Historical Timeline
Historical Context and Overrepresentation Through Legislation and Policy
The over-representation of Indigenous people in the justice system led the Supreme Court of Canada (R. v. Gladue – 1999) to instruct judges on their responsibility to consider the unique systemic and background factors that have negatively impacted Indigenous offenders directly or indirectly and Indigenous people’s collective and individual histories when imposing a sentence on an Indigenous offender. Judges are to seek alternatives to imprisonment, if appropriate, that are more suitable to Indigenous offenders.
The following timeline gives historical context to systemic pressures on Indigenous communities.