Media Release
Gladue Media Release – Aug 17, 2017
VICTORIA – To support the ongoing development of holistic approaches to criminal justice in Canada, Indigenous Perspectives Society has developed Gladue Report Training in collaborative partnership with Dr. Jane Dickson, Associate Professor of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.
“Indigenous peoples are over-represented in Canada’s criminal justice system due to socio-economic factors arising from intergenerational trauma caused by colonization, including being displaced from their lands, their resources, and the residential school system,” said Indigenous Perspectives Society’s Associate Director Rachelle Dallaire. “With our work in both urban and rural communities, we (Indigenous Perspectives Society) saw the need for well-trained Gladue Report writers to help grow the use of holistic approaches to criminal justice. Gladue Report Training provides the opportunity to employ writers in helping tell the stories of why and how people become involved with the system. Using the Gladue Report process, sentencing can be improved with courts understanding the root causes of behavior.”
Dr. Dickson is a highly-respected scholar and researcher in the area of Indigenous people and criminal justice. She has authored more than 70 Gladue reports and was the evaluator of Legal Aid Saskatchewan’s Gladue Pilot Project. She has advised Cree Nation Government (Quebec) on justice matters and has provided community-based Gladue training to Cree and other Indigenous communities for more than 20 years. Dr. Dickson’s partnership with IPS is a natural extension of her work in communities and at Carleton, where she also offers advanced Gladue training at the graduate level in legal studies and conflict resolution.
“To achieve the remedial goals of Gladue, those who write reports or make submissions must be knowledgeable not only of the key cultural and historical information central to Gladue, but also of the legal standards and current judicial comment on the form, content and structure of good Gladue reports,” said Dr. Jane Dickson. “IPS Gladue Writer training is dedicated to ensuring writers meet a high professional standard which respects Indigenous communities and advances the remedial goals of Gladue while meeting the needs of the courts.”
Indigenous Perspectives Society’s online learning experience will provide participants with the necessary skills, background and legal knowledge to enable writers to function with confidence working with the Gladue Report process and as a Gladue Report Writer in the Canadian criminal justice system.
Training begins October 2, 2017. For more information visit https://ipsociety.ca/gladue/.
Indigenous Perspectives Society (IPS) is a charitable and not-for-profit social enterprise that offers training programs and services that help foster a deeper understanding of Indigenous perspectives, cultural differences, and the need for self-determination. By creating excellence through training and leadership, we help strengthen lives and build successful relationships in our communities.
Beginning with a focus on Indigenous child and family service delivery through the CARF International accredited Aboriginal Social Work training series, IPS has grown to include Cultural Perspectives Training, Adoption Online, Recruitment and Retention of Indigenous People, and more. By creating excellence though training and leadership, IPS has been supporting communities throughout British Columbia and across Canada for more than 22 years.
To learn more about Indigenous Perspectives Society visit https://ipsociety.ca/
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Media Contact:
Rachelle Dallaire, Associate Director, 250 391-0007