Inuit Women and the Nunavut Justice System

Appendix 2: Overview of Issues and Concerns of Inuit Women (continued)

Katherine Peterson, The Justice House Report of the Special Advisor on Gender Equality, 1992

(a) Court Structure

People have a poor understanding of the administration of justice. There is a widespread experience of alienation, particularly outside of urban areas. There is also a poor understanding of the justice process, justice personnel, dispute resolution methods. Language is hard to understand even for those who speak English.

It is promising that GNWT has resources devoted to training interpreters for court; the Department of Justice has also funded full-time interpreter/translator to work in Iqaluit and goes on circuit with the court in the Baffin. However, the translation into Aboriginal languages needs to be more broadly available. Interpretation should be provided for all proceedings, whether or not the direct participants can speak English. This last recommendation goes to making the court more of a public place. An amendment to the Jury Act which permits non-English speaking aboriginal persons to sit on juries can be viewed as making the court a more accessible place for Inuit people.

Court proceedings should use plain language. People have little understanding and harbor numerous misperceptions about criminal procedure, the administration of justice, substantive and procedural law and history of the justice system, and the roles of justice personnel.

There are ongoing efforts to raise the awareness of the community regarding the court structure: for example, from time to time, lawyers have provided public legal education. Arctic PLEI has published pamphlets and conducted workshops to increase public awareness of legal remedies. As well, some limited work ongoing to link administration of justice with other agencies and community organizations

Understanding gender fairness

“In order for women to fully utilize legal remedies, they must firstly have an awareness of the existence of them.” (P. 15) No formal effort has been made to coordinate an interagency response to violence against women and the experience of women who come into contact with the justice system.

Greater public awareness is required of the dynamics of violence and the position of a victim of violence. Women victims of violence did not understand the court process, had no one to explain it to the, felt they had not control, decisions out of their hands, felt blamed, had no credibility, were not taken seriously, in proceedings they felt afraid and humiliated. Moreover, cultural conditioning and inappropriate assumptions can underlie the problem of understanding violence against women. Justice personnel – Crowns, defence, judges, RCMP - do not have an adequate understanding of the dynamics of abuse and of gender attitudes.

The Canadian judiciary has taken some significant steps forward with respect to general fairness and cultural sensitivity. And there is a greater willingness to permit persons other than lawyers or judges to offer training. For example, in May 1990, the National Judicial Institute started a gender equality program for its judges. Some judges have made an effort to make remarks that show an understanding of the victim and an intolerance of violent conduct. JPs have also indicated a willingness to take training on gender equality.

Access to Civil Remedies

Women are not aware of various forms of remedies available to them, particularly child support orders. Legal aid clinics do not adequately provide service for civil cases. Legal aid not available, as a matter of policy, for protection from violence (unless custody of children or maintenance is involved.) Having the RCMP seeking peace bond applications is not sufficient to provide women with adequate coverage for peace bond matters.

Not surprisingly, criminal legal aid is given higher financial priority than family law particularly the needs of victims, children and questions of financial support. Not many people know that one can appeal from decisions pertaining to legal aid. There is a poor level of knowledge among women living in smaller communities regarding the existence of criminal injuries compensation. There is also a poor knowledge of remedies available for obtaining child support and the ability to have assistance in enforcing support orders.

On a positive note, regional clinics have been instituted with a view to increasing accessibility of legal assistance to residents in the regions; however, this increase is limited because its focuses on criminal.

Mandatory Charging/Services to Victims

With respect to mandatory charging, there has been a notable absence of support and counseling to the victim to decide whether to proceed with the prosecution. The absence of victim support and services as well as support for child victims of violence has been voiced most strongly and consistently by women in the community. There is also an absence of victim advocacy services at the community level, both in the court process and in other areas. No agency has the mandate to provide service to victims, therefore leading to a fragmented response to the problem.

Court Process

Physical resources are inadequate to keep women who are the victims of domestic violence/sexual assault separate from their abusers. Court delays impose great pressure on both the victim and the accused.- they often live in the same community or house. As has been noted before, there is an absence of support for the victim before, during and after the court process.

Courts are not sufficiently familiar with the strain of raising children in single parent families, the cost of maintenance, and the inability of women to have the same economic strength as men in the workplace. They do not recognize the extent of inequality which women experience, to see the position of women in society in accurate terms.

Proceeding by way of indictment means the victim has to give evidence 2 times: once at a preliminary inquiry and once at trial; it also means delays.

Mediation

Court is not the place to resolve issues about the breakdown of a relationship. Mediation is available for family law but not widely. There are currently no legislated standards governing the training of mediators nor licensing or other requirements directed at controlling competence.

Judicial Selection, Appointment and Discipline

The judiciary carry around cultural attitudes and deeply imbedded stereotypes about the role of women. There is inadequate screening of potential candidates for judicial office regarding their attitudes about women. Inappropriate attitudes about women need to be a factor in determining the suitability of potential candidates. A policy is required to ensure representative appointment of lay persons to the Judicial Council. There is no requirement for lay representation on the committee which appoints judges to the Supreme Court of the NWT. There are currently no policy directives that encourage the appointment of qualified women candidates and members of visible minorities to the committee.

While it is true and commendable, that some of the judges have made an effort to learn the aboriginal language spoken in their region. the bench is not representative of the people that it serves: either women or Aboriginal people. There is no active recruitment of competent women candidates. The conditions of work for judges need to be modified to make it easier for women who have child-rearing responsibilities. There is no procedure for anonymous complaints by lawyers with respect to the conduct of Territorial Court Judges. Extra-judicial conduct that would erode confidence in the judge’s ability to do the job is not currently reviewable for disciplinary purposes. Expanded grounds are needed for discipline, such as neglect of duty and incompetence.

Codes for judicial conduct are not well understood by the public; judiciary must engage in interaction with members of the public, and better public legal education. A position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is required to have responsibility for reviewing at first instance concerns raised about the conduct of superior court judges and the administration of justice. Lay representation required on the Canadian judicial Council – with appropriate gender and cultural representation. Disciplinary measures need to be more flexible.

Judicial evaluation should be established to permit problems to be addressed by a quick informal mechanism. (programs are ongoing in the U.S.)

(b) Justices of the Peace

(c) Community-based Justice Initiatives

Any input received must be truly representative of community opinion or value. Aboriginal women have expressed concerns that their voices are not heard when input from the community is solicited regarding community justice.

The issue of violence against women is not seen to be treated with seriousness. To that end, the voice of women on community justice committees must be guaranteed; alternatives to the traditional justice process must not become a mechanism for excusing violence conduct.

It is also true however, that Community Justice Committees represent an attempt by the court s to get more input from communities into the resolution of cases. These committees show a greater willingness by the courts to consider other cultural values and approaches and to accord a greater degree of respect to aboriginal culture in the NWT. They also reflect a greater understanding that other cultures might have different goals such as reconciliation and healing. The creation of these community-based initiatives shows an acceptance that the current system does not have all the answers nor does it achieve all of its goals