The (in)justice system and Indigenous people – Policy Options

April 30, 2018

The recent acquittal by a jury of Gerald Stanley, a white farmer, in the shooting death of Colten Boushie, an Indigenous man from the Red Pheasant First Nation in Saskatchewan, has again raised issues about the way the criminal justice system deals with Indigenous people. The concerns the case raised focused not only on the verdict by the all-white jury but also on how the jury was selected, in particular the fact that the defence was able to rely on the use of peremptory challenges to prevent any Indigenous people from serving on the jury.

The Stanley case rightly became a major news item, and the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice expressed their support for the Boushie family following the verdict, also to significant public notice. For Indigenous people, the case was simply another milestone on the long and well-travelled road of injustice.

Read More: http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/april-2018/the-injustice-system-and-indigenous-people/