Aboriginal Canadians and The Criminal Justice System

934 Words2 Pages

No community in Canada comes into conflict with criminal justice system officials more disproportionately than Aboriginals (Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.77). Indeed, Aboriginal Canadians are often subject to both overt and unintended discrimination from Canadian law enforcement due in large part to institutionalized reputations as chronic substance abusers who are incapable of reform (Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.77-78). One of the more startling contemporary examples of this is the case of Frank Paul; a Mi’kmaq Canadian who was left to die in a Vancouver alley by officers of the Vancouver Police Department after being denied refuge in a police “drunk tank”. Not surprisingly, this event garnered significant controversy and public outcry amongst Canada’s Aboriginal population who have long been subject to over-policing and persistent overrepresentation as offenders in the Canadian criminal justice system (Jiwani & Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.43 & 81).

Background

Paul was arrested on December 6, 1998 for public intoxication (Davies, 2011). After being brought to the VPD detachment, Paul was refused entry into detox holding cell by Sgt. Russell Sanderson and was instead ordered to be released. Subsequently, Paul was left in an alley in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside by Cst. David Instant where Paul eventually succumbed to hypothermia. A criminal investigation was conducted into the actions of the two police officers and it was ruled that they not be held criminally responsible (Davies, 2009). The resulting backlash from Canada’s Aboriginal community served as an impetus to analyze the events surrounding Paul’s death with greater scrutiny.

The Inquiry

At the behest of Solicitor General John Les, an inquiry was launched in February o...

... middle of paper ...

...between Aboriginals and Canadian criminal justice.

References

Davies, W.H. (2009). Alone and cold: The Davies commission. Inquiry into the Death of Frank

Paul. Interim Report. Retrieved from: http://www.straight.com/files/pdf/DaviesCommissionInterimReport021209.pdf

Davies, W.H. (2011). Alone and cold: The Davies commission. Inquiry into the Response of the

Criminal Justice Branch. Final Report. Retrieved from:

http://lailayuile.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/daviescommission-finalreport-june-16- 2011.pdf

Dickson-Gilmore, J. (2011). Diversity, Crime and Justice in Canada. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford

University Press.

Jiwani, Y. (2011). Diversity, Crime and Justice in Canada. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford

University Press.

Perry, B. (ed.). (2011). Diversity, Crime and Justice in Canada. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford

University Press.

Open Document