Canada’s Black Justice Strategy: Publications

This web page contains the Government of Canada’s Implementation Plan for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy, the history-making report of the external Steering Group, and other publications that informed the development of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.

Toward Transformative Change: an Implementation Plan for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy

The Implementation Plan (the Plan), Toward Transformative Change: an Implementation Plan for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy, outlines the what the Government of Canada will do over the next 10 years to help combat anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination which has led to the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime.

The Plan is being released with four commitments:

  • A 10-year plan toward a better future – The Government of Canada commits to combatting anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system to reduce the overrepresentation of Black people, including as victims of crime.
  • Informed by evidence –The Government of Canada commits to collecting disaggregated data by race to better understand how unequal outcomes experienced by Black people in other systems, such as education, health, housing, and employment, impact the risks of involvement with the criminal justice system, as well as the unequal outcomes of Black people within the criminal justice system.
  • Demonstrating federal leadership and continuing to work with Black communities and all levels of government – The Government of Canada commits to leading efforts to remove systemic barriers caused by anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination, by working with Black communities and provincial and territorial governments to make transformational changes to the criminal justice system.
  • Recognizing that the human and economic costs of inaction will only increase – The Government of Canada commits to developing effective and efficient legislation, policies, and programs, that promote restorative justice, diversion and alternatives to incarceration where appropriate. They must also protect the interests of victims, survivors, and our broader society, with the goal of reducing the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime.

Read the Plan here:

A Roadmap for Transformative Change

A Roadmap for Transformative Change was developed by the external Steering Group and includes 114 recommendations to combat anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination that has led to the overrepresentation of Black people in Canada’s criminal justice system, including as victims of crime.

The recommendations in the report were informed by consultations and engagements led by 12 Black-led community-based organizations across Canada, as well as the results of the Justice Canada online survey responses.

Read the full report here:

Consultation and engagement reports

Canada’s Black Justice Strategy is grounded in the experiences, ideas, and regional realities of Black people in Canada. Consultation and engagement sessions with Black communities informed the development of the strategy. These sessions were organized by Black-led community-based organizations across Canada.

Read the report summarizing the experiences and ideas of participants from the sessions organized by Black-led community-based organizations and a summary of an online survey that complemented the community-led consultations.

  • Summary of Site Reports for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy (HTML|PDF)
  • Engaging with Black communities on Canada’s Black Justice Strategy – Online survey complementing the community-led consultations (HTML|PDF)

Community-based organizations reports

Disclaimer:

This page provides links to third party (outside the Government of Canada) consultation reports. The reports have been posted as received. Readers wishing to rely upon this information should consult directly with the source of the information.

To inform the development of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy, 12 Black-led community-based organizations conducted consultation and engagement sessions with Black communities in 9 provinces and territories. The purpose of these sessions was to:

  • validate the information and recommendations from earlier studies and reports.
  • identify missing information and recommendations
  • highlight gaps in policies, legislation, data, services, initiatives, programs, and community support

This work was carried out through an intersectional, anti-Black racism, anti-oppression, and a Gender-Based Analysis Plus lens, considering language, gender, age, income, ethno-cultural background, religion, immigration status, sexual orientation, disability, and geographic location in Canada. Each organization prepared a report of their consultation and engagement session, which informed the external Steering Group’s report, A Roadmap for Transformative Change.

The Framework

As part of their mandate, the external Steering Group for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy developed the Framework, a document that guided consultations and engagements with Black communities.

The Framework provides an overview of Canada’s history, of anti-Black racism in Canada, of key issues to address, and of existing and known gaps in data. It also provides an overview of existing recommendations to address the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime.

Most importantly, the Framework provides insight into the Steering Group’s recommended scope and pillars for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy, as well as guidelines for the 12 Black-led community-based organizations who were leading community engagement from August to October 2023. This included key considerations for engagement, advice on who to consult and key questions to guide their discussions.

Using the Framework, the 12 community-based organizations consulted and engaged with Black people in their regions across Canada and reported back to the external Steering Group with the outcomes of their discussions. Justice Canada also developed an online survey based on the Framework for those who were unable to participate in community consultations and engagements. The survey was available for input until October 20, 2023.

Read the full Framework here: