Courts Must Consider History When Sentencing Aboriginal Offenders

[MACKER]

I think the OP sounds a little racist.

I'm a big supporter of universal justice, but of course you must take every individuals character into consideration, but I think casting people into ethnic histories, is a little much, like do we then take every dark skinned person and their history of enslavement, or every jew in their history of genocide, and every welsh and scott and irish person in their period of occupation, or iraqi or afghani, etc...

While judges having a knowledge of Canadian history is one thing, there are many aboriginals who have nothing to do with residential schools, drug abuse or suicide. Courts needn't sterotype or apply ethnic histories on people who don't belong to them even if they are a band member or have a last name that sounds like one.

While Native+ is one thing in terms of title and programs, the courts should be fair and exercise equality based upon the law.

We are all victims of residential schools even if we personally did not get put in them, all Canadians must live with suicide and drug abuse and crime - these are not native identities they are global identities.

The government needs to solve the problems the courts should not be involved in politics unless they are political crimes.

No one owns the land, we are all victims of colonialism. The land is free. People are selfish whether native or european to deprive another human from liberty on account of the others personal gain. We must cooperate to be free, less in lack we will deprive others liberty for our own. All deserve freedom.

Edited March 24, 2012 by MACKER

[hardguy]

What do you think of this decision and what does it mean for our justice system?

it validates anti-white racism by the SCC

[hardguy]

And that's just the problem. There are real problems on aboriginal communities that don't exist elsewhere. That environment probably should be taken into account. Whether or not it's a result of history, I don't know.

do you not think the problems are due to corruption on the reserves?? A few years ago an audit disclosed there was $500m tax dollars unaccounted for that had been given to the aboriginals. Fontaine immediately accused anyone who raised this as "racists". I see who is in the business class seats on flights to Las Vegas and it ain't whites.

[hardguy]

I'm sure another thing people don't consider is that the youth unemployment rate is fully twice as high as the national average. Young people between the ages of 15-24 have a nearly 15% unemployment rate. The connection that many are not making is that the aboriginal communities have a much greater proportion of youth than the national demographics. We are failing our youth all across this country and it's especially evident in the aboriginal communities.

they dont have to work as they are given our tax dollars hand over fist

[Battletoads]

I think it's past time we stripped these special rights from "natives". Chretien had the right idea with his white paper, it's a shame it was abandoned.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Can we deport convicted felons to the local Native self government run reserve? Let the other First Nations tax paying citizens pay for the incarceration. Or is that asking too much?

[-TSS-]

Is there any chance that Nunavut would gain a full provincehood or do they even wish for such a status?

[huh]

INDIVIDUAL responsibility, there are individuals of all kinds of bad circumstances who turn to crime, are those individuals given the same consideration for their difficulties? Does it matter to the poor inner city kid that comes from a broken violent home that he isnt a poor native kid from similar circumstances when he is arrested and sentenced? Or do we judge that person based upon their actions alone? Everyone should be given some consideration for their background, but not just because they happen to belong to a certain racial group, everyone can make the right or wrong choices, everyone needs to be responsible for those choices.

[cybercoma]

INDIVIDUAL responsibility, there are individuals of all kinds of bad circumstances who turn to crime, are those individuals given the same consideration for their difficulties? Does it matter to the poor inner city kid that comes from a broken violent home that he isnt a poor native kid from similar circumstances when he is arrested and sentenced? Or do we judge that person based upon their actions alone? Everyone should be given some consideration for their background, but not just because they happen to belong to a certain racial group, everyone can make the right or wrong choices, everyone needs to be responsible for those choices.

You put all of your chips on agency without showing any understanding for the complex relationship between structure and agency.

[Smallc]

do you not think the problems are due to corruption on the reserves??

Yes, that's certainly part of it, but that's still not the core reason.