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The BC First Nations Justice Council is pleased to share with you some important news regarding work we are undertaking in collaboration with the First Nations people in our province.
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As of April 1st, 2021, the Gladue Services Department of the BC First Nations Justice Council will be responsible for the administration of the Gladue program in BC. This transition is an important step in the journey to realize the Justice Strategy and our Council’s vision of self-determined justice for Indigenous people in BC.
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As you may be aware, in March of 2020, the Attorney General and Solicitor General, in partnership with the First Nations Leadership Council (the executive of the three provincial First Nations leadership organizations) and the Justice Council signed the BC First Nations Justice Strategy. The aim of the Strategy is two-fold; transform the justice system for Indigenous people to reduce the overrepresentation in both criminal and child protection systems and to create space for First Nations to reignite their own legal traditions and ways of implementing justice. |
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One of the strategies is to transform how Gladue factors are communicated, and taken into consideration by actors throughout the justice system, and not just at sentencing. We have developed a systematic approach to ensure continuity of service while also making improvements to the process to reduce the administrative burden and develop robust capacity for increasing the number and type of Gladue reports written in BC.
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Some of these changes will impact you and we are committed to ensuring you have the information you need to access Gladue reports. This transition is occurring in two phases. In Phase 1, we will be engaging you directly to ensure you have the information you need prior to the transition, while Phase 2 will focus on long-term, substantive change that will occur for 12-18 months.
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We are committed to keeping you informed throughout this process and answering any questions you may have. We know systemwide transformation is not without its challenges, but we are unified in our commitment to making this new program work, and we are confident the end result will be worth it.
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Please forward this email to anyone within your organization that may be impacted by this change, and please feel free to send me names and email addresses for anyone that should be included in future communications and updates.
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Thank you,
Mitch Walker
Director, Gladue Services
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