Toronto, October 9, 2026 – The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is pleased that the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized the importance of prioritizing reconciliation by requiring sentencing judges to meaningfully consider Indigenous sentencing circles’ recommendations.
After pleading guilty to the aggravated assault of his intimate partner, Harry Cope requested and attended a sentencing circle facilitated by the Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network. The sentencing circle recommended a shorter prison sentence, three years of community supervision, and that he should access specific health services, education and employment support, and support for his addictions.
Despite this, the sentencing judge sentenced Mr. Cope to five years in prison for the aggravated assault and eight months in prison for the breaches, emphasizing her concern for public safety. The majority of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal found that the sentencing judge erred by not giving enough consideration to Mr. Cope’s mental illness and addictions, plus their connection to his Indigenous background and the harms of colonization. The Crown appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court of Canada was asked to provide guidance on how sentencing judges must weigh the harms of colonialism on Indigenous people who have been convicted of crimes, while also considering the objectives of denunciation and deterrence for violence against Indigenous women and girls and the increased vulnerability of victims of intimate partner violence, with particular attention to the circumstances of Indigenous women and girls.
Writing for the majority, Justice O’Bonsawin highlighted the importance of reconciliation as an “important lodestar” in applying all the considerations mentioned above. She also emphasized that considering Indigenous perspectives is not in conflict with achieving the objectives of denunciation and deterrence, and that a sentencing circle’s recommendations provide an important perspective from the community that the sentencing judge must consider meaningfully.
LEAF intervened to challenge the lower court’s assumption that incarceration is the most effective way to keep Indigenous women safe. In fact, prison contributes to recidivism, and Indigenous offenders who are incarcerated are more likely to reoffend than non-Indigenous offenders.
“We are glad that the majority of the Court emphasized the need for culturally appropriate ways for Indigenous people to provide their perspectives on sentencing, given the harms many Indigenous people have experienced from Canada’s criminal justice system,” said Rosel Kim, LEAF’s Senior Staff Lawyer.
LEAF is grateful to be represented by Virginia Lomax and Alisa Lombard (Lombard Law) in this case.
LEAF’s interventions are guided, informed, and supported by a case committee with expertise in the relevant issues. We are grateful to this intervention’s case committee members (in alphabetical order): Gillian Bourke, Theresa Donkor, Karen Drake, and Naiomi Metallic.
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
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About the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)
The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national not-for-profit and charity that works to advance the equality rights of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada through litigation, law reform, and public legal education. Since 1985, LEAF has been involved in over 145 cases that have helped shape the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To find out more, visit www.leaf.ca
