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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A P R I L 2 0 1 8 13 the problems to another area," says Draegen, adding that over- crowding leads to domestic strife and assaults, crimes involving money or theft of food and addic- tions including gambling. They also become easy targets to be absorbed into gangs. The First Nations Prince George court will sit the first Tuesday of each month with five trained First Nations elders (members of the Elders Justice Counsel) working with the courts. The Prince George community team lobbying for a court consisted of the City of Prince George plus judicial and court mem- bers including the legal aid society, Crown counsel, sheriffs, the court registry personnel, Indigenous law- yer Miranda Seymour (Lheidli T'enneh First Nation), adult probation officers and RCMP. The Prince George FNC follows those in North Vancouver, New Westminster, Duncan and Kamloops, as well as Merritt (Nicola Valley Indigenous Court), which opened in October 2017. New Westminster court opened in 2006 and was the vision of Judge Marion Buller (the first female First Nations judge in B.C.) and others both within and outside the court. Since then, B.C. Chief Judge Thomas Crabtree has opened five of the six criminal sentencing FNCs. They are the result, he says, of an Indigenous and non-Indigenous community-driven process where a need has been identified, a dialogue started and community support garnered. There is also a business case for the establishment of such an FNC, he says. "It requires a contri- bution by the community as a whole — particularly the elders." The court's concern is that the FNC as a response "fits in" to what is desired by the community participating in the justice system. "It is not just the court on its own; the court is a small part," he says. More FNCs are expected to follow as soon as this year. Hazelton is being eyed as another 2018 location for the opening of a court as a number of current discussions are going on with communities, including Williams Lake, Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Port Hardy. "Hazelton is certainly possible," says Crabtree. "We are seeing if it can work." B.C. has also deepened the use of First Nations elders in the court system with the introduction of a pilot project in New Westminster known as the Aboriginal Family Healing Court Conferences pilot project, started in January 2017 and running over three years. The AFHCC occurs when Aboriginal families and the ministry responsible for child protection officials do not agree on the best custody practice for a child. An informal mediation conference is called with the judge and parties and the elders help support the process to a resolution prior to it escalating to trial. The pilot is an initiative that attempts to stem the overrepresentation of Indigenous chil- dren in ministry care, says Crabtree. "There has been a lot of conversation around how can we produce a better outcome for Indigenous chil- dren." An interim report will be conducted dur- ing the pilot and a full evaluation will be made at its conclusion. Mark Benton, chief executive officer of the Legal Services Society, says his organization is involved in training the elders for First Nations courts and supplying funding for the defence lawyers representing individuals. "What we are seeing is communities com- ing together and finding a way to deal with the court processes," says Benton. "That is a very healthy thing." There have been no definitive studies as of yet examining the recidivism rate in FNCs. Reducing recidivism rates can only occur when new alternatives are provided that prevent the individual from further offending, says Benton. "Change the justice process to make it more effective to help people stay out of the system. That is where the real benefit lies." — JEAN SORENSEN \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP B.C. Chief Judge Thomas Crabtree CORPORATE COUNSEL Connect with Find more than 4,100 corporate counsel and over 1,500 organizations along with fresh editorial content, information on deals and links to important resources. Lexpert.ca/ccca ntitled-2 1 2018-03-14 10:40 AM

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