On December 12, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada to argue that courts should defer to Indigenous-led justice initiatives like sentencing circles to improve Indigenous women’s safety.
On December 11 and 12, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments in R v. Cope, a case that has important implications for sentencing Indigenous offenders in cases of intimate partner violence.
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 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 Gladue factors. The Crown is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.
LEAF will be intervening 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.
“In order to reduce reoffending, we have to address the underlying issues that lead people to offend in the first place,” says Ruth Goba, LEAF’s Executive Director. “Incarceration does not tackle the root causes of harm or promote safer communities in the long-term.”
The sentencing approach taken in this case assumes that colonial sentencing is more effective than Indigenous-led legal processes. However, community-based justice mechanisms like the ones suggested by the sentencing circle strengthen relationships while still achieving deterrence and denunciation as key sentencing objectives.
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]. To watch our intervention on December 12, click here.
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
