Reconciliation in Action, a new BC Provincial Court report on the New Westminster First Nations Court (NWFNC) highlights 20 individual stories of people currently participating in NWFNC, including their background, the resources offered by the court, the impact of working with the court’s Indigenous Elders and the individual’s progress on their healing plan. The report concludes that NWFNC has had a positive impact on both its clients and public safety and contributes to Reconciliation.

Established in 2006, the NWFNC is an Indigenous sentencing court that offers culturally appropriate and responsive sentencing for Indigenous offenders (known as “clients”). The objectives of the NWFNC are not only to reduce recidivism and the number of Indigenous people in jail but also to provide clients with tools for healing, drawing on Indigenous culture, traditions and values. The NWFNC sentencing team includes the judge, defence counsel, designated Crown counsel (provincial and federal), Elders, Client Liaison Workers, designated probation officers and a designated duty counsel.

As part of sentencing, clients are provided with “healing plans,” including:

• counselling (including for substance use and mental health);
• connections to community resources for improving education, employment and housing;
• referrals to other health professionals;
• efforts to re-establish connections with family;
• participating in cultural practices and ceremonies; and
• meeting with Indigenous Elders in the community.

Clients are expected to regularly attend NWFNC to review their progress toward completing their healing plan.

There are many similarities in the histories of NWFNC’s clients, including their parents’ or grandparents’ experiences in the residential school system and the “sixties scoop” that separated Indigenous people from their communities, cultures and languages. Many clients witnessed violence and substance use as children, suffered physical and sexual abuse and were in foster care. As adults, many NWFNC clients suffered substance use disorder or mental health issues, or both, and unstable housing. Many have children who are in care.

Participating in NWFNC helped many re-establish contact with their children. Some have begun visits and regular involvement in their children’s lives after having had no contact with them. The Elders also helped clients who were disconnected from their home communities learn about their history, culture and spirituality.

Many clients were able to access stable housing while participating in NWFNC. Clients who were initially homeless, living in a shelter, or “couch surfing” were able to move to supportive housing, independent living, or living with family as part of their healing plan. Many of NWFNC’s clients had not committed new offences since they first appeared in the court.

Consistent with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, the NWFNC was shown to:

• reduce the over-representation of Indigenous people in prison by providing an alternative to incarceration and promoting rehabilitation and reintegration into communities;
• increase the engagement of clients and empower them to address the underlying causes of offending; and
• address the needs of offenders with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder by providing community supports.

The report shows that NWFNC improved clients’ overall wellness in addition to addressing specific factors that led to their offending. Looking ahead, the Provincial Court foresees increased demand for NWFNC as the number of clients and seriousness of offences referred to its court continues to increase.