The State as a Primary Perpetrator of Violence Against Indigenous Women

Today, a critical indicator of the law’s relationship with Indigenous women is mass incarceration, where Indigenous women make up a mere four percent of Canada’s female population but fifty percent of the female federal penitentiary population.1 The Supreme Court described the issue as a crisis over thirty years ago in R v Gladue, when Indigenous women made up twelve percent of the federal prison. [...] The 1991 Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba outlined the history of Indigenous women in Canada, drawing connections between the state removing their political authority with the creation of the band system and the lack of power incarcerated Indigenous women have over their own lives today.11 The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in 1996 similarly highlighted the problem of overincarcerati. [...] Public opinion has slowly begun to turn in favour of the needs of Indigenous peoples, but the justice system has been one of the most reluctant avenues for change. [...] Indeed, the Act specifically lists its purpose under section 4(a) as aiming to “affirm the Declaration as a universal international human rights instrument with application in Canadian law”.22 It is curious, then, to contrast this to the words of the bill’s sponsor at the second reading. [...] As a further rejection of UNDRIP’s legal status in Canada, the Supreme Court of British Columbia recently held that the British Columbia equivalent of the UNDRIP Act, “DRIPA”, did not implement UNDRIP into domestic law, presumably setting the same standard for the federal level.25 Additionally, the judge held that UNDRIP cannot be interpreted by the courts due to the need for consultation with aff.