous women's lives are therefore doubly undervalued. Add to that Canada's colonial legacy, which has "forced Indigenous women and girls into dangerous and precarious social and economic conditions," and it is no wonder why these women are vulnerable to exploitation and violence. This excellent report on Trafficking of Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada goes into great detail about the impact of colonization and discrimination on Indigenous women, the historical disrespect and violence toward Indigenous women's bodies, and information regarding human trafficking in Canada. I especially appreciate the report's inclusion of youth, two-spirit, and LGBTQ+ folks.

The inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls has been underway since 2015, and has until April 2019 to submit its final report; an interim report was produced in November 2017. Many critics are saying not enough is being done in the fight against violence against Indigenous women and children; Indigenous women are still going missing, and the inquiry itself does not include mention of residential schools and their impact. Nonetheless, Beyond 94 considers this Call complete.

Until women's lives and bodies - and specifically Indigenous women's lives and bodies - are respected and protected in and by society, we will continue to see such victimization.

TRC Calls to Action: #40

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40. We call on all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal people, to create adequately funded and accessible Aboriginal-specific victim programs and services with appropriate evaluation mechanisms.

Correctional Services Canada has committed to providing better Aboriginal-specific victim programs, and the federal government has established "two new victim service initiatives to provide direct assistance to families alongside the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls."

Relevant reading:

Beyond 94
Government of Canada

TRC Calls to Action: #39

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39. We call upon the federal government to develop a national plan to collect and publish data on the criminal victimization of Aboriginal people, including data related to homicide and family violence victimization.

This might be the first Call I've studied that Beyond 94 considers to have been completed. Here is the 2017 report from the Department of Justice Research & Statistics Division.

TRC Calls to Action: #38

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38. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth in custody over the next decade. 

To reiterate stats from a previous post, Aboriginal youth account for nearly half of youth in Canadian correctional facilities, while accounting for only 8% of our country's youth population.

As of March 2018, no new federal programs have been created to mitigate this discrepancy.

TRC Calls to Action: #37

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37. We call upon the federal government to provide more supports for Aboriginal programming in halfway houses and parole services.

Again, most new programs created for this purpose are simply replacing prior programs with the same mandates and levels of funding.

TRC Calls to Action: #36

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36. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to work with Aboriginal communities to provide culturally relevant services to inmates on issues such as substance abuse, family and domestic violence, and overcoming the experience of having been sexually abused.

The Aboriginal Integrated Correctional Program Model "explores the impacts of foster care, residential schools displacement, cultural disruption, adoption, gangs and urbanization" and helps "offenders learn how their thoughts and actions lead to crime.” This program existed prior to the 2015 TRC Calls to Action.

TRC Calls to Action: #35

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35. We call upon the federal government to eliminate barriers to the creation of additional Aboriginal healing lodges within the federal correctional system.

No new healing lodges have been opened since before the TRC final report in 2015.

TRC Calls to Action: #34

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34. We call upon the governments of Canada, the provinces, and territories to undertake reforms to the criminal justice system to better address the needs of offenders with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), including:  

i. Providing increased community resources and powers for courts to ensure that FASD is properly diagnosed, and that appropriate community supports are in place for those with FASD.  

ii. Enacting statutory exemptions from mandatory minimum sentences of imprisonment for offenders affected by FASD.  

iii. Providing community, correctional, and parole resources to maximize the ability of people with FASD to live in the community. 

 iv. Adopting appropriate evaluation mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of such programs and ensure community safety. 

While the Government of Canada is apparently "examining measures to address the overrepresentation of vulnerable populations, including offenders with mental health and addiction issues" and "working to address service gaps that exist in the criminal justice system for these vulnerable groups to improve accessibility, both for victims and offenders," Beyond 94 states that not much progress has been made with respect to this Call. In fact, the Government of Canada page makes no mention of offenders with FASD specifically, which is obviously what this Call addresses directly...

TRC Calls to Action: #33

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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 (FASD), and to develop, in collaboration with Aboriginal people, FASD preventive programs that can be delivered in a culturally appropriate manner.

I found a report that, while rather old (from 2003) is an excellent resource on how "intergenerational links between residential schools, particularly with regard to sexual and physical abuse experienced by children who attended the schools, mass adoption of Aboriginal children in the 1960s and 1970s, and the introduction of alcohol by Europeans into Aboriginal communities, has collectively contributed to high rates of FASD and other related illnesses among Aboriginal people."

More recent research finds that Indigenous people in Canada are still disproportionately affected by FASD, compared to non-Indigenous folks.

Beyond 94 states that while funding is in place for projects aimed at preventing and screening for alcohol use during pregnancy, such funding is not new and has not increased. The federal government, however, states that by 2022, Indigenous Services Canada will invest $17.9 billion annually, on an ongoing basis, in funding toward this issue.

TRC Calls to Action: #32

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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.

In May 2017, the federal government confirmed it would review making amendments to the Criminal Code that would either eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing altogether or allow for special exceptions in some mandatory minimum sentences. As of March 2018, that legislation has not been amended.

