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Chartrand, Paul --- "The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission of Manitoba, Canada" [2001] IndigLawB 76; (2001) 5(13) Indigenous Law Bulletin 4

The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission of Manitoba, Canada

by Paul Chartrand

The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission (‘AJIC’) was established by the government of the province of Manitoba in November 1999.[1] Its mandate was to review the report and recommendations of the earlier Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (‘AJI’), which had submitted a report in 1991 containing over 400 recommendations.[2] The AJIC was to make recommendations by March 2001 on the implementation of those recommendations within the responsibility of the province.

The AJI had been established by the province under a New Democratic Party (‘NDP’) government, largely in response to the tragic deaths of two Aboriginal people. The treatment of these deaths by the public, police and Attorney General’s Department galvanised discontent among Aboriginal people, who comprise about 12 per cent of the provincial population.

The AJI report of Commissioners Murray Sinclair, an Aboriginal judge of the Provincial Court, and Alvin Hamilton, then Associate Chief Justice of the Queen’s Bench, had gone relatively ignored by the Conservative Party government which replaced the NDP during the term of the AJI’s work. In 1999 the Conservative party government was succeeded by the NDP. The implementation of the AJI was an election promise of the incoming NDP government. Notably, the new government includes three Aboriginal members, including Eric Robinson, a Cree activist who is now the Minister of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs. Such Aboriginal representation in a provincial or federal government is unprecedented in Canada where Aboriginal people have by and large, with notable exceptions, not been participants in mainstream politics.

The two part-time AJIC Commissioners, Wendy Whitecloud of the Dakota Nation and University of Manitoba Law School, and myself, worked with three full-time staff to produce quarterly reports and a final report. The term of the AJIC expired on submission of the final report in June 2001.

The final report dealt with the priority issues identified in consultations with Aboriginal peoples’ representatives and other Manitobans, including government officials and those involved in the administration and delivery of services to the Indian and Métis population of the province. The priority areas identified were: Aboriginal rights; the Northern Flood Agreement; treaty land entitlement issues; Métis issues; employment and cross-cultural training; policing; community justice; violence towards women and children; child welfare; and early support and crime prevention measures for youth.[3] It is apparent from this list that the mandate as developed by the AJI had expanded well beyond matters within the traditional sphere of ‘criminal justice’.

Three themes emerged from these priorities, which formed the basis of the recommendations in the 200 page final report. The themes were Aboriginal rights, reform of the criminal justice system and the need for preventive measures.

One of the most significant recommendations was the establishment of a permanent Round Table on Aboriginal issues which could include representatives of Aboriginal peoples, the Province, the Federal Government, and the business, labour, social, health and academic sectors.[4] This recognises that the public policy challenges involved in meeting the needs of a growing Aboriginal population in Manitoba are exceedingly difficult and promise to be more difficult in the future. The tasks that could be undertaken include establishing goals for Aboriginal policy, monitoring and reporting on progress towards meeting those goals, and auditing programmes for Aboriginal people.

At the beginning of the last sitting of the provincial legislature on 13 November 2001, the Speech from the Throne, which outlines the government’s legislative agenda, announced the government’s intention to implement the AJIC report and specifically mentioned the Round Table.

The developments in Manitoba are worth noting to see if the new ideas generated from the experience of the AJI and the AJIC will result in practical and productive change. Hopefully these changes can help do justice and better the circumstances of Aboriginal people in a province where they and all citizens have high stakes in seeking improvement.[5]

Paul Chartrand is Métis from Manitoba and was a Commissioner of the Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission. He is a former professor of law and native studies who served on the federal Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.


[1] Order in Council number 459/1999, Manitoba.

[2] Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba, Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba (1999).

[3] Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission, Final Report (2001) Executive Summary.

[4] Ibid.

[5] For more information and copies of relevant reports and papers see the AJIC website www.ajic.mb.ca.

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