Indigenous Justice Centre now open in Chilliwack

A new facility aimed at providing better legal support for Indigenous peoples has opened in Chilliwack, marking the first such resource available in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

Premier David Eby was at the Indigenous Justice Centre on Monday for the opening, where he also announced $10 million in funding to support community-based justice programs for First Nations communities.

“One of the pieces of work that we need to do in our province is making sure that we address the core issues that bring people into contact with the justice system into conflict with the law into conflict with their neighbours and communities. A lifetime in and out of jail doesn’t make anybody safer, and doesn’t address the core issues that cause that cycle — we need to break the cycle,” Eby said at a news conference in the city.

“That’s the only way that we’ll be successful and that’s why it’s so critical that the work here has been led by the First Nations Justice Council to address the over-representation of Indigenous people in our justice system. About five per cent of the people in our province are Indigenous, and yet about 30 per cent of the people in our provincial jails are Indigenous. This is due to a large number of factors, and we can’t break down all those barriers overnight.” 

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Eby says for Indigenous people involved in the justice system, there needs to be “culturally appropriate resources that meet the needs of where they’re at.”

Similar centres have opened around the province, and Chilliwack’s will be the first in the Lower Mainland.

“Each centre offers unique supports tailored to the local Indigenous community and services available. They’re places where people are certainly able to access legal assistance, legal representation. But critically, they also provide support in working with agencies like the Ministry of Children and Family, like the police, like local communities to address the circumstances that led the person into conflict with the justice system in the first place,” he explained.

“By ensuring that housing, mental health addictions relationship issues, employment needs are addressed, they better support the needs of victims as well, through restorative justice options that seek to repair the harm done by violence or crime.” 

Eby was also joined by members of the First Nations Justice Council for the announcement.

“I look at the new Indigenous Justice Centre and I am hopeful for the moves we’ve made toward healing,” Boyd Peters, the director of the council, said.  

“A centre like this, in community, is where healing and real change happens – this is where we can affect decisions that prevent people from being in the system for the rest of their lives. We look forward to working with Stó꞉lō leadership and communities, as well as Chilliwack’s urban Indigenous community, to vision what the future holds for this IJC. The potential is limitless.”

There are three other centres in B.C. which are located in Prince Rupert, Prince George, and Merritt.