Reforming Gladue: A Call for Judicial Accountability in Sentencing Indigenous Offenders
The legacy of the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1999 decision in R v Gladue remains part of Canadian law today. The “Gladue principles” arise from section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code, which was enacted to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Canadian prisons.Despite the adoption of section 718.2(e), Indigenous people remain drastically overrepresented in Canadian prisons. This demonstrates the need for meaningful reform.
Gladue Factors and Extent of Impact on the Sentencing of Dangerous Offenders
Manitoba’s Court of Appeal recently affirmed a trial judge’s sentencing decision involving consideration of Gladue factors in the case of dangerous offenders. In R. v Dumas, the accused was given concurrent indeterminate sentences on two cases of sexual assault. Dumas, an Indigenous man, appealed his sentence and argued that the trial judge erred in applying relevant Gladue factors which would have led the judge to hand down a 20-year determinate sentence and a subsequent 10-
