The last decade has seen the development of an unprecedented profile for
aboriginal concerns over the inadequacies of the criminal justice system. This thesis
examines the major commissions of inquiry that were established to address criminal
justice reforms for aboriginal Canadians. Through a comparison of these inquiries, it is
my intention to provide a greater understanding as to why some commissions have had a
more positive role to play in initiating policy change, while others have been less than
satisfactory in promoting the needs of aboriginal persons.
Analysis reveals that commissions of inquiry are most often established to address
more general concerns about the impact of the criminal justice system on aboriginal
peoples, rather than to investigate specific cases in which there was a miscarriage of
justice. My findings also reveal that the current criminal justice system can and should be
improved, without in any way detracting from the movement toward the larger social,
political and economic goal of self- determination. Due to the fact that autonomous
solutions remain prevalent in the academic literature, future inquiries will be required to
acknowledge this perspective. An appreciation of the variety of concerns held by
aboriginal individuals can only be made possible through extensive consultation with
aboriginal communities and utilizing creative and innovative means of gathering
research. By providing an open process, commissions will be able to encompass views
that may not be prevalent in academic circles, but accepted at a grass roots level.
On the much larger question of the policy impact of commissions of inquiry, they
have been useful institutions for opening up the policy debate in regards to criminal
justice reforms for aboriginal Canadians. Frequently these inquiries have been faulted
because their specific recommendations are not accepted. However, inquiries are valuable
because they provide one of the few occasions for defining public issues, including
debate about reformist and radical conceptions of the issues. Consequently it is more
useful to assess commissions of inquiry for their role in the development of policy
debate. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/11856 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Schlecker, Regan Dawn |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 5412479 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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