Aboriginal Over-representation and R. v. Gladue: Where We Were, Where We Are and Where We Might Be G

Abstract

Clearly the most significant development in the criminal law for Aboriginal people over the last 25 years was the decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Gladue.1 As significant and important as the Gladue decision was, eight years later, rates of Aboriginal over-representation in the Canadian prison system continue to rise.This paper will sketch out the background and history behind the Gladue decision, the impact or lack of impact of the decision on Aboriginal rates of over-representation and the role that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,2 notably section 15, has played and might play in this issue over the coming years.