New funding announced to increase access to justice for racialized communities in British Columbia Français

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Department of Justice Canada

Jan 15, 2024, 14:43 ET

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 15, 2024 /CNW/ - Access to justice is a fundamental value in the Canadian justice system and is an integral part of a fair society that respects the rule of law. The Government of Canada is committed to addressing systemic barriers in the justice system by providing fair and equal access to justice and legal services for vulnerable and traditionally marginalized groups, including racialized communities across Canada.

Today, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Sharon Sutherland, Executive Director of Mediate BC, announced $922,866 in project funding for Mediate BC to improve access to justice for Indigenous and racialized communities in British Columbia.

This funding supports Mediate BC's Navigating Collaborative Decision-Making in Child Welfare project. Through this program, Mediate BC is developing public legal education and information resources and is providing legal support for Indigenous and racialized families navigating the child welfare system. This includes the creation and distribution of plain language resources in multiple languages, community outreach and workshops, and the expansion of legal advice and support services provided by Collaborative Decision-Making Navigators. Collectively, these efforts will further improve outcomes for children and youth navigating the justice system while addressing the barriers Indigenous and racialized families face in child protection processes.

Justice Canada is providing funding over four fiscal years (2022–2026) through the department's Justice Partnership and Innovation Program. This program funds projects that support a fair, relevant and accessible Canadian justice system in areas such as access to justice, addressing family violence, and emerging justice issues.

Mediate BC is a not-for-profit organization that serves and protects the public by offering access to safe, ethical, professional services as well as collaborative decision-making processes. Mediate BC supports British Columbians in many communities, the majority of which are on ancestral, unceded and treaty lands of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Quotes

"We're grateful for the opportunity to help families navigate a complex system with dignity and self-determination. Racialized and Indigenous families engaged with child welfare agencies are better served by collaborative decision-making (CDM) processes like traditional First Nations' practices, mediation and family group conferencing instead of the courts. While early use of these can prevent removals, lead to faster family reunification, and ensure greater family self-determination, many families hear about CDM options much too late or receive inaccurate or incomplete information. With increasing availability of options for Indigenous families as a result of coordination agreements under recent legislation, better information is urgently needed to help families make decisions for their children."

Sharon Sutherland
Executive Director, Mediate BC

"Everyone has a right to access to justice. The support we are announcing today will help Mediate BC achieve better outcomes for children and support Indigenous and racialized communities in British Columbia as they navigate child welfare and protection matters. By working together, we are better able to break down the barriers members of racialized communities continue to face in accessing Canada's justice system."

The Honourable Arif Virani, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Quick Facts
  • Through Budget 2021, the Government of Canada committed $21.5 million over five years to support the provision of culturally appropriate legal information and resources and to pilot legal advice services for racialized communities across Canada. To date, 30 projects including the Mediate BC project, have received funding through this investment which is administered by the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program at Justice Canada.
  • In Canada, almost half of adults will experience a serious legal problem over any given three-year period. (Collaborative Decision Making in Child Welfare)
  • Legal problems remain unaddressed in part due to barriers related to financial cost, time, complexity, lack of information and availability of services, among others. (A Series of Qualitative Studies on Serious Legal Problems, Justice Canada, 2021; 2022)
  • Vulnerable and traditionally marginalized populations face additional barriers to accessing justice, including in relation to gender and gender identity, race, culture, religion, age, language, literacy, disability, income and geographical location. (A Series of Qualitative Studies on Serious Legal Problems, Justice Canada, 2021; 2022)
  • In Canada, 53.8% of children in foster care are Indigenous, but account for only 7.7% of the child population according to Census 2021.
  • Results from the 2011 National Household Survey also show that 38% of Indigenous children in Canada live in poverty, compared to 7% for non-Indigenous children.
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SOURCE Department of Justice Canada

Contacts: Chantalle Aubertin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 613-992-6568, [email protected]; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]; Sharon Sutherland, Executive Director, Mediate BC, 604-218-7214, [email protected]

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Department of Justice Canada