Let's Keep Talking

Normally I would have done a post about my experience with mental health on January 30, but at that time I was actually struggling with my own mental health and didn't have the energy to talk about it. I'm now coming through this most recent bout of higher-than-usual anxiety, and have some new thoughts to share.

This latest upswing in anxiety seemingly came out of nowhere (as it sometimes does), and intersected with some personal life shit that hit me harder than I expected. But something about the way I handled it was different this time: I leaned into it. I knew I was feeling elevated, I knew it was affecting my moods and energy, and - as usual, thankfully - I knew it was only temporary and I would feel more emotionally and mentally stable again eventually. So I allowed myself to sit in it. I nurtured myself by keeping up with my regular exercise regime, and started adding even more healthful choices to my diet (I'm on the probiotics train, y'all! Tempeh and kombucha FTW!) I allowed myself to feel low without questioning my moods or berating myself for feeling them. I forgave myself for not having the energy to be present and pleasant every day. At the end of every day I told myself "You did great today. You're doing great." I'm really proud of myself for the way I coped, even while I felt like I wasn't coping very well. Simply using the little energy I had to get through the day was a significant accomplishment. I did great.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am so grateful that my own struggles with mental health aren't so severe that I'm totally unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I always know the light is there, and I always know I'll reach it. I know that anxiety does not define who I am, and that while it affects my personality negatively on my most difficult days (making me a more difficult person), I know who I am on my best days and I know I like that person.

And it really helps having a host of people who love and support me. During this most recent anxiety cloud, I talked to coworkers, some of whom shared their own struggles. I had people reach out in a thoughtful but not overbearing or pitying way. I asked for supportive resources. I set boundaries. I let people know where I was at and I got caring, genuine support and understanding in return. It's ok to ask for what you need - if you have the right people around you, you will receive it.

That all being said, I would encourage everyone to take a look at how their own struggles with mental health may affect their behaviour toward others. Sometimes we're feeling shitty, sometimes we're feeling elevated, sometimes we are SO FUCKING OVER IT and it's hard to even deal with other people. Something I've really worked on myself is how not to let my own struggles and my own neuroses too deeply affect the people around me. It isn't their fault I'm feeling shitty, and it isn't their responsibility to tip-toe around me or accommodate my bad mood. There are so many people who don't realize how their disordered behaviour affects others, and while a person certainly can't be blamed for their own mental state and what they might say or do while in a difficult mental state, I think we can at least take responsibility for ourselves and acknowledge when we're not at our best. Our mental health challenges are not our personalities, but they also don't give us carte blanche to be an unabashed asshole to those who love us.

And finally, if there are people around you who, for whatever reason, only exacerbate your own struggles, it's ok to extricate yourself from them. It's ok to avoid people who may harm more than help, for whatever reason. It's ok to avoid people altogether, if that's what you need!

And it's totally ok if you don't know yet the best ways for you to cope. It's different for everyone. But keep working at it, and do take care.

TRC Calls to Action: #31

 
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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.

Similarly to yesterday's Call, it seems only lateral moves have been made toward its fulfillment.

Relevant reading:
Beyond 94
Gov of Canada

TRC Calls to Action: #30

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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.

As of the 2016/17 census, almost half of youth in Canadian corrections facilities were Aboriginal - whereas Aboriginal youth accounted for only 8% of Canada's total youth population. And, while Indigenous folks account for less than 5% of Canada's total population, they represented nearly 30% of our prison population according to the same census. Additionally, Indigenous women are the fastest growing prison population in the country.

The function of today's Call is clear: to help Indigenous folks avoid being incarcerated in the first place by addressing systemic issues in our criminal justice system and offering support programs to those most at risk.

While the federal government has been taking steps toward honouring this Call, a lot of the programs being created are simply replacing old ones with the same mandates and level of funding. One approach which has seen a rise in use is restorative justice, which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Meanwhile, as of yet, no commitment has been made to provide annual reports on the progress of this particular Call.

TRC Calls to Action: #29

 
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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.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement is the largest class action settlement in Canadian history, and was set up to compensate former residential school students and help them recover from their experiences; however, there have been some significant exclusions in this Agreement.

Students of Indian Day Schools, which were operated separately from residential schools - but had the same detrimental effects - were, up until recently, excluded from the Settlement Agreement.

Since Newfoundland wasn't technically part of Canada until 1949, the Harper government refused to take responsibility for the residential school experience in Newfoundland and Labrador and therefore didn't consider itself responsible for compensating survivors. In 2016, survivors of some of these boarding schools did receive a settlement, and Justin Trudeau formally apologized to them in 2017.

Finally, Métis residential school survivors are excluded, and their own concerns have yet to be resolved. Similarly, Métis people are also excluded from the Sixties Scoop settlement, as there are no records to identify Métis during that time - perhaps this same "rationale" is being used with regards to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

Beyond 94 gives more of a breakdown on how we're doing with this particular Call.

TRC Calls to Action: #28

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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. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

Most Canadian law schools offer such training, but, with the exception of Lakehead University, it is not currently mandatory.
This University of Alberta Faculty of Law page has a really great breakdown of why this Call is important to Canadian law.

TRC Calls to Action: #27

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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. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is actively reviewing ways to uphold this Call.