Pubdate: Fri, 05 May 2006 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2006, The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: Bill Curry, With reports from Katherine Harding, Karen Howlett, Rheal Seguin and Canadian Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues) SASKATCHEWAN WARNS OF RISK TO JUSTICE SYSTEM More Natives Will Be Jailed, Minister Fears OTTAWA -- The percentage of aboriginals in Canadian jails is likely to increase as a result of the federal government's law-and-order measures introduced yesterday, Saskatchewan's Justice Minister says. Frank Quennell, the Justice Minister in Saskatchewan's NDP government, said measures that require minimum jail times and limit conditional sentences could put at risk the province's unique justice programs aimed at its large aboriginal population. Aboriginals now make up nearly one in five admissions to Canadian correctional services, far exceeding their representation in the general population of just 3 per cent. The minister said Saskatchewan, which has the highest percentage of aboriginal residents in the country, has had some success in encouraging the use of penalties focused on native traditions of "restorative justice" rather than prison time. The programs encourage native communities to find alternatives to jail, such as providing restitution to the victim of a crime, volunteering with a charity or attending counselling or addictions programs. The changes could also prove difficult for Nunavut, which has similar restorative-justice programs for Inuit offenders, and where jails are already crowded. Records from the Nunavut Court of Justice show that in 2005, territorial judges handed down 203 conditional sentences compared with 189 jail terms. "I would say that we have probably more conditional sentence orders than most jurisdictions in Canada," said Bonnie Tulloch, the regional director for the federal Justice Department, which prosecutes all crimes in the territory. Ms. Tulloch acknowledged concerns for public safety, but also listed several instances where conditional sentences make sense. "The reality is, for some people, it is more difficult to serve your sentence in your own community, in your home, under house arrest, than it is to be flown to Iqaluit to [the Baffin Correctional Centre] and then to be flown back . . ." According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, which are from the 2003-04 fiscal year, aboriginals accounted for 21 per cent of admissions to provincial jails and 18 per cent of admissions to federal prisons. Aboriginal women make up 30 per cent of all female inmates. Mr. Quennell said the federal government's measures could lead judges to acquit more people or convict them of lesser offences rather than see them get lengthy sentences. Other provinces are welcoming the law-and-order package as long overdue. Several justice ministers expressed optimism that the strain on the prisons could be worked out. In his budget speech on Tuesday, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the government is "setting aside funds to expand Canada's correctional facilities to house the expected increase in inmates as a result of changes in sentencing rules." Provincial ministers say they will have to review the details of the bills to see whether the new laws would have a greater impact on federal prisons, which house those serving sentences over two years, or provincial jails, where detainees are serving less than two years. Quebec's deputy minister of public security, Johanne Vallee, said Quebec's prisons are already filled to capacity. "We will need to hold discussions with the federal government," she said. "Sentencing is a matter that the justice system handles and I'm sure it will be on the agenda of the federal-provincial justice ministers meeting in June." There are currently 70 federal prisons in Canada and 116 provincial jails. Alberta Solicitor-General Harvey Cenaiko expects the federal Tories' sentencing proposals will put more pressure on the province's correctional facilities, but that it "wouldn't have a huge effect." Mr. Cenaiko predicts that the federal government will pick up most of the costs because it is responsible for guarding those handed lengthy sentences. "We welcome those changes and believe they will have a positive impact on the justice system in Canada," Nova Scotia Justice Minister Murray Scott said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom