Systemic change informed by Gladue Principles to address Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal justice system

On this page:

• Overview
• What are Gladue Principles and how do they apply outside of sentencing?
• Funding opportunities
• Key considerations
• Additional information
• Information session on the call for proposals

Overview

In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada proposed investments of $49.3 million to support the implementation of Gladue Principles in the mainstream justice system and Indigenous-led responses in order to help reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system.

Of this amount, $10 million will be dedicated to projects informed by Gladue Principles that focus on educating justice professionals and changing structures, policies, practices and institutions in the criminal justice system.

Funding will be available through the Indigenous Justice Program, which provides grants and contribution funding to programs and projects in support of the following objectives:

• to assist Indigenous people in assuming greater responsibility for the administration of justice in their communities;
• to reflect and include Indigenous values within the justice system; and,
• to contribute to a decrease in the rate of victimization, crime and incarceration among Indigenous people.

What are Gladue Principles and how do they apply outside of sentencing?

“Gladue Principles” come from a Supreme Court of Canada decision in a case called R. v. Gladue, which considered a sentencing principle outlined in paragraph 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code. While Gladue Principles come from a sentencing decision, they can be used to inform systemic change at all stages of the criminal justice system.

Funding applicants will be expected to draw from Gladue Principles and the reasons behind the Gladue decision in designing their initiatives. For this purpose, Gladue Principles can be described as:

• the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system is a serious and complex issue rooted in systemic discrimination and the history of colonialism;
• the unique systemic or background factors which may have played a part in bringing an Indigenous person in contact with the law should be considered in criminal justice decision-making; and
• pre- and post-charge diversion, alternative measures and other community-based options should be considered for Indigenous people in conflict with the law, including culturally-appropriate restorative and traditional Indigenous justice processes.

Funding opportunities

The Department of Justice Canada is launching a call for proposals that seeks to address systemic barriers facing Indigenous people in the criminal justice system.

This call for proposals includes two themes:

• Theme 1: Education and training initiatives for criminal justice system professionals
• Theme 2: Systemic change focussed initiatives (changes to policies, practices, processes and institutions)

Applicants may submit an application under both themes. However, applicants can only submit one project per theme.

Key considerations

The following key consideration should be applied in developing applications for this funding opportunity, and evidenced in your proposals.

Official languages

In support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, the Department of Justice Canada is committed to facilitating the participation of official language minority communities and their organizations in the development and assessment of Justice Canada's policies, programs and services having significant impact on the development of the communities; and to taking measures to ensure that Justice's programs and services reach official language minority communities. In the context of project funding, these measures include:

• outreach to official language minority communities to enhance their understanding of Justice funding programs; and
• encouraging contacts between organizations that are receiving financial assistance and official language minority organizations/groups to ensure that the needs of these communities are taken into consideration in relation to the proposed projects to be considered for Justice Canada funding.

Additional information

If you have questions while completing the application, staff would be happy to help you and are available by email at: ijp-pja@justice.gc.ca.

Please note that funding is limited, and therefore, not all eligible projects will be funded. The Department of Justice Canada thanks you for taking the time to complete and submit an application for funding.

Information sessions on the call for proposals

It is highly recommended that applicants watch a pre-recorded information session on how to apply for this call for proposals.

To receive a copy of the pre-recorded information session, please send an email to the following address: ijp-pja@justice.gc.ca.