Executive summary

The December 2021 Mandate Letter tasked the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada with the development of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy (the Strategy) to address the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime. An external Steering Group composed of nine experts and leaders from Black communities across Canada was established in February 2023 to provide advice to the Minister of Justice on the development of the Strategy.

From March 2023 to February 2024, Steering Group discussions centered around five key issues, or pillars, that inform Black people’s experiences with the criminal justice system: Pillar 1 - Social Determinants of Justice (Employment and Income; Housing; Education; Health and Mental Health; Child Welfare; and Immigration and Settlement); Pillar 2 - Policing; Pillar 3 - Courts and Legislation ; Pillar 4 - Corrections; and Pillar 5 - Parole, Re-entry and Reintegration. In Fall 2023, 12 Black-led community-based organizations (CBOs) used the Framework developed by the Steering Group to guide community consultations, to lead engagements and consultations with Black communities in nine provinces and territories. The CBOs provided reports to the Steering Group detailing the outcomes of the consultations and engagement. Justice Canada also provided the Steering Group with the outcome of the online survey, which was developed to gather insight from community members who were unable to participate in CBO-led consultations and engagement. The report of the external Steering Group (the Report) builds on the Framework and is informed by the Steering Group discussions as well as the outcomes of community engagements and consultations.

The Report identifies five principles to guide practical actions and policies in achieving justice for Black communities in Canada: Sankofa, Africentrism, the Principle of Restraint, Evidence-based Decision Making, and Reparative Justice. Five priority areas that inform the recommendations are as follows: Decarceration, Legislative Change, Targeted Resourcing, Structural Change, and Collaboration with Provinces, Territories and Municipalities. In relation to decarceration, the Report recommends reducing the incarceration rate of Black and Indigenous people by 50% of the current rate by 2034. The Report identifies eight overarching structural and accountability recommendations, described as actions that do not fit within only one specific pillar but that are intended to drive systemic change. In addition to the overarching recommendations, there are 106 recommendations under the five pillars, organized as short, medium, or long-term.

Summary of Recommendations:

• Pillar 1 – Social Determinants of Justice (recs. 9 – 33) includes recommendations for targeted resourcing for employment, income, education, and settlement and integration programs. This Pillar includes the only long-term actions, which concern income and housing.
• Pillar 2 – Policing (recs. 34 – 42) includes recommendations to increase the use of pre-charge diversion, increase funding for preventative programs and services, increase oversight and accountability mechanisms, mandatory anti-racism and cultural competency training in police curriculum, and legislative change to address racial profiling.
• Pillar 3 – Courts and Legislation (recs. 43 – 85) mostly concern legislative changes to the Criminal Code, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Youth Criminal Justice Act, and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and almost all are identified as short-term actions. Of the suggested changes, there is specific focus on changes to the laws concerning criminal inadmissibility, bail, drug offences, and sentencing. There are also recommendations for additional programming, including a court worker program, additional diversion programs, and expansion of the funding and training for the writing of Impact of Race and Culture Assessment sentencing reports.
• Pillar 4 – Corrections (recs. 86 – 103) includes recommendations for external reviews of practices and policies that have a disparate impact on Black offenders, to provide Black-specific programs, and to increase and strengthen oversight and accountability mechanisms.
• Pillar 5 – Parole, Re-entry, and Reintegration (recs. 104 – 114) recommendations include calls for partnerships with Black communities to support reintegration, increased representation of Black people among parole and probation officers, as well as parole board members, reconsider the waiting period to apply for a record suspension, and reviewing and revising parole criteria for disparate impact on Black offenders.

Most of the recommendations in the Report, other than under Pillar 1 and 3, fall within the Public Safety mandate. Many of the recommendations that concern areas of provincial and territorial jurisdiction are contained under Pillar 1 – Social Determinants of Justice and Pillar 2 – Policing. Ultimately, the Strategy envisions a justice system very different from any that Canada has ever had. If all these recommendations are enacted, we expect that, with time, the criminal justice system will transform from one that punishes the poorest and most marginalized members of our society, and that carries a history of racism and oppression, to one that is fair and equitable and free from discrimination; in other words, a justice system that is truly just.