National chief fears crime bill to cause another lost generation

National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo believes overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the prison system will get worse under the federal government’s Bill C-10.
“First Nations have not been, we have not been, I have not been involved or engaged on this bill and I am very concerned about its implications,” Atleo said during the Assembly of First Nation’s National Justice Forum, held Feb. 21-23 in Vancouver. “The issue of justice really impacts all of us as First Nations, wherever you come from.”
Atleo said the 500 missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls from across Canada points to deep systemic issues, noting First Nation treaty rights and jurisdiction have yet to be honoured and recognized in Canada.
“The underlying reasons have yet to addressed as to why and how our people end up interacting with the criminal justice system,” Atleo said. “Everything from the fallout from the residential schools to the Indian Act to the deep poverty to the lack of supports in our communities for health, child welfare, education and poverty are some examples of the deep roots causes that we have to get to.”
Atleo said many people at the Justice Forum said the passing of Bill C-10, in many respects, is like repeating the residential school era all over again.
“We’re losing our people from their homes and putting them into institutions,” Atleo said. “It clearly will lead to increasingly, disproportionately impacting of First Nations people in this country.”
Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, was passed by the House of Commons on Dec. 5, 2011 and is currently on referral to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs after passing Second Reading in the Senate on Dec. 16, 2011.
“Canadians gave us a strong mandate to crack down on child sexual offenders and on dangerous drug dealers who sell drugs to children and we are one step closer to achieving this with the passage of Bill C-10 in the House of Commons,” said Rob Nicholson, minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada on Dec. 5.
Bill C-10 reintroduces reforms from nine bills dealt with separately during the 3rd session of the 40th Parliament.
Atleo said concerns were raised during the Justice Forum that increased incarceration rates will lead directly to increased gang membership and increased criminal activity.
“The meetings we are having are about action that is required,” Atleo said, adding there has been enough study on the issue. “There has to be greater inclusion of First Nations in the justice system as a whole, including lawyers and judges and jurists, and First Nations have to be properly engaged with the preventative side.”
Atleo said governments need to honour the treaty relationship, inherent rights and the obligation to provide basic supports for First Nations people.
“It’s those underlying root causes that are not being addressed and people here are fearing that if we do not see real change now, that we are going to lose another generation,” Atleo said. “There is a great sense of anger and mistrust on the part of the mainstream system, and that is a very powerful sentiment that has been shared, including the deep grief of those who have been directly impacted, the families who have been impacted.”
Atleo said the situation indicates there is still a deep misunderstanding between First Nations and the rest of Canada, which is different from the ancestors’ original treaty understanding of First Nations being full partners with the rest of Canada.
“It tells us that we have drifted apart, but that vision of the ancestors is still alive,” Atleo said. “I hear that in the delegates saying we need to return back to a place that fulfills that vision of real partnership where treaties are implemented, where there is real respect and real recognition.”