Gladue: Beyond Myth and Towards Implementation in Manitoba

Theorizing a way out of reformist reforms: Gladue reports and penal abolition

“…Comparable to other groups, there is an increased likelihood of custody at sentencing if a person is Indigenous (Roberts and Reid, 2017; Rudin, 2013). As far back as 1984, the Government of Canada called Indigenous incarceration rates a “concern,” and, more recently, the Supreme Court of Canada termed it a “crisis” (Parkes et al, 2012; Roberts and Reid, 2017). Jonathan Rudin (2013), the Director of Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto, argues that Indigenous mass incarceration is “a reality for which the term crisis is no longer descriptive enough” (352).…”

“…Section 718.2(e) requires judges to consider: “all available sanctions, other than imprisonment, that are reasonable in the circumstances and consistent with the harm done to victims or to the community should be considered for all offenders, with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders” (Criminal Code, 1985: s 718.2(e)). In a 1999 case, R v. Gladue , the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the judiciary is obligated “to do what is within their power to reduce the overincarceration of Aboriginal people and to seek reasonable alternatives for Aboriginal people who come before them” (Parkes et al, 2012: 5). R v. Gladue established what came to be known as the Gladue principles.…”