Gladue Reports in the Age of R. v. Cope
In my previous blog post, I examined the Supreme Court of Canada's recent decision in R. v. Cope . Here, I argue that the Court's reasoning exposes an important structural gap in contemporary sentencing law: while Canadian courts have developed increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for understanding Indigenous offending, they have developed comparatively few mechanisms for understanding Indigenous victimization through an Indigenous legal and restorative lens. Section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code requires sentencing judges to consider all available sanctions other than imprisonment, with particular attention to the circumstances of Indigenous offenders. The provision has been interpreted expansively in light of Parliament's effort to address the severe over-incarceration of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Its application requires courts to acknowledge the historical and systemic factors contributing to Indigenous involvement in the criminal justice system. In this respe...