Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Canada’s justice system is working poorly for Indigenous peoples. Not-guilty verdicts arrived at recently in two separate murder cases involving First Nations victims, Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie, have arguably yet again exposed Canada’s justice system as failing Indigenous peoples. Indigenous people have been murdered or gone missing for a long time without due diligence from law enforcement and only now are we starting to expose these patterns of neglect in a meaningful way. Still, if you are an Indigenous person in Canada today, chances are, you will have difficulty receiving justice. The speaker will explain Canada’s jury selection system and argue that it needs a serious overhaul. She will also contend that unless we come to terms with the staggering amount of racism that still exists in our institutions, and in our society as a whole towards Indigenous peoples in Canada, not much will change. Speaker: Ingrid Hess Ingrid Hess is a lawyer from Lethbridge who has been practicing fo