Canada’s Black Justice Strategy: Frequently Asked Questions

Black people continue to suffer from anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination at every stage of the criminal justice system, which has led to overrepresentation, including as victims of crime. Canada’s Black Justice Strategy will identify concrete ways to address this anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination.

Recommendations for concrete actions were provided to Justice Canada by the external Steering Group in their report, A Roadmap for Transformative Change: Canada’s Black Justice Strategy. The report was informed by consultations and engagements with Black communities across Canada, as well as other experts, community leaders, and earlier studies and reports.

The recommendations in the Report will inform the Government’s response in the development of the Strategy.

In response to 2017 Report of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent and long-standing calls from Black communities, the Prime Minister tasked the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada in the December 2021 mandate letter to develop the Strategy with the support of the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, and in consultation and cooperation with provinces, territories and Black communities. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness was also tasked to support the development of the Strategy. The Strategy will address the anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination that has led to the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime.

Black people continue to suffer from inequalities and the intergenerational legacy of trauma caused by anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination. Many people within Black communities have worked hard to address challenges in areas including poverty, mental health, education, housing, employment, and to support victims and others involved in the criminal justice system. For decades, Black communities have been calling on governments to respond to the impact of these realities.

International commitments

Beyond Canada, the United Nations has recognized the need for countries to address the distinct legacy of slavery and colonization and the ongoing impact on Black people whose human rights must be promoted and protected. In 2013, the United Nations declared 2015 to 2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent (the UN Decade). The UN Decade provides an important framework—organized around three pillars of Recognition, Justice and Development—to address the most pressing issues affecting Black communities around the world, including in Canada. This means taking action on the issues that affect people of African descent in Canada, including improving research and data collection and confronting the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has committed up to $760 million to Black-focused initiatives – from entrepreneurship to supporting Black communities. In February 2024, the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, announced the domestic extension of the Decade until 2028 to continue using this framework to make transformative investments in Black-focused initiatives.

In August 2016, at the invitation of the Government of Canada, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent visited Canada on a mission to examine the situation of Black people in this country. At the conclusion of their mission, the three-member United Nations delegation submitted the 2017 Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its mission to Canada, presenting recommendations to assist Canada in its efforts to combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, Afrophobia and related intolerance. This report motivated the Government of Canada to look for solutions to fundamental issues faced by Black people in Canada concerning systemic racism, and the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime. One of the recommendations in the report was for the Government of Canada to develop a justice strategy to address the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system.

Bringing transformational change

The Mandate letter commitment responds to calls to action from Black communities and the recommendation in the 2017 UN Report. Justice Canada is now working to address anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination by developing the Strategy with an external Steering Group of experts and leaders from Black communities across Canada. Other federal government departments and agencies are also working on initiatives in their areas of responsibility.

Black communities rightfully expect transformational change to address longstanding systemic discrimination so they can fully realize their constitutionally protected rights.

Black people in Canada experience barriers and unequal outcomes caused by anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination in many areas of society. They experience disproportionately negative treatment by the police and in other areas of the criminal justice system.

There are many factors that contribute to Black people’s experiences with the criminal justice system, such as income, employment, housing, education and health. Where data is available, research shows that Black people frequently fare poorly in those areas compared to the rest of the population, with lower-than-average incomes, higher rates of unemployment, less access to safe and stable housing, poorer educational outcomes in Canadian schools, and poorer health and mental health outcomes.

In a landmark court case in 2014, Robert Wright pioneered the use of Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) reports to highlight the impact of anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination on accused persons before the courts. In recent years, two Canadian courts of appeal—Nova Scotia in R v. Anderson and Ontario in R v. Morris—have accepted the importance of IRCAs in considering cases before them involving a Black person who is accused. The Court in Morris noted that “It is beyond doubt that anti-Black racism, including both overt and systemic anti-Black racism, has been, and continues to be, a reality in Canadian society…”

Beyond supporting the use of IRCAs in the Canadian justice system, there is much more to do to address anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination in our society as a whole. Canada’s Black Justice Strategy will seek to address the gaps and barriers that exist in the criminal justice system to ensure that Black people across Canada have access to equal treatment before and under the law.

It is critical that the Strategy be grounded in the diverse histories, backgrounds, lived experiences and regional realities of Black communities in Canada.

The external Steering Group, who provided recommendations on the Strategy, was comprised of nine experts and leaders from Black communities across Canada, with diverse experiences and expertise related to Canada’s justice system.

The Steering Group’s work was based on an intersectional, anti-Black racism, and anti-oppression approach. The Steering Group developed the Framework, which includes a historical outline of Black people’s experiences with anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination, an overview of the resulting differential outcomes for Black people in the criminal justice system, and a summary of recommendations from earlier studies and reports.

The Framework also served as a guide for consultations and engagements conducted by 12 Black-led community-based organizations across Canada, as well as an online survey led by Justice Canada for people who were unable to participate in community engagement. These consultations and engagements, as well as discussions with other experts and community leaders, informed the recommendations the Steering Group provided to Justice Canada in their report, A Roadmap for Transformative Change: Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.

Members of Black communities from various backgrounds were included in the process through the consultations and engagements conducted by Black-led community-based organizations.

For Black people of all ages living in Canada who were unable to participate in community engagement, as well as for representatives of organizations that provide justice-related services and supports to Black communities in Canada, Justice Canada also launched an online survey.

Consultations and engagements were extended from the end of September 2023 to the end of October 2023, to provide more opportunities for members of Black communities to contribute to the development of the Strategy. For more information on consultation and engagement activities, please consult the Consultations and Engagements page.

Each community-based organization leading consultations and engagements delivered a summary report on what was shared to the Steering Group. Justice Canada also shared the results of the online survey with the Steering Group.

Using the summary reports provided by these organizations and the results of the online survey, the external Steering Group developed a report with recommendations on concrete actions to address the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime.

Read the Steering Group’s report: A Roadmap for Transformative Change: Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.

The external Steering Group presented its recommendations in the form of a report to Justice Canada in March 2024. Read the report A Roadmap for Transformative Change: Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.

The recommended actions in the report will inform the Government’s response, to be released in the coming months.

The development of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy is an acknowledgment of the deeply rooted anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination that contributes to negative experiences and outcomes for Black people in the Canadian criminal justice system, which result in their overrepresentation, including as victims of crime.

The Strategy will aim to ensure equal treatment for all people in Canada by confronting anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination. The successful implementation of the Strategy could help increase confidence that the justice system is fair and equal for all people in Canada.

What this ultimately means for Canada’s future is that we are creating a roadmap for the removal of barriers to the full inclusion of Black people within the justice system, an integral part of our society. This Strategy would make Canada a leader on the global stage in ensuring equal rights for Black people within democratic societies. This means better outcomes and opportunities for Black people, and a fair and equal society for all. Everyone in Canada has a stake in moving the Strategy forward.