Five new Indigenous Justice Centres open in B.C.

Five more Indigenous Justice Centres (IJC) have opened in B.C., and more are on the way.

Now operating in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Surrey, and Kelowna, the new centres aim to help Indigenous people with immediate justice or family law issues and support underlying challenges.

“Making our communities safer means addressing the core issues that bring people into conflict with the law and their neighbours — a lifetime in and out of jail and back again doesn’t make anybody safer,” said Premier David Eby.

“We have to break that cycle. For Indigenous people in B.C., the solutions to break that cycle are most likely to be successful if they’re culturally grounded. I’m very grateful to the First Nations Justice Council for working with us to deliver safer communities and help change lives.”

Five per cent of the province’s population is Indigenous. However, the B.C. government says Indigenous people account for a disproportionately high percentage — 30 per cent — of those in the province’s jails.

Addressing why people come into contact with the justice system is key to making communities safer, the province adds.

Kory Wilson, chair of the BC First Nations Justice Council, says the centres were established in collaboration with First Nations and Indigenous communities, organizations, and leaders.

“We have successfully established five new IJCs in the span of 12 months, hired a strong team of lawyers, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and outreach workers and are ready to serve the needs of Indigenous people,” Wilson said.

Wilson says they are keeping track of data on who is accessing help and where, as well as looking at ways they have been successful at getting to the root cause of why someone is in the legal system, which may include mental health, housing, or addiction challenges.

“We also track how we’ve supported them and moved them on to something different and onto a different path and knowing as well this is the first Vancouver …urban justice centre we have,” she said.

Wilson says the justice centres are like a “one-stop-shop” meant to be like a home where Indigenous people are greeted by someone and asked how they are doing and what help they need. “And hopefully, as we build more of these justice centres, we’re going to build more, a larger, greater, network around the province, and in the cities that they’re in, with the communities, it’s also about networking and helping the First Nations person in many cases, find their home.”

The government says prior to opening these IJCs, there were four physical centres operating — in Chilliwack, Prince Rupert, Prince George and Merritt — and one virtual IJC that serves all of B.C. Since the beginning of 2023, 500 people have used the centres.

Wilson says she expects there will be 15 IJCs in B.C. by the end of 2024-25.

With files from Kier Junos.