12 N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m
A
s the B.C. NDP heads into its
first real budget expected in Feb-
ruary 2018, a coalition of local
legal groups has authored a report
setting out sweeping justice reforms they
say should be made in the province.
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association,
PIVOT, West Coast LEAF and the Com-
munity Legal Assistance Society authored
the Justice Reform for B.C. report, which,
although only eight pages, is wide-ranging
and impacts multiple B.C. statutes and
commissions. The report, with its 10 basic
justice reform areas, has been sent to B.C.'s
new attorney general and solicitor general.
The group sees forging a closer working
relationship with indigenous people as a
primary goal, calling for the implementa-
tion of the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the call
to action of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission and respect for aboriginal
rights and title.
Under rule of law issues, the group
wants to see all recommendations of B.C.'s
Missing Women Commission of Inquiry
implemented and active participation by
the B.C. government and relevant agencies
in the National Inquiry into Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The group also makes recommen-
dation on reforming B.C.'s corrections
system, with "an urgent need to end the
over-incarceration of Indigenous people."
It recommends: an independent advisor
on corrections reform (which currently
exists in Ontario); more alternatives to
indigenous incarceration; and an increase
in funding to ensure timely production of
Gladue reports. It recommends abolishing
solitary confinement or, in the short term,
adopting the UN standard of prisoner
treatment of not more than 15 days. It also
recommends it be prohibited for those
with mental illnesses or disabilities and for
women and minors.
The report also focuses on the need
to better address mental illness issues,
calling for a commission review of "leg-
islative mechanisms for detention and
rights deprivations for people with mental
disabilities." Focus areas include: "deemed
consent provisions in the Mental Health
Act," ensuring that patients detained under
B.C. legislation are provided with legal
advice rather than rights information from
medical staff; creating legislative standards
for physical, mental, environmental and
chemical restraint of patients as well as iso-
lation; and creating an independent body
or empowering the Mental Health Review
Board with the ability to review a patient's
BC JUSTICE REFORM REPORT HAS SWEEPING
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NDP
W E S T
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REGIONAL
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